From town board to district council

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 470, 26 January 1993, Page 7

From town board to district council

By

Ruapehu's

mayor,

Garrick Workman Mayor Garrick Workmari continues his history of the local government of Raetihi: The Raetihi Town Board In response to a petition from the residents of Raetihi the Governor, Lord Islington, issued a proclamation on 28 November 1912 making Raetihi a Town District under the Town Boards Act,knownas the Raetihi Town District and appointed a board of seven elected commissioners to administer the affairs of the community. The boundaries of the Raetihi Riding and Parapara Riding were al-

tered accordingly at a special meeting of the Council on 8 February 1913. The first election of the Raetihi Town Board took place on 13 January 1913 at the Council Chambers when the following were elected: A C Henderson, A C Drury, A Dauphin, A W Ashwell, C G Avery, P G Smith and C E Bird. At the first meeting held one week later Mr P G Smith was elected chairman. When the Town Board came into office extensive works, already begun the previous year by the Waimarino County, were nearing completion. The County Council had raised a loan of £1250 to be spent on the forming, metalling and gritting of

streets and footpaths in the township. The streets were Queen Street, King Street, Pitt Street, Seddon Street, Plunket Street and Ranfurly Terrace. Onetenth of the money was spent on stumping operations in those streets. In my view Raetihi has much to thank the old Raetihi Town Board for. The Board took the courageous step of borrowing £30,000 to provide water and sewerage schemes for the community along with the establishment of a hydroelectric power-plant for the provision of electricity. For a small rural community Raetihi had fared very well in comparison

with others. Not many could boast the provision of those services in the early 1900's. On 8 December 1917 the Ohakune/Raetihi railway branch-line was officially opened. It was a fitting close to a year that had been marked by increasing prosperity. However, on 18 November Raetihi suffered a real disaster. The great Raetihi bush fire swept through the town burning many buildings and residences including the County and Town Board Offices. As a result of the fire, the Town Board realised how essential it was to have a fire brigade and an adequate supply of water available for the purposes of fighting fires within the town. On 12 September the following year the Raetihi Volunteer Fire Brigade was established and controlled by the Town Board. With this sort of progress being made, a proposal to form a Borough was discussed by the Town Board at a meeting held on 2 March 1918. The Town Clerk reported there were 808 residents in the town district and 202 residents n the Waimarino County adjacent to the township that might be included in the new Borough. The Raetihi Borough Council While town boards throughout the country operated as separate entities and were not in any way controlled by surrounding counties, they did not enjoy the same status as borough councils. One month after a poll taken on 22 September 1921, the Raetihi Borough Council was constituted and the

first election was held on 21 November 1921 when Mr T A Harris was elected Mayor unopposed. The first Council consisted of the Mayor and Councillors R R Dawson, W H Sandford, A W Ashwell, W Harris, H Jenkins, T Shout, H W Littlewood, A J Windle and R Sigley. Raetihi had made great progress during the years the town board was in office. Those years, particularly from 1917 onwards had seen substantial improvements occur within the town. The population increased from 300 in 1912 to 990 in 1922. This grew in later years

to the present day population that alternates between 1200 to 1300 residents. The Raetihi Borough Council, in turn administered the affairs of the town very well from 1921 right through until 31 March 1988 when it was required to amalgamate with its two neighbours, the Ohakune Borough Council and the Waimarino County Council'. As a result the Waimarino District Council was born and survived just 18-months before a further round of reform saw the advent of the Ruapehu District Council.

Throughout those years the town was well served by the mayors and councillors elected to the Raetihi Borough Council and by the staff the Council employed. The following is a list of mayors who served the borough during its time: 1921-25 T A Harris, 1925-29 W H Sandford, 1929-31 H W Littlewood, 1931-35 W Harris, 193546 Dr W J Feltham, 1946-53 A E Urwin, 1953-56 T Shout, 195662 J Duggan, 1962-74 A G Dobson, 1974-81 P L J Jones, 1981-83 R L Peck, 1983-88 G S Workman. Continued next week.