FOXTON'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3809, 23 June 1928, Page 1

FOXTON'S ROMANTIC HISTORY

The Wellington Evening Post, in its issue of Wednesday last devotes a special article to Foxton, which we re-produce and whijch will be read with interest by local people:—

“Situated on the northern bank of the Mannwatn River, four miles from the sea, is the town of Foxton, one of the oldest settlements in the Manawatu district. From a small village of under one hundred souls it lias grown into a town with a population of close on 2000'. Foxton is the centre of the flax-milling industry, the possibilities of which it is impossible to foretell, and it. serves the Manawatu district as a port. “Like many another town in the Manawatu district, Foxton has a romantic history, and in the telling of it it is necessary to go back to llie earliest days of the colonisation of New Zealand. The early settlers were ever on the lookout for fresh Helds to conquer, and the fertile lands of the Manawatu, as yet practically untouched by the hand of man, held out a. pleasing prospect. A few hardy pioneers had already blazed the. trail, .and had brought back to Wellington glowing reports of wluit the district had to offer to those willing to face the hardships inevitably associated with pioneer work. It was early seen that in order to de\<fclop the district as it should be developed, it was essential that there should be adequate means of communication. With the railway still of the future and with roads which, to say the least, were uncertain, the necessity for a port was realised, and it was this necessity which caused eyes to.be turned towards Foxton or, as the district was then known, Te Awahou. In the early days Te Awahou was a Native reserve, and pakehas were few and far between. A little prior to 1860, a Mr. Cook bad shown considerable enterprise in building- a wharf at the Manawatu Heads, and one or two small ships had called there with provisions for the scattered settlers. In 1860 there was a notable event, Captain Kennedy succeeded in negotiating the steamer

Wjogawonga across the bar, and his success caused others to follow suit. All were not so successful as Captain Kennedy, for it is recorded that several boats were “caught in drifts and currents and very soon found themselves on the sand spit.” However, the way had been paved, and the foundations of the port of Foxton had been well and truly laid. Before very long, the Provincial Government began to take an interest in the Te Awahou block, and* negotiations were opened up with the Maori owners for the purchase of the land. After some parleying—for the Maori is not to be bustled —an agreement was arrived at, and the land, consisting of 37,000 acres, was purchased for the huge sum of £2500. The deposit paid was £4oo!' That marked the beginning of Foxton, and the little town started out on its career with a population of about 100 people. Progress at first was slow, but later things began to move and the population grew. One of the objects in founding Foxton had been to provide better means of access to the land that lay beyond, but until 1870 —some ten years after the birth of the town —little was done. The roads during the winter were well-nigh impassable, and the settlers in the Ahuaturanga block, which included the present site of Palmerston North, experienced lean times, for they were practically dependent on the little town of Foxton. In 1870 a petition was forwarded to the Provincial Government praying that a tramway should be laid down between Foxton and the bush settlement of Palmerston North, but the Government, for the time being financially embarrassed, did not grant the petition until the following year. The completion of the tramway line was the turning point in the history of Palmerston North, and it also gave a big fillip to the town of Foxton. In the years that followed, Foxton continued to make progress, but the coming of the train did not lm.ve the same beneficial effect on the town as it had on Palmerston North. Merchants in the big Manawatu centre who had previously made use of the port turned moie to the railway —as, indeed, in later years they have turned to the highways —and Palmerston North was no longer dependent on Foxton to such an extent as it had been. Had the railway taken another couise, as it might easily have done and as some people still think it should do, there would have been a different story to tell. Foxton might well have become the leading town of the Manawatu. AN UP-TO-DATE TOWN. • But it should he understood that Foxton did not slump. Far from it, indeed 1 The town received a

set-back, certainly, but it was well enough established to stand up to adversity, and to-day it is still holding its own. To the casual visitor, Foxton might give the impression that its days of prosperity are behind it, but beneath the surface there is ample evidence that Foxton still has a useful purpose to serve. Its people are made of the right stuff, and they take a pride in the town. The majority of the residents have lived there for the greater part of their lives, and they are prepared to stay, for their confidence in the town is unbounded. That has been well demonstrated on several occasions, for it is rarely that the Borough Council has had to go outseide the confines of Foxton when it has been necessary to raise a loan for some municipal undertaking. In other directions, too, the people have not been unwilling to invest their money. In its general appointments, Foxton is well served, and the people enjoy every possible comfort and convenience. The Borough Council controls the supply of both electricity and gas, and in both cases the town receives an excellent service. The gasworks were purchased by the council some little time ago for £II,OOO, the under- j taking being acquired from a syn- j dicate. The purchase money was raised by means of a special loan, ! the interest charge being 4A per ! cent., and the sinking fund 2 per j cent. Gas is supplied at the rate of 8/9 per 1000 cubic feet, and this results in a slight loss to the council, the revenue being in the vicinity of £3OOO. a year and the expenditure in the vicinity of £3surt J a year. The streets of the town are | lighted by electricity, the service 'consisting of fifty lamps, each of which cost the council £3 17s Gd per annum. Within the borough there : are fourteen miles of streets, and of these -the principal streets have been paved. Main street is called ' upon to carry a good deal of tratli'c, i as it forms portion of the main j highway to Wellington. Both the j water supply system and the drain- j age system are up to date. The j water supply is artesian, the water j being pumped by electric motor to i a water tower. There art 7:1 miles j of water mains, and the average i pressure is 501bs. per square inch, j A loan of £35,300 was raised in order to supply the town with water. In other directions, too, the town is well served. In 1926 the Town Hall was rebuilt at a cost of £lo,ooo—raised in the district—and this has accommodation for 950 people. It is mainly used as a picture theatre. There is a library with 1000 books, and the townspeople are well catered for so far as reserves are concerned. In the way of entertainment*, the Borough Council controls two picture theatres and it is the boast of the council that it is one of the few local bodies in New Zealand that is able to show a profit on such undertakings. Sport plays a big part in the social life of the community and the Foxton racecourse, situated a few minutes from the centre of the town, is favourably kuown wi all parts of the Dominion. Other forms of sport also have their part in the life of the community.