FREEHOLDING TAUMARUNUI BOROUGH

Dominion, 14 March 1919, Page 6

FREEHOLDING TAUMARUNUI BOROUGH

PURCHASING NATIVE OWNERS' INTERESTS. By Telegraph—Press Association. Taumarunui, March 13. The matter of freehokling the borough of Taumarunui was advanced a stage further to-day at a well-attended meeting of Native owners, presided over by Mr. 0. P. Earl, Registrar of the Maori Land Board. The meeting was held to consider an application of eight lessees for the freehold of properties chiefly in the main street, opposite the railway station. The Registrar advised the Natives to offer the whole Native township to the Government, and the Natives seemed to be unanimously in favour of this course, but after a retirement they met again and indicated that they would deal in detail with the private applications now before them. The meeting unanimously resolved that six of the sections applied for be sold at the present Government valuation of the Native owners' interest in the unimproved value. The 1017 valuations on these were: Dr. M'Knight, ,£2485; Thomas, .£2137; House and Dating, X' 2334; Abraham and Williams, ,£1117; G. L. Winger, .£323; Frank Smith, ,£323. The meeting also agreed to sell sections to the Bank of New Zealand for .£6OO and to the Bank of Australasia for -£240. The total amount of the sales was .£97110. The Taumarunui Borough Council has already spent ,£38,000 on improvements, including streets, gas, high pressure water supplv, and underground draining. A poll is about to be taken for raising further loans of .£SIOO for electric light, coal, pas, completion of foot-paths, concreting the main ro<\d for about three miles, a stone crusher, and road-making plant. Unless the town is freeholded the proposals may not lie carried, as every loan loads up the Native owners interest in the unimproved value.