TUAKAU.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 331, 20 November 1917, Page 3

TUAKAU.

THE NEW BUTTER FACTORY OPENED BY PRIME MINISTER Tuakau was favoured with ideal weather yesterday when the official opening of the newly-erected Waikato Co-oparative Dairy Company's factory by the Premier (the Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey, M.P.) took place in the presence of an assembly numbering about 500, including many ladies. Bituated ad j acen t to the rail - way line and close to the Tuakau I township and railway station the ] factory is an imposing building of j reinforced concrete containing the latest modern machinery, the cost 1 having been over £IO,OOO. i The factory is one of the largest in , i New Zealand and in view of the de- j ( velopment of the district and the an-i £ ticipated opening of the Pokeno-Pae-1 c roa railway Tuakau was especially j i chosen to meet the expansions of the j ] dairying industry which are antici- j l pated throughout this most import- j i ant Waikato district. Fitted with the , i most modern refrigerator, pastueriser j ( and other appliances to cope with a | i large supply of cream, the machinery s is driven by a 70 horse power suction i gas engine while the cream vat capa- 1 city of the factory is 4000 gallons ] Four churns are provided, two of 1 1400 capacity and two smaller of ] 800 lbs, together with the most ap- 1 proved machinery to cater for the 1 demands of the dairying in the f Lower Waikato area. 1 Flags flying in the Main street 1 yesterday gave to the town an ani- 1 mated and brilliant appearance. i i On a raised platform outside the ; 1 factory soon after two o'clock a re- j presentative company took their j seats under the Chairmanship of Mr j l Dynes Fulton, the local director of i the factory and Chairman of the ! Tuakau Town Board. In addition ' to the Premier there were present I Sir Fred. Lang, M.P., Messrs R F < Bollard and J. A. Young, M.Ps., ] H. G. R. Mason (Mayor of Puke < kohe). W. Goodfellow (Managing i Director Waikato Co-operative Dairy 1 Company), J. Clark, W. Mills, W. 1 D. Thompson, W. G. Macky, H. O. j Cooper (directors of the Company), . H. Wilcox (Franklin County Coun- 1 cil), S. Crawford (Raglan County : Council), Crs A. B. Barter, J. T. 1 Stembridge, G. H. Armstrong ' (Pukekohe Borough Council), etc,, etc. After the singing of the National | Anthem and three cheers for the : Prime Minister Mr Dynes Fulton in a forceful speech said that being 1 honoured with the presence of the Pilime Minister and member for Franklin was unique in the h'story of the district and he took that opportunity of extending to him a hearty welcome to Tuakau The speaker then referred to the erection ' of the factory and added that its < formal opening that day marked a ; further step of progress and pros- i perity of the lower Waikato, in < which Tuakau became a centre. He i looked forward to the time when the < whole of the Lower Waikato would i be under production and their factory i would be the largest and mos' 1 important in the Dominion. ] Mr R. F. Bollard (the member for J Raglan) offeieri his congratulations i to the enterprise of the Tuakau ' people in the erection of such a i magnificent factory which he felt 1 sure, with the growth of the district, < would soon have to be enlarged. 1 In passing he paid a glowing tribute 1 to the energy displayed by Mr i Dynes Fulton for the improvement of i the town and district With refer- 1 ence to the change in the electorate i recently made he regretted that his 1 electorate district would not in future ' 1 extend to Tuakail where he not only was so well treated but felt sure he ] would always be welcomed. (Ap- : plause) Mr Goodfellow, who on rising was 1 greeted with hearty cheers, stated i that the factory was built to serve the wide and important district between Huntly and Manukau Heads, Tuakau by reason of its central position being chosen as the most convenient site for the factory . Mr Goodfellow in alluding to the marked progress of the Company's business stated that since its inception eight years ago the turnover, which for the first year was £15,000, had increased to approximately £3.50,000, representing 1700 tons of butter and at the present time had 1150 shareholder suppliers representing £35.000 share capital. Their Tuakau venture had already proved successful, the output being 1000 b r xes of butter a week which oe was confident would still further increase. Mr Goodfellow referred to the magn'ficent services which the Premiei had rendered to the producers. Mr Massey, he said, had proved in all ways a great frirnd to the farmer and had done his best to obtiin the best price for their hutterfat In concluding, Mr Goodfellow stated that he felt sure that Tuakau was destined to occupy one of the most important places in the dairying centre of the Dominion. Sir Frederick Ling (the Speaker of the House of Representatives) offered his congratulations to the Tuakau people and to the promoter of that excellent factory. He wished the Company and the people of Tuakau continued and lasting success. Mr J Clark, in an opt in i-ti, speech, regarded the operii ng of tli« factory that day as the host indira tion of the present gmvuh an future developm nts, the measure • f which no one co««Id foretell The, were favoured by the presence of tli Piemier who was one of the }.<•-t friends of the farmer and in thu> respect thev should ho cxtreme'y grateful. The speaker then paid a tribute to their Managing Director, Mr Goodfellow, who, he sa>d, should receive their praise as he was the pioneer of the Homo Separator system which would he the system in the days to come The speaker thee outlined a scheme in which he pro po?ed that the Company should j>rovide a travelling chemist to -t< 1 vi-• farmers on the relative v»|.ies ot th°ir soils, which naturally • fY- rbo much in various di.sMit-"*. <o the farmer wou d get a- mil o ipossible our of the land \n.orOther tiling® he advoea'ed 'lie services of a Veterinary Sur_renTi who specialised in the proper tret ment of cows, being assured that such a man was needed in the Dominion. (Applanse). Alluding to the suggested amalgamation of interests, the speaker said he did Dot look favourably upon such a scheme

for the Company had no reason to change its tactics. Mr J. A. Young, M P., in offering his congratulations, regarded the opening of that important factory as a recognition of the judgement of keen business men who were alive to the needs of the district. He reminded the settlers of their share of the responsibility in producing the cream which would be dealt with at their factory. " There was," said Mr Young, '' a greater need for production since in that province not more than one-quarter of the land was producing what it was capable of." Alluding to the development of the Waikato River, which had such vast potentialities in store, Mr Young urged that this should be pressed forward as it would serve to open out the back country and would not, as some people imagined, be a hinderance but rather a help to the railway by the s imuLtion of enterprise. The greater facilities which would be afforded by the development of the waterway would indirectly benefit both the lines and the district it served. In connection with the use of water for the cheap supply of electrical power, Mr Young referred to the amount of water which was being wasted at Awapuni on the Waikato River as outlined by the Government Electrical Engineer and strongly urged that in the interests of the development of the industrial industries this valuable asset should be taken advantage of. He particularly emphasized the need of obtaining the use of such water for electrical purposes as it directly concerned the dairying industry. He wished the company and Tuakau every success. Mr Massey who was greeted with pr longed cheers on rising, then formally declared the factory open and congratulated the people of Tuakau on the erection of such a fine building, which reflected the increasing prosperity of the district It was an interesting fact, and indi cative of the progress of the dairying industry in the Auckland Province that it produced 57 per cent of the total butter output of the Dominion. He had come back from England firmly convinced that New Zaaland was going to be the dairy farm of the Empire. The country had done very well, both as regards the quality and quantity of its butter and cheese output, but he was certain that th-i Dominion was going to no much better in these respects in the future. (Applause) Alluding to the future dairying industry Mr Massey referred to the Dominion as the dairy farm of the Empire. Whilst the production of butter and cheese, he said, wa« at preseut large it was very small in proportion to what this country would produce in twenty years' time. In connection with their success he particularly emphasised the need of keeping up their production along with the supply of men because right up to the end of the war all must do their full share, whatever the cost, firstly to send sufficient reinforcements and secondly to keep up the production. He paid a tribute to the noble spirit of those parents who had their sons to fight for King, country and civilisation but warned them that the time was coming to organise labour to meet conditions brought about by war. With reference to the high cost of living the Premier pointed out that it must not be overlooked that it affected alike the producer and consumer but he urged that above all things they should maintain their production which was necessary not only for their own success but for the success of the Do--1 minion. He said they must go on with the war to the bitter end no matter how far it would be or what it costs (applause). In conclusion the Prime Minister wished them all every prosperity in the future in the great undertaking in which they were engaged (renewed applause). The company then, at the invitation of the chairman (Mr Dynes Fulton), adjourned to a marque where tea was provided and served by the ladies associated with the town and district. In the evening a banquet was held at the Tuakau Hotel, a report of which will appear in our next issue. Mr. Thomas Lapwood, of Tuakau, was admitted to the Auckland Hospital yesterday morning suffering from a crushed foot. A mast of a small vessel fell on Mr. Lapwood's foot, necessitating the removal of a small piece of bone. At the Auckland Supreme Court on Saturday a young Maori, named David Christopher McDonald, came up for sentence for having ribbed another Maori at Tuakau of moneyMcDonald expressed a wish to go to the front, but as he had a list of convictions for falso pretences, forgery and assault the rgquest was refused, and he was given nine months' hard labour.