AS OTHERS SEE US.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4494, 20 November 1922, Page 3

AS OTHERS SEE US.

PAEROA A FORTUNATE TOWN. CENTRE OF ENTERPRISE 1 AND WEALTH. (By the Auckland "Star’s” Special Representative.) (Reprinted from tihe Auckland Star.) Paerpa is fortunate in its unique position/ It is the railway juuctloi • for trains to Hamilton and Auckland and Wellington and to the Thames and Walhi. When the Pokeno-Paeroa line goes’ through—and this mostnecessary line of communication cannot long be delayed—it will be a four-way junction and the heart of a< : tremendous railway traffic. Then Paeroa will become one of the most important centres of the North Island. The Paerpa-Pokeno railway will shorten the distance to Auckland by 40 miles—an immense saving in haulage, expense, and time. ' NO HUMBUG HUSTLE-. The people of Paeroa do not get wildly excited .when they tell you of their great expectations. On the contrary, t,hey are calmly, even coldly, confident, as though to say: “Tills must be, for so it has been crdained.’’ There U no Yankee hustle about, the town—that humbug hustle which is vastly more apparent than real. The people nulve quietly about their solid business, and they “get there” just as well in this unobstrusive fashion, Even the motor cars refuse to rush; they roll leisurely along. And the are many—another -' evidence of prosperity.

AN EPOCH OF EXPANSION. The agricultural wealth of, the Hauraki Plains and 'other country adjacent to Paeroa ensures the solidity, and continued prosperity of this town. For the weailth now being produced on the Plains is', roughly, only one-fourth of what it will be. Imagine this vast area of land, only Waif of which is settled and dhlyjialf of that developed. Take into consideration again the added production that will spread from more intensive culture and more scientific (arming, especially in regard to the Improvement of dairy herds. Then can be formed some idea of the produce that will ppur from the Plains — and the great growth of Paeroa thereby. The experts of the Department of Agriculture have declared that so rich „ pre the lands of the Hauraki Plains that they can be cropped for over 40 years without fertilisers!

MODERN LIGHTING AND SANITATION,

Paeroa has the distinction o£ being tihe first .town inNew Zealand to receive electric lighting from a power board. The Thames Valley Eletcric ’■ Power Board has' fine offices in the town, which has benefited greatly by its operations. Paeroa has also modern sanitation, a great part of the town being sewered. There is a fine district high school, recently completed, and building, both of business and private premises, is proceeding at.p. healthy i>ace. Four new shops are in*course of erection in the main street, and plans have been dr,awn -foFthree others,' on which an early start will be made. The remarkable • cleanliness of the 'streets is a credit to the local authority, and the town is further admirable by the work of the Paeroa Beautifying Society, which is always doing something to improve the outlook. The‘borough council has spent, or is spending, £55,000 on local works, including £32,000 fop drainage, £20,- .. 000 for reading, and £lOOO for improving the beautiful and extensive domain. The estimated cost of the : War memorial, in the form of an archway at the main entrance to the domain is £B5O, this money being raised by public subscription, PLEASURE RESORTS AND SOCIAL x . LIFE. Besides the pleasure walks in the domain there are football fields, cricket ar,eas, bowling greens, and tennis courts. Costly improvements have, been made to the famous Paeroa racecourse, situated on the road to Hikutaia, from which rome revenue is obtained all the year rounl by grazing cattle within the track area.

The social life of the town is enhanced by the Ohinemuri Club, which has splendid rooms in the. old Criterion Hotel buildlhg, situated on the river bank,', near the bridge. Mr J. L. Hanna is president, and supervises the welcoming and dispensing of hospitality to visitors, who need never lack guides to slhow them over the town apd .district remissness t rapidly rebuked. The business element is kept whip- ... ped up by the Business Men’s Association, of which. Mr Jas. Couper is the commissioner-secretary. Paeroa has hp greater champion than Mr Couper, who has pride in its past progress and unlimited faith in its (future. A fact not. altogether to the good must be recorded here, however. Even the best-intehtioned sometimes grow apathetic. When I was in Paeroa Mr Couper called a meeting of the Business Men’s Association, and waited in vain for a quorum. The "Hauraki Plains Gazette” (an excellent newspaper, conducted in a spirit of unfaltering progress by Mr Nicholas) commented caustically next day on the regrettable fact that the business men of Paeroa could not spare a few minutes now and then to devote to matters concerning their bwh Interests. After this broadside, members of the association will doubtless not again be fpnud remiss in this respect. A NEW POST OFFICE. A long-felt want (has been a modern and commodious post office in place of the inadequate and antiquated building now in use. This, it appears, may soon be satisfied, for the Postmaster-General said recently in Parliament: "One of the important undertakings that will have to be proceeded with is the Paeroa post office. The present building is such ' a miserable structure that I wonder how the staff'"manage to carry out their duties.” The Chajnber of Commerce at its last meeting expressed appreciation of the Postmaster-Gen-eral's statement and decided to write

and ask him to place a sum on the estimates for the ’erection Of the new post office during the coming year. LIVE SHOW SOCIETY. A Jive body is that of the Hauraki A. and P. Association, Which now holds a two-day show, a feature of which is the exhibition of pedigree and grade stock which comes from a radius of many miles; Last year there were splendid entries, particularly in the Friesian and Jersey groups, and a £5O prize was competed for by Jersey breeders. FISHING AND SHOOTING. Sport, for residents and visitors has been provided by the Ohinemuri Acclimatisation Society, which has been in existence for 14 years and regularly stocked the district with trout. It is claimed that in the Waitawheta now can be obtained fly ftslhing equal tp almost anywhere in the province. There is some 16 miles of dear, running water in which to angle, lined all the way with beautiful shade trees. The stream is easily approached from several points, for it junctions with the Ohinemuri at Karangahake. The society liberated 12,000 rainbow trout fry here last year, and all the small streams are well stocked. Pheasants are numerous in the extensive bush areas to the east of the town, birds being liberated every year. There are plenty of rabbits and some opossum in the district, while red deer furnish fine shooting in the Waitawheta Ranges. Ducks are plentiful in the season. Considering the resources, actual and potential, of the town and district from every aspect, one is convinced that Paeroa is favoured by fortune and assured of a splendid future.