PUKEKOHE BOROUGH BOUNDARIES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 55, 12 July 1915, Page 4

PUKEKOHE BOROUGH BOUNDARIES.

Proposed Alterations.

Commissioners' Enquiry.

The Commission of enquiry io connection with the proposed alterations to the boundaries of the Borough of Pukekohe and the Franklin County, wa3 held in the Pukekohe Courthouse on Friday morning last The Commissioners were: Mr F. V. Frazer, S.M.; Mr B. M. Skeet, Commissioner of Crown Lands; and Mr G. Morgan, District Valuer cf the Valuation Department. Mr Frazer read 'a proclamation of the petitions. In the fin*, the petit brers p-«yei that certain port os of the borough of Pukekohe should be severed from the borough district and included in the Franklin County. In the second, tha petitioners prayed that certain small portions of the Franklin Coui-ty should be severed from the county an-1 included in the borough district. Mr FrazT explained that in regard to the latter petition there were to objectors and that the major petition would be taken first to wHch th'.r: were ten obj?ctors. The petitioners would be heard first. Mr R. W. McConnell, of Messrs Bamford and Brown, of Auckland, ai n ared for the peii'ioners, and Mr S. K. Mason, of Messrs Mason and Mason, of Puk«kohe and Waiuku, appeared tor th' o j.ttjrs. Mr David Kcss Hamilton, the first witoes for the petitionee, state! that he wa* a farmer, tf Pukekohe, snl had, in the pa t, been a member of the Pukekorre Borough Counci', fir a period of three years. The borough tad, in witijpss's opi ion, a\fnys been a difficult one to administer, owing to the friction existing between the town and rural residents. There was little trouble while the rstes were spent practically on road woik only, but when the question of drainag', water supply and fire fighting systems were brought iuto prominence, triction immediately arose. went on to instance the case of fir-fighting provisions proposed, s'ated that a number of people wen 1 living in such a position the fire brigade woild be of d- übtful value t) The manusi ma:' ine would not grt to their premises in time to extinguish a fire.

Commissioner Frazer remarked that a mirual rradine would be hard to draw up Pukekohe Fill in the winter time.

Proceeding, witness stated that there w?re three or four, or perhaps or eigh», users ot the borough water supply in '.he area proposed to be excltded. The charges did not fall fairly on the small consumers, who h-:d to pay the minimum charge cf 5s per quarter or £1 per year, whether he used the minimum amount of water allowed f-r tha' charge or not. In regard to p pulatior, witness stated that there were over 1000 people in the proposed new a ea. Some discuesion took place in regard to the cemetery, but it was agreed that the pos'tion in regard to it wo:Id not b3 affected by the proposed change. Io anwser to a further question from Commissioner Fraz°r, Mr Hamilton said that the rates in both the county and the borough were about the same, approximately Id in the £.

It was remarked by Mr Frazer tha'. the reservoir was not included in the proposed new area; but it was generally agreed that this was an unimportant feature, as no rates were paid on it.

The Commission then ajdourned for lunch, after wbich the members, and representatives of both parties to the petition, made a tiur of inspection of the proposed new boundary lines. On resuming, Mr Hamilton Was cross-examined by Mr Mason, to whom he stated that lands should not necessarily be excluded frjm a borough are merely because they were farm lands. The criterion was the nearness or otherwiee of land to the centre of the town. Naturally the lands nearest the centre would be the most thickly populated sooner cr later, and would therefore require various public facilities. Mr Mason submitted that because the residents on the outskirts of the borough used the 'borough roads almost exclusively and were not much interested in the county roads thev should be allowed to retain their position ss residents of the borough.

Commissioner Frazer remarked that the real question was: "Is the area proposed ti be severed from the - borough more suitable for torcugh than for county government?" Some amusement was caused bv the remark that 73 out of the 80 persons who were eligible tn sign the petitions signed the one in favour of excluding the areas under discussion.

Continuing, Mr Hamilton stated that he knew of three or four farms of from forty to a hundred acres each, which were in the area proposed to be cut off. 'lhe present boundaries were defined by the clerks of the Franklin County and the Pukekohe Board.

To Mr McConnell, witness stated that, tor various reasons, he was not in favour ot special areas. Drainage and ether facilities could not practically be given to some of the locatioi s proposed to be cut out. The alterations suggested, if effected, would conduce to a more harmonious spirit prevailing in the borough. In reply to further questions by Mr Masoo, witness admitted that, owing to the construction of the new butter factory at Waiuku a great deal of the heavy traffic now going on the Mauku road would cease.

Mr Mason suggested that, in future this road would not cost as much for upkeep, but that if the petition were granted the borough would lose the mile of the Mniiku road.

Mr Janrs Pollock, a farmer, oi Pukekohe, was the next witness, and stated that he had been a member of the first Borough Council tor three years. He supported most of the evidence given bv Mr Hamilton—on the various points raised. Witness added that in regard to the water supply the people in the area proposed to be cut off had gone in for a .system nf boring for water, which had proved very satisfactory. A municipal supply would be of practically no advantage to them. The roads on the outskirts of the present borough were at tbe back of the borough, as it were, but would by the change be at [the front of the

county. Therefore, they were neglected by the borough but would be well looked after by the county. Mr Ma on stated th it the County Council had an overdraft of £IOOO, but ttii Borough Council had £IOOO in band on the general account, and a £IOOO in credit on tin loan account

Mr Frazer asked witiess if considering tha financial position of the county, he e til I preferred to be in the county, to which witness replied in the affirmative.

To Mr iScConnell: The Pukekohe West Road Board had agreed unanimously tJ the reconstruction of the boundaries some time ag\ The average value ot the land in the area under discussion, witn sa thought, would be between £4O and £SO. Above £6O the land had risen above its productive value. Commissioner Moragn remarked that, presumably, the land, sfter psssi r g tv. t price, had become suitable for town settlement. Mr John Alexander Comrie, storekeeper, Pukekohe, and a member of the 80-ough Council, agreed with the evidence previously given, almost in its entirety. In answer to Mr Mason he admitted that the increase of cropping in the borough ha 1 enhanced the valje of land and had been, to sjme extent, responsible for an increase in the population. Mi Franklin D.ane, clerk to the Pukekohe Borough Council, gave technical tvidenci iu regard tj the formation of the present bounda'ies. He and the clerk of the Pukekohe West Road Board had fixed the boundaries, according to instructions they had received fiom the local bodies they represented. Personally, he thought that it would be better for the purposes of municipal government to cut out even a larger area thai was proposed. To Mr McConnell: The majority of thoBS living in the northern corner of the district objected to be cut out. In three years £147 bad been exp nded, out of rat'.s, on tha roads in the area proposed to be excluded, besides other expend ure. There had been about £7OO collected from thh area in lates.

Mr H. (J. R. Mason, Mayor of Pukekohe, was the next witness. He d d not believe that the proposed charge would be as beneficial to the town as Mr Hamilton thought. In regard t) much of »hat was now considered rural land, it was ha d to pay exactly how soon it might become rendenti ;l. Much of the land on tee hill was of that ambiguous nature. The dominating idea in arrnngi g the present boundary was to have the town as convenient ss possible tu the water supply. The advantages ot administration in regard to tha area proposed to be excluded w<s, in his opinion, decidedly in favcur of it remaining in the borough. In answer to Mr McConnell, the witness stated that the Borough was not formed so as to include tha outlying areas dimply to make up the necessary 1000 population to warrant iti establishment. As a mutter of fact a population of 1200 would have been secured in the Town Board area, or 200 population in excess o! the requirements.

In reply to Mr Skeet, the Mayor stated that he favourtd the Borough remaining with its present area. By Mr McConnell: He was aware that the farmers on the outlying portion of the borough in Puni road had gone in for water bores, and he was sorry that the borough bad not supplied them with water instead. This concluded the evidence for the petitioners, and the time being 6.15 p.m. the enquiry was ajdourned for the dinner interval. On resuming, evidence for the objectors was taken.

Mr J. W. Johns, deposed that be lived near the hill in one of the dhtri:ts that it was asked should be taken out of the borough, but he objected to the proposed alteration. All his interest? were with the tovn, and he very rarely ueed the County roads. He was a consumer of the town water, and for the year ending Jane 30th last he used 141,000 gallons, for wbich be paid £l4 14s 10.1. He desired to see his rates spent where he would get most benefit. He was quite content to have 25 per cent of the rates of his locality expended on the local roads and the balance used for the town roads. If the district was cut out their rates would be used on the main Puni and Mauku roads, from which they would get no advantage. He believed that the County Council contemplated a big roading schenH hut not for the local roads. Mr Frazer suggested that the natural inference of a epceial loan for main roads was that the County would be able to do more for the local roads out of the general account.

Mr Johns thoubgt such a course improbable. He did not agree that the outlying roads were a drag on the borough, as there was naturally much less wear and tear on them than nearer the town. They carted their produce tc the station and it was only right that they should help to pay for the town roads.

Mr Skeet asked the witness whether if the borough was now being created he would favour his farm being included in it.

The witness said he was not prepared to answer that question oft-hand, but on being pressed by Mr Skeet he replied in the affirmative. He added that when the btrcugh was formed he got his farm included in the borough on purpose to avoid the (Juuoty'e bad finance.

Mr Frazer: You chose the lesser of two evils. (Laughter). Mr J. Hodgson Keith stated that he was a set'ler living in the not them area of the borough and he was strongly opposed to being taken out of the borough. Messrs Joseph Adams (living in the northern area) and E. McUough (living in the Puni road district) also expressed opposition to their property being excluded from the borough.

This concluded the evidence, and Mr McConnell informed the Commissioners that Mr Beatty had made a suggestion to bim that if the northern area was retained In the borough it would be advantagous to exclude from it a certain area of swamp country. Mr Frazer mentioned that the Commissioners would forward their finding to the Minister for Internal Affairs alter drawing up their report, which they would do in Auckland on Friday next. He intimated that in order to assist unancial ajdustmcnts any alterations they made would come into force as from April l«t of next year. The Commission then cnucluded.