ELTHAM.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 13

ELTHAM.

/— _, ". A,PROSPEROUS TARANAKI TOWN. HISTORICAL SKETCH. " v / '•__ Abonf 215 miles from Wellington and 30 milM from New Plymouth lies the pictur/sque town of Eltham, so named after a place in Kent. The town lies along/ the railway line, and is traversed ty rr handsome macadamised thoroughfare,' which, dipping in the middle, adds con.-idci-ably to the attractiveness of the strrft. Of late years Eltham has gone ahdAd by leaps and bounds, and its prosperity may be said to date from the" era of|co-opera.tivo dairy factories, tho gradiiif of dairy, produce, and the proper establishment of our butter au.l cheesa on tuo English market. The town has a splendid geographical position, nithough only six miles from Stratford and twelve Ciiles from Ifawera, both strenuous dairy industrial centres. If stands on the juhclion of three-roads, namely—the 'Mountain Road, whicli followed closely upon' .General Chute's track; the ElthnmiOpunako Road, and the Rawhitiroa-Wai-/kotara Road. Mount Egmont lies almost I north-west from Eltham, and on a fine /clear day affords'a splendid spectacleto / residents of the town. Eltham does not 1 boast of any agricultural and pastoral / associations, not even a racing club, but | it is known as the New Zealand 'centre

of the axemen's carnival, where yearly meet the axo champion's of Australasia in contests of strength, and skill. Reference is made in another column to tho early history of tho town, but it has made rapid progress since the place was- constituted a borough on October 12, 1301. The population may have been about one thousand at that time, and it is worthy of note that in the' septennial period which has elapsed the population has almost doubled itself.. At the present, time Eltham has a population of 1750 people in an area of 1505 acres. There are also 360 residences and 106 shops. The public debt, inclusive of gasworks, water supply, Boworago, town hall, municipal offices, and library, is jE0.5,200.

Too nuch attention cannot be derated to tho fact. that.durinff.tho/vpasKtwelfe •months tho sum of ,£27,500 has been spent in Eltham- on new buildings. Tho most notable of theso .are the fireproof reinforced concrete municipal offices and library, municipal gasworks, Town Hall structures, Pease Buildings, some fine establishments by Jlr. Wilkinson, tho Hank of New South Wales, and the Eltham , Club, the last-named a handsome white building. What is the reason of this progressiveness? Butter-fat and good land, with, the added fact that the town possesses an extremely shrewd and levelheaded lot of business men to look after its interests.. In the growth of towns in New-Zealand to-day, the demand is for comfort and convenience. It is no use saying that the "good enough for. my father good enough for me" policy is going to act as a municipal tonic upon the present-day generation in.-this-country. Life is too, short for unnecessary hardships, and another point is thfii the more comfort that can be attached to the country towns the less possible

iggregation in the larger cities. These facts have been recognised by Eltham business people. They put up a place of amusement, and the day after the Town (Jail "'as opened Dolores sang in :I><; 'building. Again, in their municipal ,'ns proposals, the member.- of tho Eltham ISorough Council showed cqramer-" cinl strategy which would doubtless 'have earned high commendation in. Wall. Street. They felt that thcyhad a moral claim on the Government, and after waitin;; patiently they obtained a.JJIO.OOOIoan at. 3J per cent., pins .£1 "s. fid. subsidy fund, so that V-y the end of %\ years the vrhole of the loan will have been repaid, and the town will own its own gasworks. The Future. Tn the course.of a speech recently at Eltham. the Hon. R. M Kenzio said jocularly that probably in fifty years, the town -would have a population of 50,000. This is hardly, likely to be, but in sixty years it should huve 32,000 of a

pnpuhition, and by tint time it and Stratford will-have grown together.. The Opuiiake railway ramic-3ticn with t.'ie main line will no doubt have an important bearing upon (he population in anyparticular district in 'j'uratic.ki. and although Kitham im-.y not obtain the direct connection it scc-ms almost pertain that it will possess .ii certain advantage, so long as the line does not run direct to Now Plymouth. This route is apparently favoured 'by the presant Minister for Public Works, but Jtaweia mid Stratford also have strong claims in addition to that of Ellhain. According to the .present Oovoruiueiit policy it is improbable that anything will'be done in this direction until after the. completion or the Stratfnrd-Ongaruo line. The.Ellhaiu Borough Council, which comprises the .Mayor, .Mr. O. P. Wake, and Councillors E. Parrott. T. C. Stanners, T. J!. Crump. \V. Cleniont, R. <i. Bi-.rr, 11. A. XuUall. F. A. lloore, G. W. Tinder, and !•'. Basham, with Mr. Tristrain town clerk, is peculiarly consti'.utcd, inasmuch as it includes threo exMayors, an engineer, a stuvmillor, a manager of a company, the superintendent of a fire brigade, n-contractor, and two lawyers. Such a team should be Rood' enough for anything. Th« three ox-May-ors aro Councillors Taylor. Stannors, aiid Parrott. Mr. Taylor was tho first Mayor, and held office for. six years. Then came Mr, Stunners, ' with Mr. Parrott as the retiring Mayor, after two years of office consecutively. All three officials have been instrumental in.many ways in furthering tho progress-of the town,-but' the biggest and most important . works, namely, gasworks, town hall and offices,

have been ■ carried i out during Sir. Parrott's term. Indeed, this gentleman was largely responsible for th« construction of both gasworks and town hall. Another interesting fact in connection with two of the ex-Mayors, Councillors Stanners and Parrott, is that during their terms of office as chief magistrates of the town,-they were presented with silver cradles. It is not often that a borough is called upon to contribute mementoes of this description to successive Mayors, but there is no doubt that the interests of tho town have been well protected by 'the-two officials. At tho presentation of a cradle to Councillor Parrott -on Jtay 3 by the Jlayor, tho recipient of the memento provoked a. good deal of laughter and.applause by saying that ho was almost- inclined 'to -impress upon the. Mayor the'Biblical'injunction, "Go thou and do likewise." ELTHAM'S PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Eltham's ' gasworks were erected at a cost of .£IO,OOO. The works have a capacity of 20,000 . cubic feet per day, " equivalent to 7,500,000 feet per annum.' The plant was made'in Sheffield by Messrs. Newton Chambers, Ltd. The building is of brick. There are two arches fitted to contain five retorts each, but just now there are only three retorts in one, and four in tho other. The condensing plant, exhauster, tar extractor and washer aro of (he latest modern manufacture',' and designed especially for Eltham. The purifiers arc of the dry lute type, while the gasholder has a 211,000 cubic feet capacity. About eight miles of mains have been laid, and gas is' being supplied at !ls. 2d. per 1000 feet; Rs. !ld. per thousand for 2000 feet; Bs. id. per thousand for

-3000; 7s. lid. for 5000; and upwards of 5000 at 7s. lid. per thousand. The success of the gasworks scheme is already assured, ao nuarly every house is being connected. Tho result, wiil be a certain reduction in the price of gas next year, Tho street lamp 3 are automatic for lighting and e.\tingi!ishing purposes. The gasworks contract was commenced on November 1, 1810, and gas was lighted in May 8, 1011. The Town Hall, an looking building-, reproduced photographically in this issue, is a very fine building. It has seating capacity for 1000 people, made up as follows;— Circle. .'.'so; stabs. 300; back seats, 350; pit. 100. Its length over all is 101 ft.. the stage is 50ft. by 30ft., with an auditorium SOft. by GOft. There are also six drcssing-rocms (on the stage level), four cloak-rooms, three ticket, offices, a supper-room, a meeting-room, and a kitchen. The municipal office?, which are just i approachiD!,' completion,' are built of re-J

inforccd concrete, and are of two Ftories. The dimensions of the building are 58ft. 'i.v 77f1. T!io ' building comprises a KM omul lloor devoted J,' .offices for iho council, hall lL'1'1; liv Sit., public ofli-'O i-ll'r. by 20ft.. contractor's office lift, by loir.. Ttn-ii Clerk's office lfift. by 17ft.. slront vo'.nii Jill, bv lCfl.. Mavoral office I,lft. by 1.11't., Iypi,ls office 17ft- bv lift.. engineer'* oliice l-'fl. by loft. Upstairs are situated the library, public readingroom, ladies' reading-room, lending room, librarian's office, storeroom, and lavatories .Hath Ilia. Town Hall and municipal offices were designed by 11 r. .T. A. Dullill, formerly of Maalcrton. The following are the principal buildings creeled in Kitham during the past y< ar :— Municipal gasworks (brick), .£IO,OOO. Municipal Town Hali (wood and iron), .MOM). Municipal offices and library (concrete). .&13C0. Municipal Eire Brigade Station (wood and iron). ,£450. Pease Buildings (concrete). ,£-1500. Bank of New South Wales (brick), .£1750. Kitham Club (concrete), .-6U50. Clary and Company's shop (concrete), •E-SOO. Chalmcr's shop (concrete), .£550. Wilkinson's Buildings (concrete), approximate iEofiOO. ELTHAM TOWN DISTRICTS. WELL SETTLED AND PROSPEROUS. Amongst, the town districts situated in and around Eltham are Knponga, Awa-

tuna East,. Awatuna, Te Kiri. Mangatoki, Kiverlea, Ma'iigainingi, Ngaere, To Roti, and Omoan.a.' Kappuga lies nine roilos from Eltham,: on rlio Eliham-Opiinake road, and sixteen miles- east of Opium kc and it shows nromise of grow-in,'; into a second Eltham. The land is of the finest for dairying, and at.the present time the Kaponga butter and checso products made by the Kanonga Co-operative Dairy Company, are well known as prize-takers at. tho principal winter show gatherings in the North* Island. The cheese output last year was 230 tons, and butter 103 tons. Jyiponga also claims a resident in Rifleman' Roots, the present rifle champion of New Zealand. The town possesses a residential branch bank in tho' Bank of New Zealand, while (he Banks of Australasia ■ and New South "Wales have' visiting agencies. The ' place" was constituted a Town Board district in 1905, over an area of (i-10 acres, the first commissioner being Mr. AV. Swadlijig, Awatuna East is a dairv farming district, which lies on tho Eltham-Opunake road, about five miles past Kanoiiga. It is the headquarters of the Awatuna Cooperative Dairy Company, which las l , year had a cheese output, of 225 tons, and 51 tons of butter; also, tho Taingatara Dairy Company, which last year had an output of 217 tons cf cheese. Awatuna is situated about two miles away from Awatuna East. Both places aro thrivine dairy farm settlement-:. , Ngaere lies on the railway iine, about two miles from Eltham. . It also is a prosperous dairy farm district, and ils co-operative-cheese factory is one of the largest concerns of its kind in.New Zealand. Last year, with 7.3 suppliers, the cheese output from the Ngaere Factory was 109 tons. This factory was establish-

Ed about 1891. In 1900 the cheese output was about L'so tons from 51 suppliers. It will therefore bo seen that iu four years the output has increased bv 159 lons, while the. number of supplier"* ], as increased by 21. The tondenev in this and other districts in the more proline liorlion of the Taranaki Province, is (he further subdivision of dairy land into 50 or tiO-aere sections. Ngaerc also ,a beauty spot in'its Ngaere gardens, which liave been laid out very artistieallv, and mv very much admired bv visitor's Mangaloki is another of Ibe thriving dairy farm districts situated on the Bltham-Opunako road, and about five miles from Eltham. It is the headquarters of the Jlangatoki Co-operative Dairv Factory, which Inst year,- with 111. suppliers, put through a butter output of 175 ton-, tho fourth largest in Taranaki, its successful rivals being the Eltham Co-operative Company, with Sli tons (193 suppliers). nDd the Stratford Cooperative Dairy Company, 593' tons (220

. suppliers), and'Midhirsf, 503 tons (201 . suppliers). Ammif-t the well-known fari mer residents of .Mangaloki are -Messrs. i .1. Marx, J.l\, li. J. Linn, and W. ) Lambic. Hivcrlcn lies thirteen miles along the . Elthi'm-Opuiiake road, with a c-i-oncrative i cheese factory of 28 suppliers, and a 250- . ton cheese output. It is the homo (f > dairy farmers of various nationalities, as • the following names testify:—Messrs. i Bates. Knight, O'Neill, Schumacher, • 'JVcofski. Nollairo, M'lntosh, Malone, ■ Tliounnine, and Stcincr. Te K'iri is situated nineteen miles along the Elfham-Opunako road, with a ■ farm population, a local Pc.-t Olfice, aud : a public school. Te Ifoti, which lie? a few miles along the railway line from Eltham aud Mangamingi; eleven miles away are both dairy farm districts, while Omoana, sixteen miles, is-mainly sheen country. It will be seen from the foregoing (hat (he Eltham district, particularly along the Elfham-Opunake road, is one of the most thickly-ponulated farm localities in Taranaki, and well deserves the enconium passed unon it by a recent Minister of the Clown, that he wished that all New Zealand was as well settled as that area. FROM BUSH SECTION TO THRIVING BOROUGH. A STORY OF THIRTY YEARS. The development and progress of Elth-am make one of the marked' features of Taraunlci industrial history. Originally a bush section of malai, rimu, and white pine, over-run with wild cattle and venomous mosquitoes, it was never intended for a town, but some time in the "eighties" it was cut uji into sixty-four acre sections as a workman's village. The place was never laid out as a town, nor benefited .with any land endowments. Like Tcpsy, it simply "growed," until today it is spoken of as a town and district which, of late years, has made wonderful progress. During the past twelve months, with a population 0f'17.10, EHham has erected new buildings, mostly of briek, reinforced concrete, or similar substance, to the value of .£27,500, inclusive of a magnificent Town Hall, costing =£1000, municipal offices and librarv, Jt'taOO, and municipal gasworks XIO.OOO, while, in addition, the town has a municipal water supply and drainage works, which' cost .£10,100". The town is also the headquarters of the Eltham Co-operative Dairy Company, with ten branches, which last year turned out over 33,0C0 boxes of butter," and whose turnover was something like .£100,000; the Mangatoki Dairy Company, with a turnover of =£1.1,000; the Kapouga Dairy Company, ,£10,000; the Egmont "Box Company, a big concern, employing 50 hands and with ajurnovcr of J.'25,000 per annum; and the Egmont ISaccn Company, which handles from 12,000 to 15,000 ' pigs per annum. Every year from 211,000 to 25,000 pigs are slaughtered and exported from Eltham. It is computed that from such primary industries within a few miles from Eltham, the. turnover runs into .£500,000 per year. This in a' town six and twelve miles respectively from the progressive towns of Stratford and Hawera is a sufficient indication of Eltham s possibilities. Ten or twelve years ago the bank opened, its branch thrice weekly in the town; to-day there are three residential branches, and one in Kaponga. Its main street is one of the finest macadamized structures in the. Dominion. The Beginning.' It is not .a very far cry back to 18S2, but.ore may take a glance at the place as it then appeared to Mr. T. ('. Stanners. when he and his brother. Mr. W. J. Stanners, and Messrs. F. Keaghtley and Liwreiice pitched their tent vii the. present site of the Eltham Hotel, just over th-r> railway line, piepr.ifory to blazing tho track to Opur.jke. The. present town area was then all standing bush. A packing box,, ten feet .square, did duty as a railway station.' A', creek, known as the .Mangawherowhero ilreani, ran through the present town at the Stanners Street intersection, and, unbridgod, was not trafficable. To gain access from the other side 15 tbe flag station, the picnesrs had to make a detour through tho bush to the south, and strike matches to find their way along the track. The place was a. paradise for mosquitoes, .while wild cattle v;crc ; so numerous that they ate up all the vegetation, and for sustenance devoured the birk from Hie ■ trees-in the bush. .Tn fifteen months .Mr. Stanners and his party killed 115 head of wild cattle, and this only through hunting them at intervals for food. Other read contractors at a later period lost many of t'heir men, who threw up their jobs simply for the purpose, of killing wild cattle for their hides, which at from 12s. to Ms. apiece offered a better payable proposition tcan day wages. One of the mob shot bore the" old commissariat brand of the early sixties. He was so thin that the hollows of his hip bones had become reservoirs for dcraved vegetation, from which sprang miniature forests of underpcrub. This animal's horns measured six feet across, and rho.y are now in the nossession of a WaiVganui resident. Wild cattle, hunting was one of the exciting sports of those early days. On one occasion, Mr'. Stanners and his party chased a. somewhat active bull for five miles through the bush, from tlm Eltham (lag station on towards Opunake, and then lost him. The First Settlers, Where Mr. Stanners first pitched bis camp in the district there was a little shop opposite kept by a Mr. M'Donald, and then came Mr. Chen Chong. who established a branch store on the other corner of the bush (rack. Mr. Chong, who is at present SI years of age. and a resident of New Plymouth, was the first man in New Zealand ' who discovered the edible qualities of fungus. .as ,a Chiuese food. He promulgated the industry, and lietwn the years 1872, and 100-f, fungus to the value of .£303,005 was exported from New Zealaitd. Mr. Chong also claims to hayo established the dairy industry in the Eltham district, and it is a fact that he erected the first factory in the' place, known as "The Jubilee," and described in the press of the day as the most up-to-date in New Zealand.

Other early settlers in Kltham about the time were Messrs. G. Moir, >". Muir, J. Preston. G. Calvert, J. Tuston. Kenoh, .T. Caine. T. Lee, E. Price, and G. W. Taylor, who later was first Mayor of the town, and occupied the position consecutively for six years. The town was divided into sixty-four acre sections by the Government, and said for <£" 10s. each. For years what are now the choicest sections were never troubled about. Mr. Stanners once owned the acre of land which now includes the present Coronation Hotel, Mr. 'Wilkinson's big store, other business places, Past Office, and running right up to the Central Hotel. He bought (he section for ,£IOO. cut if up, and sold it for ,£.IHJ, aid considered then that he had made a good bargain. To-day the interest on the value of the land alone would mean a good income, the frontage to the Main Street being valued at .610 per .foot. Fungus and Butter-Fat. Farm lands were then not of much value. They might have averaged ,£2 per acre, some a little more than that amount. Fat heifers were 375. Grl. each, while butter was Id. per pound. On this fhowing there was not much in the land. The principal industry was fungus. A settler would take up a section, and go Dtit to work on the roads. His family, if he had any, gathered fungus, and in many cases the edible not only paid the interest, but it paid for the land itself. Many a back-blocks farmer in the Kltham district can testify to the help which he derived from the fungus industry. Fungus grew better in the Kltham bush than in inmost any locality in Xew Zealand. Mr. Chen Chong appears to have possessed a. large amount of the business enterprise which U such a characteristic of hN people, but tn-tlnj it seems curious Unit lie was the only man of his time to uriicinate the idea, of a dairy factory in Kltham. .do slatted the Jubilee l'nctory in IES7, and fitted it. with a separator. In ISM ho exhibited at (he fiiuiodin Exhibition, and gaiivd a silver cup for the hot half-ton of butler available for export, and al<o two certificates. At one lime lis had 200 cows in milk. He put a mimlwr of people on the land at .20 per acre, with a purchasing clause. They sold and sold again, and no doubt very properly got the benefit of the unearned increment, and as the butter industry developed, land very soon increased in value. The time, came when the farmers suggested a cooperative dairy factory, and the Eltham co-opentiv? factory w.is started on cooperative lines, with fifty suppliers, .

Eltham, according to the 1011 census, lias now a population of 1750 people, witli :i(il) residences and lUli >hcps. On December 111, KW',l, tin- estimated population of (lie borough was MOD. Assuming the estimate to be approximately- correct, tile increase from December 31, 1000, to April 2, lail (a period of lifkeu months), is 200, or about l:it per thousand per annum. I'hu nalural birth, increase is estimated at 2li per thousand, so that it is evident that during the period nijutbncd there nave been a large number of people w.io have made their homes in. the town. This is in itself an evidence ot prosperuv, ami an object lesson as to the definite advantages to be gained on progressive but saund ami commercial lines. The progress of Eltham has been of a gradual nature, but more pronounced during the past (en years. In the first portion of this article reference was made to the early experiences of .Mr. T. C. Stanners, after whom the new Stanners Street has teen named. Some further interesting notes on the town during the nast twenty years are contributed by Mr. E. Parroti, an ex-Mayor, councillor, and business man, who with others has nlayed a prominent part in pushing the town ahead. Mr, Parrott's Story. "When I came to Eltham in 1832," said -Mr. Parrott, "there were. I think, three shops. Mr. Chen Ching'? was on the corner where young Mr. Hobbs's place is now; Mr. R. A. Adams, now of Patea, was situated on Messrs. Tnyler ond Scrivener's nresent site, while Messrs. Biickeridge and Wilkinson were at the. other cud ot the town. There was also a cobblers shop and one or two other places. The Mangawherowhero Stream ran through the town, and was a regular eyesore to the place. Bush abounded over the Eltham boundary, and the big Nsaere swamp had not been reclaimed, lhis work was performed afterwards by the Government at a cost of .£.l uer acre, and the land is now worth .£35 per acre. Tho belt of country running towards ficpanga was fettled, with here and there patches of bush. I came to Eltham inst at the opening of the Eltham Dairy Company, but Mr. Chen Ching's factory was also running then. The first year's' turnover of the Eltham factory was something like XIOOO, against .£IOO,OOO now,'a j marvellous increase in nineteen years. The town is named, I Relieve, after a place in Ken:, the naming being given by some surveyors It was declared a borough in 1901. Prior to that date Eltham was one of tho ridings of the ilawera County, and it had a very live representative in the person of Mr. Uody, at present Mayor of Te Kuiti. Just before we made 'the town a borough, we raised a loan of .£2OOO to wideband culvert the narrow crossing over the stream—the approach to which was of such an objectionable nature. Tho street at its lowest level was risen fifteen feet, ami given its present very presentable appearance. First Public Works. "Mr. G. W. Tayler was the first niavor, and continued in that position for "six years. Mr. Tayler did a lot of good work in his time, and generally was a progressive man. The town then went in for a loan of JMfi.OOO, for water supply and sewerage works, with an extra X 7500 for street-making and other purposes. A sum of .£SOOO was raised for house connections in connection with the drainage and sewerage. During my time on the council about 1007, we raised .£OSOO for further street improvements and water works, and then we went in for a. .£IO.OOO loan for a. municipal gas works, and .£GOOO for municipal town hall .and municap 1 offices. There was a. tight as to whether the gas works should be controlled by the municipality or by private enterprise, and in .-tho eiul victory went io those advocating the municipal side. The result must bo'considered "as-eminently satisfactory. We raised theinonav at 3! per cent., and on terms which during its period will absolutely result in a saving of the whole of the loan money. \)e are, I believe, one of. four boroughs in New Zealand whoso gas apparatus has the automatic lighting'and extinguishing apparatus. We have seventy street lamps: "Eltham is perhaps more favourablv situalod from a geographical point of view than any other town in Taranaki. We have an nrlerial road leading 28 miles, right into Opunake, and carrying more traffic than any other town arterial road in Taranaki. All along the route the holdings ■ are- small, ranging from 100 to 200 acres, while the road itself is intersected every mile and a half or two milrs by other roads. Another arterial line is the liawhitoroa Road,- extending through Oniona and into the back-blocks, on to Pipiriki. There is good dairy country for sixteen miles along tlio Rawhitoroa Road, and then sheep country into Omono. Amongst, those who have done good service for tho town aro the fir.4 mayor (Mr. Tayler), Mr. Stanners (also an ex-movor, and a thorough, practical man), Mr. Dive, M.P., who has fostered tho dairy industry and its connection, Mr. Jacob Marks, who liolds important positions in the Eltham Dairy, Eltham Box, Manentoki and Eltham Bacon Companies, Mr. Wilkinson, as a general and progressive business man. .and Messrs. Potts, Hardv, Martin. JT'Garrv. Graves, Pitch, Thompson, Hill. Blackball, and Tristram, tho last-named having been lown clerk of the borough since its inception.