The Hokitika Guardian MONDAY, MAY 15th, 1922. WELCOME 1

Hokitika Guardian, 15 May 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian MONDAY, MAY 15th, 1922. WELCOME 1

The farmers’ and students’ winter school which opened to-day is an event which marks a new era for the district. The first duty in this matter i» to extend n hearty welcome to the visitors who are attending to-day and taking a practical interest in the welfare of the district. That duty was discharged at the Town Hall this morning, when a civic welcome was extended to the visiting professors and lecturers and also to the visiting students. Realising the import of the visit, we desire to join in the welcome extended, and feel sure on behalf of the district that- the feelings of appreciation 1 expressed will be re-echoed throughout the length of Westland. Although the winter school is sitting in Hokitika it is an opportunity for the West Coast generally to participate in the ethicational fare provided. It is due almost entirely to the enterprise and influence of the Progress J.engue, that associated with tile Workers Educational Association the local School has been inaugurated. The district is fortunate in being able to enlist tne good offices of the two organisations, and is much beholden to ali concerned for the practical interest taken in the welfare of the Coast. r I he friendly visit of such good intent is a reminder what*we are-drawing closer and closer to our big neighbour oil the other side of the southern- Alps. That mountain barrier which so long divided, has now been pierced, and through the portal will flow a stream of intercourse and commerce which must have an immediate effect- on our progress. e have complained in the past of our isolation, and at times we have found ourselves very remote, and felt very much out of the picture. But it is apparent we have never been forgotten ‘ Over there, there has been a practical chord of sympathy which lias been touched, and is now being expressed in a practical and intimate manner. We are glad to welcome the learned and busy men from the City of Plains. It will be felt that Westland is now in the picture, and no doubt there will be a response to the helping hand stretched out to assist us. Westland so far as rural development is concerned is in its infancy. The district has never had an adequate market for its products or produce. The paucity of the population has limited the market and kept prices often too low to be remunerative. In tfie very immediate future the Canterbury market will be readily available to Westland and the West Coast. That stroke of good fortune will bring us greater advancement than we at present dream of. Land values must improve and the market at hand will justify more cultivation and more production. A payable market all the year round for the overflow products of the land will work a charm we cannot yet realise. The gentlemen here to-day seem to be the ndvancegiiard of the army of East Coasters which is going to bo more nnd more intimately interested in the West Coast. For that reason they deserve tho most sincere welcome which can l>c expressed and a practical appreciation for the good service they will render the district by the valuable and useful information to be imparted.