NEW POST OFFICE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 4980, 28 May 1926, Page 2

NEW POST OFFICE.

OPENED BY PRIME MINISTER. A memorable FUNCTION • —: t EARLY HISTORY RECALLED.

One ct? the greatest events in the history of Paeroa particularly, and the district in genera), was recorded yesterday, - when the fine - new post office in the. main street was officially opened by the Prime Minister (the Hom J. G. Coates, P.C., M.C,) in .the presence of a large and representative, gathering. Immediately in front of the post office, which was gaily., decorated, were grouped official guests, including members of the, different local institutions, while the boy scouts, girl guides, and school children formed a, hollow square and assisted, in keeping the people from crowding the official party .and speakers. On arrival at the steps of .the post office the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Hon. A. D. McLeod, Messrs A. M. Samuel, M.P. for Ohinemuri, T. W, Rhodes, M.P. for Thames, W. Marshall (Mayor), and borough councillors, and the. chairman ■'. an<i. members of the Ohinemuri County Council, the children waved, flags «nd cheered lustily. After the National Anthem had been played by the Hauraki Regimental Band His Worship the Mayor introduced the Prime Minister to the large gathering. The Mayor said that they, had assembled to witness the official opening of the very fine building, the erection and completion of which had been looked forward to by the citizens for a long time-. . It , was particularly fitting that the ceremony that, day should be performed by the Prime Minister, as it was during his term as Postmaster-General, that the new post office .had been authorised and the e’rection commenced. A ne.w building had been promised ma : ny yeyars ago by Sir .Joseph Ward, and it could not be denied’that the old premises, had long been inadequate, badly situated, and' unsuitable.; but those conditions remained .until the man who got things done received an -authorisation for the new. building in 1924. ■ The speaker referred to the. various sites ft>r the building inspected by .the department, and how. the. Prime Minister had listened to the representations ;on the; matter - a,nd had finally approved of the present central and commanding site. The department was to be congratulated on its departure from the usual stereotype style of building. The new edifice was indicative 7 'of the place, and of the importance which Paeroa , held and would increasingly claim in the business 'of the Post and Tele-, graph Department, and it was also in keeping with the foresight and confidence displayed by othqr departments in Paeroa, as instanced by the new railway station, railway workers:’, settlement, and manual training school. Paeroa was the district headquarters of the Defence Department, the Public Works 'Department, and the Public Health -department had recognised the proposal to build a maternity hospital in permanent materials. Paeroa was ,the main distributing centre for a large area, Which would be increased when the Minister turned the first sod of-the • Paefoa-Pokeno portion. of the East Coast railway. The visit of the Prime Minister and' the . opening 'of the new post office wa f s indeed a red letter 1 day. Only one official visit had been-made by the late .Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey), and on that ■visit he received-a deputation asking for a new post office. During Sir J. G. Ward’s term as Prime Minister he also had only once officially visited visited the town. . The citizens, of Paerpia desired to' 1 acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation the interst the distinguished and popular Prime' Minister had taken in the, town, as evidenced by his presence at the ceremony, said the Mayor. On behalf of the people lie extended greetings, and said that he hoped the Hon. Mr Coates wbulfl be conscious of the warmth of the welcome and the high personal esteem in which he was held.

PRIME MINISTER’S ADDRESS. On rising to speak the Hon. J. G. Coates was received with vociferous applause, and it; was some little time before, it died down sufficiently to allow him to be heard. The Prime Minister thanked .the, Mayor and citizens for the. very cordial welcome tendered,. and said he was impressed with the warmth of the welcome. . Hewas indeed glad to hear, and of his own knowledge'knew, that the town and district were progressing - and developing on sound lines. It was good to hear that the people had faith. in the future df the. place, and he would a.sk them to do all they could to assist progress. The Government could nob do everything. It had set an example by building the post office, and it jtfas now up to the people to patch up their shops, apply new print, and generally help themselves and the town.'. It did not matter what the policy of the Government might be, t)ie. real move for prosperity lay with the people themselves, especially in regard to the education and training of the rising generation. . The Prime Minister said that one of the characteristics that he admired, and frequently met with when travelling about the country, was the interest parents took in education. A great responsibility rested with the parents. a,nd teachers as to how they could encourage the children to-day to become efficient enough to carry on the work of their elders. He counselled tlhe children tp work assiduously at their lessons,, and to embracp every opportunity as it came along.

They should pay respect to their teachers and those in .authority always. , The Hon. Mr. Coates said that he believed- New Zealand was one off the. fairest and most prosperous countries in the world* but it was necessary to have a clear understanding of the other parts of the world. Grjat Britain had come through the Great War with, credit and distinction, ajid she had paid her debts. The Mother Country was the principal purchaser of all our primary products, and we must help. The farmer, of all sections of the community, required help, .for if the -farmer did not produce and prosper the Dominion as a whole felt the pinch. The Government often found it necessary to borrow money for the development of the country, and it always went straight to the Mother Country for its, loans. He earnestly appealed to the people of buy and use British goods whenever possible, and thus help the British Empire, to ptbsperity and happiness.

The Prime Minister.assured those assembled that it wa,s a pleasure, to. be, present, and it: was gratifying to the Government to have the new post office completed,' and he was looking •forward to. the future when he would hear no further'complaints about the Paeroa Post Office. Although Mr H. Poland, Ohinemuri’s late member, find' the people had frequently said hard things about the Government delaying the claim of Paeroa to a new post office; the. Government had been very short of money.' But he, believed the people had gained ,by waiting, because they , now had a handsome building of unique design, a,nd one in keeping with the beautiful, country that surrounded it. ‘ '•> .

EARLY HISTORY. The’Prime Minister then outlined tihe early history r of Ohinemuri and Paeroa, and stated'3— “A post office, was opened at Paeroa on January 1, 1872., The first postmaster was Mt Peter Austin. Mr Austin’s'successors, with the, dates* df their appointment, have been as un- • der: ■ F. Lipseyist January—lB76 J. Phillips..... lst December—lBBl H. Greatbatchist July-1882 j W. Salmon..;ist October—lBB2 J H. Nicholls'..ist July—lBB3 L Brown24th Dec.—lB92 J. A. Algielist June-1903 W. H. Dempsey. 13th July—l9o7 G. W. W00d5...;..'..i4th J. G. Poyntersth June—l9ls J. G. McDougall..;nth March—l9l6 W. E. Ward (presentlyist May—l92s

“In addition to the: postmaster, the staff now consists of five clerks, three exchange clerks, two ■ postmen, one messenger, and one inessagCrboy. v

“A money-ofder office and savingsbank branch were opened on October’ 16, 1882/and a telephone office was opened early in 1882. A telephone exchange w.as established, in 1901 vith 17 subscribers. The number of subscribers is now. over 200.

“The first, office is said to have been conducted in ;.an hotel which faced .the original wharf. During the year ’lBB2 the office was temeved to a store situated on the site of the Public Works office. Towards the end of 'lBB3 and early in 1884 the building now being, vacated was erected. This building had .been remodelled and added to from time to time. “The first steamer to rea,ch Pearoa was the s.s. Ruby from Auckland in 1888, prior to which'time cutters had traded from Auckland; . “At the time of the miping boom, in the middle nineties, Paeroa gained considerable prominence. Sixteen coaches ran daily to the adjoining townships and settlemens, and as many as 400 draught horses weie stabled nightly in Paeroa; these horses were used to haul merchandise, 'etc., to Waihi, Karanfeah'ake, a.nd other places.

“The railway between Auckland and Paeroa was opened by the late Hon. A. J. Cadman on December 20*. 189'5, and between . Paeroa and Thames by the 'same Minister on‘.December 19, 1898. The railway-, to W.aihi was opened by the late Rt. Hen.- R.' J. Seddon in March, 1905. “The Ohinemuri County, of which Paeroa is the centre, was constituted bn November 17, 1885 ; and Paeroa was created a borough in 1915. The town of Paeroa is included in an area which was acquired from the Ngatita.ihatera tribe, which ceded the Ohinemuri Block to* the then Governor, the .Marquis of Normanby, on February 18, 1875. The area of the block was 132,175 acres, and the price paid £15,000. The block Was thrown open for mining on March 3, 1875, but it was not until some 20 years later that the field came into prominence.

“The new building is of brick, and is roofed with tiles Of New Zealand manufacture It is a combined postmaster’s residence and office. The official portion of the building consists of a mailroom, 44ft by 25ft; a telephone room, public space, postmaster’s room, a sound-proof bureau, and a strong-room. The private portion consists of nine rooms and a balcony. The outbuilding includes a garage, lineman’s . office, lineman’s stcire, and a battery room. Wiring for electric . light has been provided throughout the building. “The contractors for the building were Messrs Robinson and Behgley, of Hamilton, and the contract -price wa.s £11,829.” ■ The' Hon. Mr Cqates said that considerable credit was due to the officers of the. department. These officers were loyal find hard-working. They reliable, and could be trusted by the people. . The revenue had slightly exceeded three millions,

! which iwas very satisfactory. A million x>f money had been expended in telephone connections. There were 3409 connections made laSt y®ar, and there were now only 3000 connections waiting. This district was particularly fortunate in its postmasters, and the Thames postal district, which at present embraced Paeroa, was steadily forging ahead On sound progressive lines. He had been struck with the extraordinary optimism of the people of, Paeroa. He did not? know what, the was, but had guessed it was either the anticipation of the opening bf the Waikato Winter Show, the “Great Northerns,” or an event to take place in July. (Laughter.) . The Prime Minister congratulated the people on the splendid showing they had made,'and wished them all good luck and renewed, prosperity. MINISTER OF LANDS. At the request of the Mayor the Minister of Lands* (the Hon. A. D. McLeod) addressed the gathering. The Minister commenced by saying that he enjoined'with the Prime Minister in thanking the citizens for the very " cordial reception accorded the party. Perhaps the people would wonder what he, a r s Minister of Lands, should have -to do with the opening of Paeroa’s new- post office. Primarily, he . supposed .he was representing some, of-the people who had to pay for -it. The speaker said that his sympathies were with the men and women on the land.’' The Dominion would take its position in the Pacific in-time to come if the people held to its ideals and loved, its freedom. It. could not be done by the primary producer alone.. All sections of the community would have t° shoulder a, share of the burden. The position of the primary producer in New Zealand . was not an over-bright one. Stability ' for the price of produce was necessary. Since .the war the markets'had ' been, and still were, most unstable, causing the farmers* the greatest anxiety. The grea,t body of primary pro-' ducers had no standard of wages or 1' conditions. The speaker counselled I the town dwellers to consider the claims and difficulties of the primary producers, and never lose ah opportunity of helping them., He loathed ? the slogan of town versus- country, s and wanted all sections to co-operate ; and work for the good of the farI famed Dominion. Much of the land ■ difficulty was causi&d by the sudden jumping about of exceptional land values. He believed, the country had wonderful recuperative powers, but city people must take greater inter--1 est in tlie primary producers than they did to-day and endeavour to stop the drift to* the towns. For many - years the country would have to de-

pend on the grea.t primary industry, but an earnest endeavour would have to be made to link up with, secondary industries. PRESENTATION OF KEY. On behalf of the contractors Mr Beagley presented a gold key of the post office door. The key in'tum was handed to the Prime Minister by the Mayor, who asked him to, formally open tile building. / The Premier thanked the contractors for their gift, which he said he would value highly. He understood the. presentation key was a “master key,’’ and if that was so he would certainly visit Paeroa when he was ; short of cash for his personal; needs; (Laughter.) The. Hon. Mr Coates 'then unlocked the front doors leading into the public office and invited, the public to pay a. visit of inspection of the ground floor of, the building. ■After hearty, cheers had been given ihc band struck up a lively air, and ma.ny hundreds! of people were conducted through the building by the postmaster. Mr E. Ward. The ministerial party'and guests were: .then entertained to a dainty afternoon tea at the Soldiers’ Club.: