PROGRESSIVE TURUA.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXII, Issue 4343, 16 November 1921, Page 2

PROGRESSIVE TURUA.

In the Jast issue of the “Gazette” there appeared a two-pol-umn report of a meeting of the Turiia branch of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union, from our resident staff reporter on the Hauraki Plains. Several subjects of firstrate importance to Turua and district were discussed, and & right 'healthy interest was displayed in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the town and district. The vital queston of shipping received adequate treatment, and it is gratifying to note that .improvements in the services appear to be assured. The speakers who alluded to the necessity of patronising local businesses got down to bedrock in respect to the foundations of a town’s growth and prosperity. It may be allowed that certain : classes of goods or services can be secured to much greater advantage in larger towns where particular lines are specialised in, £nd which may not even be. stocked in, the smaller centres ; but in regard to ordinary general merchandise, people should always deal in their own town, provided, of course, that prices and quality are reasonably satisfac.tory. No centre can prosper if the ready cash, the commercial life-blood, is sent away, and the book debts piled up in the home town. Patronising local industry means such a lot, not only directly, but also indirectly. Where, the money is spent, there the trade will flourish, and commercial. educational, and social institutions will develop, but if there is no local patriotism of a practical kind the place will wear a half-starved, anaemic look, unattractive to residents and visitors alike. Turua has its natural advantages, the foremost being its fine trade waterway, which the proposed new wharf will greatly enhance the value of. A town board will doubtless be formed in due course, to attend to the town’s civic requirements. If the people of Turua will only be true to themselves and their town and district, a continuously progressive future is in store for this old and happily ( situated -Hauraki Plains town.