Paeroa, Production, Progress.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4395, 27 March 1922, Page 2

Paeroa, Production, Progress.

Rich Lands on Borough Border Needing Protection and Drainage. Superbly Fertile Rotokohu Area. 0 Effective Organisation Essential. (Editorial.)

Men of intelligence among all classes in the community—farmers, merchants, professionals, labourers—are all convinced that this district has a great, populous and prosperous future in store, and incidentally it is commonly admitted that Paeroa, on account of its central position, must share in this development. But whether or not there will be any striking material progress within the lifetime of the, present adult generation depends on the spirit displayed in the form of concentrated, organised effort by the community as a whole. Hbwever great the potentialities of a district may be, the inhabitants will never come into the fruits, thereof until and unless humarii labour, inventive genius, private enterprise, and skilfully directed community effort per medium of local organisations are all thoroughly, earnestly, enthusiastically, and consistently devoted to the ends of progress. For lack of the qualities abovenamed, the rude Alaskan savage might, sit huddled oyer his smoky fire of brushwood though there be a coalfield beneath him containing sufficient potential • •heat to warm millions of homes and generate untold power. Paeroa and district is to some ex* tent at a similar disadvantage, inasmuch as the latent sources of wealth in our midst are not developed—and this great sin of omission is due to the deplorable apathy of the community in general to the things of value that lie around waiting to be made use of. , , Admitting many shortcomings, it can yet be truly said that the history of the Paeroa Chamber of Commerce has been one long fight against public apathy, and, worse still, against the deadly, soul-destroying apathy of those whose interests it has been ths Chamber’s endeavour to forward When interest. has banished apathy, and public support has been given, the Chamber has been able to point to good results, such as the Paeroa-Hau-raki Plains passenger and mail services, which are proving beneficial to both the borough and the Plains. But under even the most fav 7 ourable conditions, as far as Paeroa is concerned the business of the Hauraki Plains will assuredly go to those who seek it most keenly, and to the shops where the best prices and selection are available. Ultimately, Paeroa will not enjoy any special advantages whatever in respect to the Hauraki Plains trade. When the Kirikiri (Thames) bridge is constructed across the Waihou River the central place on the Plains, which is Ngatea, will be within easier reach of Thames than of Paeroa, and it will then be wholly a case of the survival of the fittest—which is as it should be in the scheme of things, for ceaseless battling and eternal vigilance is the price of progress. Logically, therefore, it follows that the people of each district must make the utmost of the material- Nature has endowed their respective localities with, on these they must rely for their sustenance, and whatever else may come their way cari be counted as windfalls. Now we come to the kernel of the subject in hand. On the boundary of the Borough of Paeroa there lie some thousands of acres of Hauraki Plains land, much of which is equal in potential productive value to the very finest land on the Plains—which means as good dairying land as will be found anywhere else in the Dominion ; some authorities say as good as any other in the world ! Of this rich land, which is only a few minutes’ walk from the Paeroa Post Office, only about 500 acres is in anything like a productive state, the major portion being only partially drained swamp and rough growth, and subject to inundation when the Ohinemuri and Waihou rivers overflow their banks. Had it not been for apathy and lack of foresight and imagination on the part of the" people of Paeroa, the whole of this land, roughly termed the Rotokohu area, would now be producing up to the limit of its astonishing capacity. For some of the drained land an owner of a farm was offered £125 per acre, but refused —and is not sorry he did so, even though prices have fallen ; some eighty acres carries 60 milch cows and other stock, and the possessor is willing to put his returns up against those secured from any similar area on the Plains, and is not afraid of being beaten. The people living within the abovementioned area have not been wholly insensible to the value of the land, and the need for adequate protection from floods in order that they might obtain the fruits of their labours and carry on with the development of what is undoubtedly the bulwark of the nation—the farming industry. Some five or six years ago they formed an organisation called “The Tirohia

Progressive League.” This league endeavoured to form a drainage board, but the proposal was vetoed by the Public Works Department But this rebuff did not in any way minimise in the eyes of the settlers the importance of th? objects they had in view; rather, the need for enlarged and continued effort became more and more apparent, and a larger body was formed, called the Tirohia-Rotokohu Ratepayers’ Association, and into which the Tirohia Progressive League was merged. For some time, mainly owing to the enthusiasm and energy of Mr Geo. Keeling, this enlarged body displayed considerable activity, and it was due to its efforts that the Public Works Department initiated the present Tirohia-Rotokohu drainage scheme, which, when completed, will drain and protect this area. Faith in the good intentions of the Public Works Department induced old settlers to remain and endeavour to improve * their holdings, and also new settlers took a similar attitude. But faith without works is of little avail, and the landholders, both old and new, are now experiencing that hope deferred which maketh the heart sick. The Department has been guilty of an unconscionable deJay in completing the drainage and protective works. In spite of the fact that twelve long years have elapsed since the inauguration of the work, that the 1910 Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers Commission recommended that the projects above-nam-ed should be proceeded with, and that the money was made available, the area is still subject to serious damage by flooding. Worse still, it appears that the money earmarked for a. specific purpose was misappropriately applied to the payment of stop-banking the river to protect that area of land lying to the west of the Waihou River, the selling price of which should have included the cost of its protection in the first place. We have the outrageously unjust anomaly that the area actually protected is outside of the territory for the safeguarding of which the money was originally allocated, as advocated- by the 1910 Commission. Furthermore, the western block has been embanked to the detriment of the originally intended beneficiary, the eastern area, and the former lands have been sold by the Government. However, the Public Works Department is now building the long-desired eastern stop-bank, but if the Rotokohu area is to be saved before the settlers, both Europeans and Natives, are seriously impoverished, then the Department’s operations must be considerably expedited. The drainage and protection of the Rotokohu area are, with the proposed road from Paeroa to Patetonga, projects of the greatest importance to the welfare of the district as a whole including the commercial prosperity of Paeroa. The Pae-roa-Patetonga proposal, which has received much attention in these columns, must wait for a future occasion for recurrence to it. The pressing need of the moment is to so awaken the interest of the public and all local bodies in the district to the importance of the Rotokohu lands that combined and persistent efforts will be made to have the necessary drainage and stopbanks completed. Let us shake off the paralysing apathy which is a curse to any community; with powerful and persistent efforts we shall assuredly sweep away the drawbacks against drainage, flood protection, navigation, bad roads in some cases and no roads in others, which are holding up progress and throttling every enterprise. The problems involved are not by any means impossible of solution if the people can but become possessed of the determination to see things through, and will display, public spirit and foresight, or, in other words, enlightened self-interest.

A report of a meeting of the Ti: ohia-Rotokohu-Pereniki Ratepayers’ Association is published elsewhere in this issue, and references appear in the local and general column. The annual social evening of the Association takes place next Thursday.