PROSPEROUS COLLINGWOOD

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1068, 25 February 1913, Page 4

PROSPEROUS COLLINGWOOD

COAT, IRON AND MARBLE.

Mr R. McNab, in an interview with the Palmerston Times, said that he had been struck with the probabilities of the Collingwood district and the evidence there seemed to be that in the next year or two there would be large developments. A company was exploiting the iron deposits and a little to the south there were extensive marble deposits which were being worked by a large syndicate, in which Palmerstouians were interested. There were the Pupouga coal works, and others at Golden Bay. and with all this activity a prosperous time seemed ahead of the district. Wharves were being constructed in the Collingwood district to take vessels drawing up to 30 feet to enable trade to be conducted direct with Wellington. At present only small craft could trade there. “But will it not cause Nelson to suffer if trade is thus diverted to Wellington ?”

“The Nelson people will require to be alive if they intend to keep the trade, because the large boats will call and take the iron and other products direct to Wellington.” There are natural harbours around Collingwood, Mr McNab observed, which were well enclosed and would require no expensive protective works, Mr McNab rather thought the townships which had sprung up at the mouths of small rivers would be in time supplanted by larger centres at the localities where large wharves would be constructed.

“I don’t think any part of New Zealand has such a variety of mineral wealth as there is around Nelson,” observed Mr McNab. He thought that Nelson at present rather looked to the fruit industry as her greatest source of prosperity in the future. They hoped in the future to develop the centre into a second Hobart in the export of apples.