THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office ----- Main Street ’Phone 28 – – – P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dailimore's Buildings.) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1926. A STEP FORWARD.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 120, 11 February 1926, Page 4

THE PUTARURU PRESS. Office ----- Main Street ’Phone 28 - - - P.O. Box 44 (Lewis, Portas and Dailimore's Buildings.) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1926. A STEP FORWARD.

AN important step forward in the advancement of Putaruru took place this week, when the requirements of the law were complied with, and a petition forwarded to the Minister for Internal Affairs for submission to His Excellency the Governor - General, praying- that the area described be gazetted a town district under the Town Boards Act, 1908. The response to the request for signatures to- the petition has been remarkable, in that only a few' hours canvassing has been necessary to secure the 89 names that are attached to the request. In this connection it is noteworthy that many residents known to be in favour of the formation of a board have not been approached, for the simple reason that sufficient support has been voluntarily given to meet all the requirements necessary. Also of those approached during the very short canvass made only two refusals were met with by one of the members of the committee in charge of one of the petitions. All this speaks volumes for the progressive spirit actuating- residents of the township, and with such a spirit so strongly in evidence, there seems to be no doubt that with careful and wise management during the early years that the town will take a new- lease of life which in view of the large and important district surrounding- it should be both permanent and progressive in a business sense. This forward movement has not come a day too soon if the town is to take its rightful place as the capital of an area w-hich is coming more into prominence every day. The Tokoroa settlement has opened a golden vista as to the capabilities cf the pumice soil, while the wonderful work already accomplished by an important afforestation company, /holds out further great dreams for the future. These dreams, owing to the world shortage of timber, and the rapid strides made in the production of art silk, the basis of which is pulp fibe obtained from young trees, are likely, all being well, to be converted into concrete realities in little more than a decade. Supplementary to the above is the light railw'ay line at present running to Mokai, and the immense waterway to be formed at Arapuni in 1928. These two features seem bound at a no very distant date to become services of great public utility. With all this in view it needs no great vision to comprehend the possibilities ahead of the town, but to reap the full advantage of these bright prospects preparedness is necessary. If this be not shown then the later history of the town may well be that of other places in New Zealand, and especially noticeable in the Waikato, where too much was taken for granted, and a progressive policy shunned with the result that other villages nearby, despised at the time, rose to become flourishing- towns, while those places which nature really favoured are yet still languishing because of a lack of foresight by the pioneers. A town, just like a commercial business, must be alive to its opportunities. To be successful, it must, in the same way as,a commercial business, advertise and lay itself out to attract inhabitants. The means may not always he exactly the same, but the method nevertheless tends to the same end as a g-lanee at the history of all progressive cities shows. Many a town has remained stagnant, and lest its. opportunity for all time, through lack of recognition of these factors, while on the other hand many towns less gifted by nature have forged ahead of more favoured rivals, solely because pf the foundations truly laid by long- sighted early residents. That the pioneers of Putaruru are awake to their opportunities seems proved by the almost unanimous request for authority to manage their own affairs, and when this formality is granted the future lies in their own hands, and with careful planning- and management there need be no fear concerning- the future.