MUNICIPAL CHAMBERS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4969, 3 May 1926, Page 2

MUNICIPAL CHAMBERS.

OPENING CEREMONY. AN UP-TO-DATE EDIFICE. An epoch-marking event in the hil»tory- of 'Paeroa was recorded on Friday afternoon, when the handsome new muiiicipal chambers in Normanby Road were formally opened by Mr A. AL Samuel, M.P., in the presence of a, large and representative gathering of citizens. There were also present His Worship the Mayor (Mr W. Mars',hall), members of the Paeroa Borough Council, Mr W. F. Joihnsitone (chairman of the Ohinemuri CountyCouncil), a,nd 1 the officials of. the vari-. ous institutions in the town.

THE MAYOR’S ADDRESS. Addressing ’ the assemblage, the Mayor said tha.t he thought the consummation of progress, had beeto. reach ed with the ceremony that afternoon, and such progress was characteristic of the life of Paeroa. He had heaild it said that the municipal chambers was the Mayor’s pet scheme. This was, not iso ; but in his capacity as Mayor he had long ago realised that the old order of things could not prevail. Progress wa,s not in the hands c-f any one man, and little could be .accomplished without the help and co-operation, of his colleagues and the citizens. The speaker explained that the . land on which the new building stood had been set aside as a site for a library, a.nd was vested in the trustees of the Ohinemuri Public Library for that purpose. Realising that the land was lying idle, a.nd that the prospects, of building a new library on l the site were remote, the. trustees, with the consent .of the citizens, had decided to municipalise the library and hand fhe, section to the boroughHe was ■ glad of the opportunity to publicly' express his appreciation of. the' action of the trustees. A special word of thanks, and appreciation was due to Mr W. D. Nicholas, who, aS chairman of the library trustees, had worked whole-heartedly and displayed a very fine civil spirit' in assisting to- bring about the new order of ’things.' While there, was such tangible evidence of public' spirited men in our midst Paeroa must progress. The Mayor counselled the' citizens never to be. suspicious of those who were performing.public services'. Things, were not always as- .they appeared on the surface. The trustees had handed over ,the library and-its cointente to’the municipality in order to facilitate ' matters, and a debt of gratitude was due .to them. In paying tribute to the councillors for the assistance and .co-operation, of the project, the Mayor said that there ha.d been opposition, but once that, was, overcome the councillors had put their heart and souls into the undertaking, and he felt that such action met with tihe approbation of the ratepayers. The speaker re-, ferred to the loya.l a.nd efficient ser-. vices rendbred by the clerical staff, which had worked in cramped uncomfortable quarters, and said that the, ceremony that was being performed was long overdue. Tne borough of Paeroa was developing at a, rapid rate, and an sound progressive lines'. In the 'opinion of the Mayor the ratepayers had undoubtedly received value for their money, and it was worthy of record that the totiil cost, of the building, including the fliu-t half-year’s principal and interest, amounted to only £2OOO. The contractors-, Messrs. Beagley, were to be congratulated cm the. work they bad clone, especially when it was remembered that the material and design of the building was very limited. It could confidently be said that the. contractors hadtaken pride in their work and had made, a good honest job of it.

COUNTY CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS-. \ -Mr W. F. Johns,tone, chajrman of the Ohinemuri County Council, was the next speaker. After congratulating jthe Mayor, councillors, and cition the valuable: acquisition to the- town, he s:rid tha.t the building was one to be proud of. The ceremony that, day had a w r ide significance, and was destined to play an important part in the progress of Paeroa. There was a similarity between the life of a, town and the life of a; young man. The speaker' instanced how a young man “ba : ched” in a few rooms, and put up with all sjorts of inconveniences until in the fulness,' of time he wais able to launch out and own a home of his; own. So had it been with the borough council during the time it hud occupied the temporary premises in Wharf Street, claiming that the Ohinemuri County Council was the' “mother” of the borough council, The speaker said that the progress, and development of Paeroa was watched with the keenest interest.

ADDRESS BY DEPUTY-MAYOR. The deputy-Mayor, Co. E. Edwards, followed. He refer, ed to the opposition in the council when .the building had been mooted, and explained that he had been opposed to the scheme because he had hoped to see a larger building erected, inc.tiding a town hall and conveniences-. HoWever, he. later realised that the big scheme was; 'too ambitious a one at the time, and that he was on the losing Slide. With the endorseme.nt of the smaller scheme by the ratepayers at the poll all signs of opposition Were obscured and the councillors worked in harmony to bring the. Mayor’s, scheme to, fruition. Speaking reminiscently, Mr Edwards sjaid he well remembered the hill that commenced near the new building and continued along to a point near the old gold refinery. Gradually it had been cut away, and the spoil used to, fill in a, small, creek in front of the Criterion Hotel, and also a marshy portion along past Spry’s corndr towards the “Gazette” office. At that time Paeroa Was in the Thames County, and- it was not until afterwards that the Ohinemuri riding detached itself and became the Ohinemuri County. Referring to Mr Johnstone’s remarks, the speaker said that he thought the Ohinemuri County should be looked upon a r s the elder sister of the Paeroa borough, rather than the mother.

In conclusion Mr. Edwards, on behalf of the councillors, extended congratulations to the Mayor, whom he credited with first mooting the sscheme, which he had fathered until its completion. The Mayor had taken the job up whole-heartedly, and had' carried the work through with his accustomed thoroughness, and by his work had saved the ratepayers at least 30 to 40 per cent, on the cos<t of the building. A splendid example o£ public spirit and resourcefulness had been displayed by the May-or, and he hoped that the same good feeling and co-opem ; tion of the councillors ' would continue,. ADDRESS BY MR. SAMUEL, M.P. In asking Mr Samuel to formally open the chambers the Mayor thanked the member for being present, and said that it was very gratifying to the citizens to see their member taking such a keen interest, in the tiffairs of the borough. The ceremony that afternoon marked' the first official. ceremony performed by Mr Samuel at Paeroa, and it was, hoped that it would be the forerunner of many others, ■ Commencing his speech, Mr Samuel thanked the Mayor for the invitation to be present a.nd said that he felt proud to be asked to perform so important a ceremony. , Undoubtedly . Paeroa was developing on sound progressive lines. There, had been no - boost or inflated values, a,nd he felt l certain that Paeroa was destined to play a very important part in the history of .the Dominion. Tn congratulating the people on being the possessors of a handsome new building he. paid a glowing .tribute to the Mayor, and instanced how he ha,d prepared the pla,ns :and specifications and supervised the- work of erection in his own time and' at no cost to the 'ratepayers'. The Mayor had, indeed, shown a high standard of civic spirit, and the chambers would stand for all . time as a monument to his zeal and enthusiasm. The citizens might well feel, grateful that they had a man of His Worship’s, cajibre and energy, combined with skill and sound judgment. Undoubtedly Mr Marshall had made Paeroa a better place by his tsojourn amongst its people. (Applause.) The ceremony that afternoon bridged the gap between tihe old order '■ of things and the new, and ■ long might progress and continue. The borough was only eleven years old, and in tha ( t time it had had three Mayors, Mr Ma’Shall, being the third, and he was now serving his second term of office.' It would be a sorry time for the burgesses when Mr Marsha.ll relinquished the mantle, because he had set such a high standard -.of service to the community that the man who followed in his footsteps would have a big task to emulate his deeds. The speaker referred to the reduction of rates by .three-farthings in the £. This-, he said, was a vsound step, and bore eloquent testimony to the 'ca,reful’ administration by the civic authorities. The reduction also gave the ratepayers a feeling of confidence in their town, and it had a big effect on such people who might be contemplating talcing up their residence in Paeroa. This borough, was particularly fortunate in its geographical situation. All roads led to Paeroa from, the- Bay of Plenty, Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, and Auckland. As a distributing centre for a large area it had no equal. This was exemplified by .the fact that, two Large oil companies had selected Paeroa a.s the centre for the distribution of their products over the Hauraki Plains and Thames Valley. As a fa ming district the borough was surrounded by the finest dairying land . in Now Zealand. When the Waihou a,nd Ohinemuri Rivers Improvement Scheme w:as completed further settle.ment and consequent increase in production could be confidently expected. The meaning of Paeroa he underr'ood, was a lang resting place. The Maoris had come up the OhinemuiL River and had landed at a sandspit near Wharf Street, and so named the town. Paeroa was prettily situated, and the. view from Tui Kiarangi Hill was very pleasing and full of promise, The great potentialities of the large, fertile valley and plains made the steady progress of the district a certainty. The. residents would do well to emulate .the example set by the Mayor. “Advertise and boost your town, but do so with caption,” he said. A heritage had been given the residents, and it was encumbent, on each person to take, a pride and intelligent interest in the a.ffairs of the borough and to resolve to make it a better and happier place in which .to live. Paeroa was undoubtedly “o-n the map,” a,nd it wasl desirable to keep it there in indelible, colours, Mr Samuel then formally unlocked, the door of the chambers, and in declaring the building open * expressed the hope that prudence, wjsdom, and ha.rmony would long prevail in the council, and that the deliberations, of the councillors would be fraught with progress and prosperity. At the invitation of the Mayor the citizens made, a tour of inspection of the chambers, and. many were the laudatory comments heard.