HARD TIMES

Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1932, Page 3

HARD TIMES

WORSE IN BY-GONE YEARS.

(Auckland “Star”.)

“Yes, times are hard, but I have seen them worse in Auckland in years gone by,” said a man who has lived nearly 70 ydai.s .in. Auckland, and whose recollections go back to the days when the war in the Waikato; was ended and the British troops were withdrawn. ‘‘You see,” lie said, “when the soldiers le.lt for England, that meant the sudden stoppage of the money spent in Auckland for military stores and also by the soldiers’ wives. It was a small place in those days, and the position became series for the shopkeepers. Many of them who hail been doing a roaring business suddenly found their customers gone, and a fan number of the traders bad finally to seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Court.

“Of course, a lot of the employees lost their jobs, and the rebel work offered was only 4/6 per day, ‘cracking diamonds.’ That was the term used to describe the breaking of metal to re--1 pair the roads. Machine crushing of lava was not introduced for many years afterwards, f remember my dad was .living in a tent at Penrose cracking I diamonds for some time before he could get a better job. He also did navvy work cutting down Arclf Hill, I and helped to build a breastwork in I Freeman’s Hay. Then lie managed to | get to the Hokitika, goldfields, and mother went out sewing to help tp feed us kids. I often used to put nasturtium leaves between slices of ; dry bread to give ,itra flavour, because \ve had no buttbiv \Vhcni mother had the money to spare, she used to send me to a boardinghouse to buy dripping, and I used to ask the lady to put.some jellv gravy with it. On two occasions mother gave my brother and mysell a,| the bread there was in the- house, and went out food'oss to look for jynrk. One time she fainted in the street for want [of food, and she was driven home in a trap bv a good-natured man, who also provided two leaves of bread, some cheese, and a pat of butter. One day. when we were’living in Chapel Street, a gentleman, whom 1 afterwards learned was 1 the vicar 0" StMatthew’s paid me twopence to carry a letter over to Bishops’ Court, Parnell, .

“f mention these facts because it is just as well for people to-day to know that hal'd times are in due course succeeded by more prosperous ones. fn those days-, of course, there was”-lie export of butter and meat. Tt war timber, gum. and flax, and when the market shunned for those lines Auckland got another bad spell, but all the people could do was, in the words ol the eld song, ‘wait till the clouds roll by.’ All we can do at tbe present time is to live frugally, go on hoping, and .smile. Just as surely as a low tide is followed by a high one, so is a depression -succeeded -by better times.