HUTT VALLEY'S THRIVING TOWNS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1935, Page 26 (Supplement)

HUTT VALLEY'S THRIVING TOWNS

THE beautiful valley of the Hutt River with • : with''broad expanse of level country has .■',[ always been of the utmost importance to Wellington. In the, earliest days of settlement it furnished the.timber with which the first houses were built. Later it.was Wellington's granary, then followed the days when it became not only its dairy and. vegetable farm, but its favourite picnic ground and its "Rotten Row," where through its winding leafy lanes visitors rode or drove. Mason's Gardens and Ludlam Park became almost world-famous, and there are thousands today who regret their disappearance. There is no district 'in the Dominion with greater possibilities for future development than the Hutt Valley. Unified control of the whole area, cannot much longer be delayed. Already it has a population which ranks among those of the cities of the Dominion—Lower Hutt and Petorie alone have a population of 27,000—and the growth of the district has only commenced. Even in the lower valley hundreds of acres still remain which can be used for residential purposes and the low hills on either side are hardly occupied at all. It is true that Petone is almost fully occupied, but its future is indicated by what is happening today in its western area, where houses are giving way to factories. Under wise guidance this will not mean ugliness. Many of the present factories at Petone have set the example of setting themselves on beautiful surroundings. - A CITY OF THE FUTURE. The industrial area will naturally extend, over the whole waterfront from Korokoro to Point Howard. Reclamation Will take place at the river estuary and the Korokoro Bight; shipping facilities will be developed, and the city of the Hutt Valley will be ranked as one of the chief centres of the Dominion. > Already the divergence of Lower Hutt as a residential and Petone as ah industrial area has created a situation in which the two boroughs must'either co-operate more closely or diverge more=widely in their policies; and the situation is made more acute rather than less by the "fact that the Lower Hutt area extends seawards on the'eastern side of Petone and embraces the railway workshops and the Moera settlement, which form a strong-industrial unit. The amalgamation of the two boroughs, which are separated merely by a line on a map, was, some years ago, a subject of lively controversy, as the result of a crisis that arose over the question of gas supply. The formation of a joint gas board ended that controversy, for the time being. But it is only sleeping. The electricity supply is controlled by a board which embraces the whole valley, and much more; and the Hutt River is in the care of a board which operates from the sea to Silverstream. The Hutt Valley Power Board was constituted as such, and has suffered no parochial troubles. The first river board (1879-1883) was formed to control the river up to Silverstream. A second board, formed in 1885, covered the same area, but lasted only two years. In 1898 the present board came, into existence, but in the interim Petone and Lower Hutt had both carried out protective works, and Petone, after vainly seeking the co-operation of Lower Hutt, had built its own stop-bank. The board's area therefore excluded Petone, and for a time Taita (upstream from Lower Hutt). The major part of Petone is still outside the sphere of the, river board's operations, though an extension to cover the whole borough is regarded as a matter of no serious difficulty. Amalgamation has thus been achieved in regard to two specific serviceselectricity and gas supply—and it will be interesting—and perhaps, to those not concerned, amusing— to see how much or how little influence these examples will exert when the broad question of unified local government arises again. When the "gasworks crisis" occurred in 1921 the subject was discussed with great vigour; Lower Hutt fought a civic election upon it, and so brought the gas board into existence; and incidentally obtained" a very forward-look-ing council. But it was clearly demonstrated that, though two adjoining boroughs may look like one, they do not necessarily, feel like it, and may take'a deal of persuading to bring them into harmony. To Pito-one (Petone)' (the end of the beach)" belongs the honour of receiving the immigrants

who came by the first four ships—the: Cuba, the Tory, the Oriental, and the Aurora, whose names are commemorated in the names of four streets in the city. In those days the whole valley was forest-clad, almost down to the Pitoone sandhills. In the Korokoro Bight and also near the mouth of the river were Maori villages. The little settlement had hardly come into existence than the flooding of low-lying area by the waters of the Hutt River caused a panic and the momentous decision was made to transfer to Lambton, which became the nucleus of the city of Wellington. When the business portion of the little community was transferred to Wellington those who sought a living from the land settled higher up/the valley j and in the course of a few years a small settlement became established at the site of the crossing of the river, just about where the main bridge now stands. The earliest official census gives the population in. 1874 as 873, plus 130 at Waiwhetu and 60 at Belmont. The first total no doubt includes Petone's population, living on a few farms with 'homesteads on the higher ground. • The earliest forms of local government were the Hutt County Council and the Wellington District Highways Board, the offices of the latter being at Lower Hutt. LOWER HUTT ESTABLISHED.* The first break-away from the county came with the formation of the Lower Hutt Town Board,'which controlled an area very small in comparison with the present borough, which has-the largest area of any borough in the Dominion. Throughout .the nineties the most prominent figure in local affairs at Lower Hutt was Mr. W. A. Fitzherbert, a member of the Town Board. In April, 1890, he proposed the formation of a borough, principally, it must be admitted, to escape from the paying of a rate which the

Ol FfW years ago, the Hutt Valley was a long way from Wellington. Q^/\ With its few but vigorous local industries, Petone Was a self-contained town. Loner Hutt somewhat dreamy and aloof, cherished memories of the early days and enjoyed the possession of descendants of the pioneers. Wellington people moved out to "the Valley" for the sake of quiet and to revel in spacious gardens, counting city amenities well lost for these rural conditions. The railway service was good, but the road was abominable. _ Two factors converted the valley boroughs swiftly from country villages to bright towns, and helped greatly to attract bigger populations. These were the supply of electricity from the newly constructed Mangahao hydro-electric station, and the permanent paving of the Hutt Road,.which now carries a very heavy passenger traffic to the valley towns in State-owned buses and private.motor vehicles. ■ ■

Hutt County Council threatened to levy to compensate it for the loss of the revenue from the tollgate which had been in existence at Kaiwarra for thirty-four years, and which had brought an aggregate revenue to the Hutt County Council of £85,000.

The balance of the land was made the subject of a-town plan, and hundreds of acres were cut up into sections, which were readily sold, and m a very few years thousands were added to the population.

As the result of a public meeting the Government was petitioned to form a borough; to extend above the Taita Hotel, and to cover overSOOO acres. As the result of counter petitions the boundary was brought further south, and the area was reduced to 4200 acres. The .first election of borough councillors took place in 1891. . .-■■■■ The total revenue of the infant borough was £1259 6s 3d, of which rates contributed £593, an adjustment .with the Wellington Road Board £170, publicans' licenses £145, and the Government subsidy £141. The last year's revenue of the borough in its general account alone was £20,312 Is 3d, of which rates contributed £8885 17s 6d, licences £3092 14s 9d (of this amount publicans' licences, such a proportionately large item in the infant borough, was £197), rents £652 7s Elections were keenly fought in those days. An account in "The Post" of the second council elections states.that, "a. feature of the.election was.the number'of. vehicles running in the interests of Mr. Cudby; the" well-appointed traps and the bell-toppered Jehus giving the appearance of a gubernatorial procession more than the usual appurtenances of an election campaign." In 1898 an important step was taken when,, jointly with the Petone Borough—which now. had a,population almost double that of Lower Hutt—a Bill was.promoted to give Petone the right to supply gas to Lower Hutt. - . GROWTH OF THE BOROUGHS. Though steady the growth of Lower Hutt was slow as compared with Petone: 1878, Petone 187, Lower Hutt 775; 1886, Petone 1046, Lower Hutt 852; 1891, Petone 2178, Lower Hutt 1329; 1901, Petone 3780, Lower Hutt 1822. Petbne's lead was steadily increased till 1926, when the figures were: Petone, 9220; Lower Hutt 7962. During the two years which # followed, Lower Hutt made the pace too hot'for Petone, and in 1928 the figures were: Petone, 10,190; Lower Hutt, 10,725. During the twenty years from 1900 to 1920 steady progress was made, roads were formed, water and drainage systems established, new land opened up, and a recreation area purchased and laid out. The borough was well served by its councillors, who were led by Mayors E. P. Bunny, 0. Stevens, T. W. McDonald, T. A. Peterkin, H. Baldwin, and E. P. Rishworth. In 1921 Mr. W. T. Strand was elected Mayor, and was associated with what became known as the "businessmen's" council. Schemes of wide import were put in hand. The Government was induced to make a branch line to Waterloo, and to purchase all the land in the vicinity. On some of this land, south of White's Line, Moera was built, ■ ■ •

Mr. Strand;was.followed in 1929 as Mayor by Sir A. F. Roberts, who held office two years when Mr. W. T, Strand took office, till March, j.s»o3. . The present Mayor, Mr. J. W. Andrews, has, with his council, during a difficult period done ' excellent service in consolidating the work done and improving the finance of Lower^Hutt, which, is one of the lowest-rated boroughs in New Zealand. - FROM FARMS TO FACTORIES. a After the fright early settlers received from floods during its early years, Petone made little progress till 1878. There were a few farms . set back some distance -from thcsea front, but ,in 1878 the population was only 187. In that year the establishment of the railway workshops alongside the Petone Station drew to Petone men of the artisan type, who rapidly pushed the town ahead, till it soon outstripped its neighbour. . Apart from the main. Hutt Road the only thoroughfare was the beach track, and even this was not surveyed for.many years. The first street formed is what is now known . as.Petone Avenue, but then as VogeL Road, which" extended from the Hutt Road by way of what is now Victoria Street South to the beach. Other streets parallel to Victoria Street Were laid off south of what' is now Jackson Street, but which then was not. Mr.: Jackson, who owned the land through which Jackson Street now'runs, sold building'sections and gave rights of way between them; and this accounts for the crooked and narrow street which is now being straightened. ' During the. early days in Petone, as well as other portions.of the Valley, the roads were under the. control, of the. Wellington District Highways, Board, ,of which "Mr. Thos. Mason (maternal grandfather of Sir Thomas Wilford) was chairman. ■ \ . ■ In,JLBBO Petone formed a Town Board, and associated with this board are the well-known names of Messrs. W. J. Kirk (chairman),'and Messrs. Buick, Battersley, Carter, Curtis, Jackson, and S. R. Johnson, who became the first Mayor of the town. ■ • ' In 1884 the Hutt Park railway was laid along the foreshore from the Korokoro Bight, to • the mouth, of the river by a private company, chiefly io carry racing patrons from Wellington to the racecourse on the Hutt Park. It also served the Gear Meat Company to carry offal, which was buried on Gear Island.' ~: THE RISE OF PETONE. Petone was in those early days already fixing its destiny as a manufacturing centre. In 1878 the. railway workshops were followed by Mr. Gear's slaughterhouse, from which developed the largest meat works in New Zealand, and'up

to a few years ■ ago the largest south of the Line.

In 1885 came the erection of Petone Woollen Mills, and since then industry after industry has found a home in Petone.

In 1888 a borough was established, with a population of about 1500. The first Mayor, Mr. S. R. Johnson, received his appointment from the Crown. Actually the.first to occupy the Mayoral chair was Mr. W. J. Kirk, the chairman of the Town Board, who had associated with him Commissioners Jackson, Collett, Kelly and Curtis.

In the following year Mr. R. C'Kirk, then a rising solicitor in the infant borough, was elected Mayor, and he held office till 1901. These years were probably the most formative in the.history.of Petone, and to Mr. Kirk's wise forethought and judgment, and to his legal acumen the borough is heavily indebted. Gasworks were established, an excellent bargain made in the pur chase of a recreation ground, drainage works carried out, a sound and up-to-date water and sewage scheme planned, roads made, and footpaths kerbed and channelled. Perhaps the most important work of all was the removal of the flood menace. After.vainly endeavouring to get the co-operation of Lower Hutt to a larger joint scheme, Petone built its own stop-bank, which saved the.town from flood on numerous occasions.

Since then the borough has been served by the following Mayors: Mr. R. Mothes, Mr. G. London, Mr. J. W. McEwan, Mr. D. McKenzie, and Mr. A. Scholefield, the present Mayor. 'A son of Mr. G. London serves on the present council. Mr. J. W. McEwan, who is at present a member of the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board, of which he has been chairman, was Mayor for twenty years, and Mr. D. McKenzie, after seven years' service, died while in office.

Included in Petone is the hillside suburb of Korokoro, destined one day to carry a large population.

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One of the main features of Petone is it* beach, the safest in New Zealand, which is thronged each summer evening, and is a popular bathing resort. Much has recently been done by the Petone Beautifying Society to popularise the beach. ■ • THE UPPER VALLEY. Upper Hutt is too far removed—by travelling time rather than distance—to become a popular residential district, though all the way between. Upper and Lower Hutt, except in the Taita Gorge, is dotted with homes, placed there for the sake of the beauty of the valley. Though it' will be long before the upper reaches of the valley are claimed by the city's population, they will continue to increase in favour among those able to live so far from town, for the district is the most charming within easy reach of Wellington. .Originally, the upper valley was very difficult to reach, and the railway on one side of the river and the road on the other had to be cut out of the steep sides of the Taita Gorge. In the early days white settlers going in and from the Wairarapa mostly used the long coastal route; the Hutt Valley's exit'Vb the north was a Maori track through the bush. Then a road was put through by the Government. In the portion of the valley beyond Silverstream this road followed the line that divided the birch forest (of which some beautiful bits still exist)' and the totara forest. The land in the upper valley was first allocated in holdings of 100 acres each, held mostly by; absentees to whom they had been granted in return for their contributions to the New Zealand Company. A number of these blocks were later subdivided, and others were leased and subleased; and in the end the land was almost cleared of forest Dairy farming became the leading industry, supplemented by trade in such simple forest products as firewood, posts and rails, mine-props, charcoal, and pit-sawn timber. Sawmills were established in Whiteman's Valley, the Wallace Settlement (now Wallaceville)' Mungaroa, and Akatarawa. A small settlement sprang up at Trentham. The construction of the Wairarapa railway gave the district a new outlook, and in 1876 a railway station-was built at Upper Hutt Residences clustered about it, and in 1908 a town district was proclaimed. It was elevated into a borough on February 1, 1926. EASTBOURNE AND DATS BAY. . Geographically "the Bays" which lie eastward of Petone have, nothing to do with the Hutt Valley, though they are popularly grouped with it, chiefly because they are, by roadj reached through Petone. These suburbs are the principal seaside resorts of Wellington, for there are good bathing beaches along many miles of the coast, the hills are attractive rambling grounds, and the bays themselves are delightful places for residence, especially in the warmer part of the year. Hence weekend and summer cottages make up a considerable part of the townships. Up to forty years ago, Day's Bay was occupied by a handful of settlers, one of whom, Mr. Williams, built a wharf for his ship, the Mana. This resulted in picnic parties using Day's Bay instead of Somes Island, previously a favourite spot. A little later settlement began at Eastbourne. Then a road was formed by the Hutt County authorities, and settlement quickly began. Today Eastbourne, as a fully-canstituted borough, provides its residents with good roads, extensively planted with trees, a water supply, and a sewerage system. It conducts, by steamer and buses,.the whole public passenger service, and in this way caters for a vast number ol visitors as well as the borough residents. "The Bays" offer no great opportunities for expansion, the useful territory being mostly the level land at the foot of steep hillsides. But Eastbourne has had its natural attractions increased by the systematic planting of the streets with trees—a work well begun many years ago and lately completed by the Borough Council. Day's Bay contains Williams Park, consisting of a magnificent native bush reserve and a pleasure ground equipped with tennis courts, bathing sheds, and other holiday facilities. The township itself has not yet reached' municipal status, being under the control of the Hutt County Council; and, lacking any form of local government of its own, still has to acquire such amenities as a water supply and sewerage system.