The Sun 42 Wyndham Street, Auckland, N.Z. SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 1927. THE MISFORTUNES OF AVONDALE

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 128, 20 August 1927, Page 8

The Sun 42 Wyndham Street, Auckland, N.Z. SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 1927. THE MISFORTUNES OF AVONDALE

CONSIDER, with a sympathetic heart, the misfortunes of the Borough of Avondale! Pilled with a touching faith in the ability of the City Council to carry its tramways poll and extend the tram service to their district, the ratepayers of Avondale carried a poll for amalgamation by a majority of more than two to one. It is said that fully three-fourths of those who voted to join the city were influenced mainly by the promise of the trams. Almost immediately, the ratepayers of Auckland decisively defeated the tramways loan proposals—and Avondale’s trams went up in the air! But there are closer troubles, which overshadow even this disappointment. For the time being, Avondale has no legal government whatever. It is not yet part of the city, and its company of administrators has been decimated by illness and defection. Two of the councillors lie on beds of sickness—one far away in Suva—and the Mayor and three other councillors have resigned as a protest against the ratepayers having voted to vote them out of office as the directors of the destiny of a potentially great district. Originally there were ten members of the council. Six from ten leaves four—and it takes five to make a quorum. Not having the quorum, Avondale can no longer be said to have a council really. Now the ratepayers who were influenced to vote for amalgamation by the promise of the trams are going about apostrophising their misplaced faith in the citizens of Auckland and the Auckland City Council—mnd Mr. Tiarks and his three followers are smiling satirically, and saying, “We told you so!” And nothing is more annoying than to be told you have been told so. The four remaining members of the devastated Borough Council are in a sad quandary. Legally, they are unable to make payments on behalf of a local body which cannot muster a quorum. But their quandary is not so great as was that of the employees of the borough, who had no one to look to for their wages. Obviously this was a situation which could not stand. The heroic four gave their personal bond to the bank against a cheque for the wages—and yesterday the wives of the workers were able to go shopping as usual. So far, so good; but there will be a temporary slump in employment at Avondale, for the “quorumless” council has decided to go on with only absolutely necessary works until a fifth councillor is able to walk or be carried into the council chamber. Prayers will be offered locally for the speedy convalescence of the sick members of the borough w’hich is expiring under such distressful circumstances. Actual amalgamation is not to be effective until October 1, as the situation now stands, and unless effect can be given to the application to forward the date by a month there may have to be an election. If the ratepayers, wroth over their disappointment in regard to the tramways, return an anti-amalgamation council, and the anti-amalgamation council decides at once to take another poll on the question of amalgamation, and the ratepayers reverse their decision, the position will be more than interesting. Mr. Tiarks may even become Mayor again.