THE YEAR 1927.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5222, 4 January 1928, Page 3

THE YEAR 1927.

I — IN RETROSPECTION’. RECORD LOCAL PROGRESS. It is, customary at New Year to look back over the year’s, work, and compare.. it with the progress made in previous years. For Paeroa, the year 1927 has been a notable one in. many ways. Never in the history oil the town has there been such a volume of municipal activity, or so mush progre-ss/ve works and improvements, mostly Of a permanent nature, been carried out.

.Accomplishments during the year give rise to the highest Optimism in regard to the future of our borough. The to,won is sound, and what is also of great importance, the surrounding country, in which Paeroa must always be the natural centre, is responding well to settlement and cultivation, and is now regarded as some of the richest dairying country in the Dominion.

Still further progress is possible • if townspeople will continue to cooperate with the farming community, and not only stock the goods that are needed, but extend the hand of warm fellowship and goodwill, and make the settlers feel that a welcome is awaiting them, .and that it is a pleasure to attend to. their needs. If such cordial relations continue, all ■ must be well. Christinas shopping week this year %s apparently a record one' for the local retailers, and no doubt the encouragement they received will spur thpm on to retain at' least some of the good feelings ef new friendships that were made. municipal activities. . The year 1927 will ever be reinem- ’■ bered; as one of the most arduous the borough council has ever experienced. With our worthy Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) at the head of affairs remarkable progress, has been made. In passing, it is fitting to point out that Mr Marshall is something more than merely a Mayor. ■ in addition to discharging the duties of that office with dfcgnity and confidence, he has f ormuWEed engineered, and. superintended ffie work of reconstructing the. borough highways.: Not only has the •work enta'led' considerable sacrifice of time and money, but his capabilities as an organiser .and superintendent have saved the ratepayers a considerable sum. of money in engineer-, : ing fees, alone. Dealing with highways, after much labour .and trouble the Mayor, and the chairman of the Finance Committee. (Cr. F. E. Flatt) took their proposals to Wellington and placed them before the Local Government Loans Board and sought to borrow the sum of £4500. Unfortunately a technical hitch occurred and the Mayor .and Cr. Flatt returned to Paeroa feeling anything but sanguine. After consultaj tion, with the councillors the Mayor N delved deeply into the proposals, and aftbr making positive that they were practicable and sound he returned to

-Wellington and again faced the am thoritie.s. On September 20' 'authority Was received from the Loans Board to raise the £4500 for the purpose of car-. ■ rying out the proposals as outlined. Such permission indicated that thd Mayor had stood the test, and the proposals had been approved of by the most skilful engineers in the Dominion and by the. Secretary of the Treasury. On October 20 a poll w.as taken,, and the ratepffrers authorised the council by a majority of| over eight to one to borrow the money necessary and proceed with the work, which is being carried on progressively and' eeenomicaily at the present timet. UNEMPLOYMENT. In ccmmpn with other parts of-th? Dominion the married men out of the borough during the winter presented a serious problem. Legislation was brought down by the Q-ve.ra-ment which authorised local bodies to borrow money and receiye a subsidy for carrying put works .arid provide relief for local Unemployed. Realising • the seriousness of the position, the "Borough Council drew up a scheme of relief works, and applied to the Government for money. With his characteristic thoroughness Mr Marshall, with-his colleagues, got right on to the business,, and towards the beginning of July the money was available and employment found for many local ,me.n during the leanest months of the Ifear. Incidentally, P.aeroa Was one of first boroughs to obtain a subsidy Item the Government for the relief of unemployment. The work carried out under this scheme was largely ofl a permanent nature, and benefit will accrue to ratepayers by the saving of ro'ad maintenance costs. , BOROUGH HIGHWAYS. With the enormous increase of plotor traffic, maintenance, of the main highways iri the borough presented a serious arid ,an increasingly difficult problem, and one that had to be grappled with. For some time it had been realised that a macadam road would not stand up to the fastmoving traffic, and that it was a use/less waste to go on spending money in an endeavour to keep the roads in good state of repair. The making of nearly four miles of concrete, streets was out of thej question, so after careful deliberation it was decided to reconstruct all the highways and render them impervious to water by bitumen-sealing. With tlie addition of extra plant this work is now vyell ip hand, and With reasonable lack it is hoped to coinplete the undertaking before the coming winter. Those streets that have been treated t are giving every satisfaction, and there, can be little doubt that hundreds of pounds of the ratepayers’ -money will be saved in maintenance • charges. Also, with streets, leading through the borough the town is made Jfoore attractive,, especially to outCsiders, whom it is desirable to encourage. The state of the footpaths is the rgubject of unfavourable cpmmqnt, but attention will be given to'this matter --as soon as the exigencies of the service permit. MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. - The municipal elections were held «pn' April 27. After receiving several

deputations requesting him to accept office, for a further term Mr W. Marshall was returned unopposed to the Mayoral chair. There was only one vacancy on the council consequent to the retirement of Cr. G. P. de Castro. Nine nominations were received for the eight seats, and Cr. W. Turner was, the new member elected. SWIMMINQ BATHS. A proposal to borrow the sum of £2OOO for the, purpose of erect ng municipal swimming baths was submitted to the ratepayers in April and carried by a three-to-one majority. The council straightaway purchased a sect’on in Princes Street, and al-' though there was an unavoidable- delay at the start, the site for the baths has been excavated and a start is to be made shortly with the building of the walls and floor in concrete. The need for baths at Paeroa has been pronounced for many years, and when completed they should fill a long-felt w,ant. POLITICAL STATUS LOST. Some consternation was felt when it became known 1 in May last that the Ohinemuri electorate was to be eliminated and merged in the Thames electorate. I.t was felt at the time that an injustice had been done, to' the, people of Ohinemuri, but although representations were made to the Boundaries Commission, the decision that Ohinemuri would have to be eliminated remained. Applfoaiiop was then made for the .whole of the Thames electorate to be renamed “Hauraki.” The name was one particularly suited to the district for several reasons, but once'again fhe request was refused. RAILWAY MATTERS.

Work at the Paeroa railway station has proceeded much as usual, and there has been nothing outstanding in the department’s activities during the year. In November a start was made with the installation of the electric automatic signalling apparatus. The work has proceeded steadily, and it is estimated that the undertaking will be completed in a few months. BUILDING ACTIVITIES. That people have faith and confidence in the future prosperity of Paeroa has been exemplified by the number of buildings, both public .and private, erected during the year. Reference is- made particularly to the Aurora Theatre Buildings., blocks of shops for Messrs Wallace Suppl es, Ltd., thd'-estate of A. Cassrels, and the new Royal Mail Hotel fer Mrs Crosby. A number of modern and attractive private residences have also been erected. DENTAL CLINIC. After several months of hard toil the members of thePaeroa DistrictHigh School Committee brought thenefforts to consummation on August 5, when the school dental clinic was formally opened by the chairman of the Auckland Education Board, Mr A. Burns, and the deputy-director of the Division of Dental Hygiene, Wellington, Mr'J. Li Saunders. S'nce the clinic was opened the nurse in charge, Miss L. C. Ellis, has treated hundreds of children, including patients from Netherton, Tirohia, Karangahake, Komata, and Hikutaia. The value of thq service in relation to the he,alth of the children cannot be too highly rated. In order to pay off the deficit on the clinic the Auckland Commercial Travellers’ and Warehousemen’s Association was approached and ass’stance asked for. As a result the association staged a grand concert, at Paeroa in September, the proceeds of which were more than sufficient to free thq building of debt. The committee is naturally pleased with its efforts, especially in view ofi the fact that the local clinic is the first one in the Dominion, to be, erected, by voluntary labour. x PAEROA HOSPITAL. Lt is a matter for deep rqgret and concern that no progress can be reported in connection with the erection of the maternity' and casualty hospital at Paeroa. Although the subject has. not altogether lain dormant during the year, no move has been made by the Thames Hospital .Board to carry out its trust. However, during the visit of the Director-General of Health (Dr. T. A. H. Valintinei) to Paeroa on December 21 it is understood that a satisfactory arrangement Was reached, and a. definite moyej in the near future is awaited with interest. POSTAL MATTERS. With the, pronounced progress that the borough was making it was only natural that such progress would be reflected on the Post and Telegraph Department, especially in regard to the. local post office. Following on representations made, a continuous telephone exchange service was instituted on June 2. A few weeks later the post office, was opened from 7 to 8 o’clock each evening for the transacting of telegraphic business. These two changes from the old order to the new have been greatly appreciated by subscribers and the public. . The combined chambers of commerce in the district were, instrumental in gaining authority for the carriage of a letter mail in the steam train which leaves Frankton for Thames at KMO o’clock nightly. The advantage pf| this service, especially to business people, is that letters posted at Auckland at 5 p.m. are available; for distribution before 8 o’clock the next morning—a saving of nearly'three hours. FIRE BRIGADE. Fortunately, the Pqeroa Volunteer Fire Brigade has received comparatively few calls on its services. On March 6 two fires occurred within an hour of eaph other, the-first being an incipient ene at the residence of Mr ,S. McKee, Willoughby Street, while 'the othey was much more serious, the Druids’’Hall, in Bradley Street, being gutted. On June 7 a large motor garage in Hughendon Street and leased by Mr H. E. Raffills was completely destroyed. In August the staff quarters at the Criterion Hotel were gutted, and early in September the brigade received a call to a scrub fire near Bennett Street.

CRITERION TRAFFIC BRIDGE.. Early in the year the Public Works Department commenced operations on the new traffic bridge oveir the Ohinemuri River at Paerpa, and good pro-

gress has been made. When finished, the bridge will be one of the most modern of its kind in the province. In addition to being a double-track structure it will have special provision for the safety of pedestrians. The cost of the bridge is being divided between the. Government, the Paer roa Borough Council, and the Ohinemuri County Council.' THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY.

The prosperity of Paeroa is almost wholly dependent on the prosperity of the primary producers. The pay-out for butter-fat for the 1926-27 season totalled many thousands, of pounds, and although a .late and unfavourable spring and the generally adverse conditions up to the present have combined to probably reduce thej output for 1927-28 it is to be expected that when the season closes it will be found that at least a corresponding sum has been distributed.

During the year the pig industry has -been well maintained, and with the formation of a co-operative, pig association for marketing purposes the farmers should find it well worth while not to overlook this important adjunct to every farm. The past season has also been a very much’ bettqr one for exporters of cattle, and 'prices generally have rilled higher during 1927 than for some years past. Every week there are cattle leaving this district for export purposes, .and while the present healthy conditions, obtain it will pay the farmer well to rear the calve?. CONCLUSION. The passing of 1927 has meant the loss by death of several aged pioneers. The removal of these respe'eted folk, although inevitable, severs the links with the early days, and their demise is always to be, deeply regretted. Looking forward, the prospects for 1928 are distinctly encouraging. An important point is to .have faith in Paeroa and leave no stone unturned to assist its progress; and development.