Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News. SATURDAY, MARCH, 13, 1909 ELECTRICAL EXTENSION AND OTHER MATTERS.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4385, 13 March 1909, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News.

SATURDAY, MARCH, 13, 1909 ELECTRICAL EXTENSION AND OTHER MATTERS.

Jhis above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

If there is one thing more to be dreaded for the future of Te Aroha than another it is that it should become a Government possession as Rotorua has done —that is unless Te Aroha is content to accept the destiny which lies along the line of mere existence as a tourist resort. There is a distinct danger in our very tendency to depend too much upon this aspect of our corporate being, this Government-fostered, statepatronized tourist resort phase of our life. Of course we are immensely beholden to both tbe tourists and the fostering care of tbe Government. We do not seek to belittle the advantages which we have derived from our position as a tourist and health resort, but we do require to remind ourselves that this is not the chief aspect of our life. If we allow ourselves to fall finally into the impression that it is, then perhaps we are already sold to the doom which awaits all who do not take themselves seriously enough, the doom of being a mere hanger on at the fringe of national development, a mere pleasure caterer, but a town without commercial or industrial prospects. We take it that we are not prepared to accept such a position as this. We are fully aware that our relations are with the great farming industry, and the gold mining enterprise which find their field of operation in tho plain beyond us, and tlie hills at the back, and in the country between Katikati and Tauranga. And, based upon the demand and the supplies made upon us, and flowing to us from the population engaged in these primal industries, we have already the nucleus of manufactures of our own. We have our bacon and coach factories (the proprietors of which latter has recently ibought a Morrinsville business), our saddlery and aerated water manufacturies, and these beginnings of an industrial being we intend to foster.

We have already, keeping in touch with modern principles of develop* ment, supplied ourselves with an electrical installation by means of which we have our hotels and boarding houses, our shops and bathhouses splendidly lighted. Our first installation was started on the Ist of April three years ago. The greater number of boarding-houses applied for electric light at once. Many started with only two or three lights, now they are extensively lighted. In connection with our Government massage department they have only been waiting until the*present electrical extension was completed. This is now done, and the power is available for electric light baths'. We are drawing upon these mountain creeks for our power. The water is collected in the reservoir in the hill and, except in dry weather, the flow is so abundant that it is sufficient to work from without falling back upon the reserve. As a matter of fact there is 100 horse power continually going to waste

through nine months of the year-! We could now supply 100 horse power to the town for cooking and heating purposes and manufacturing operations—this over and above what we are already supplying for i lighting purposes. Of course itj would necessitate making alterations ( in our plant if we were to engage, to put this power at the disposal of the townspeople. The original plant was 50 killowatts, capable of supplying between 700 and 800 16. cmdle-power lamps. The extension I just completed, will double the capacity of the original plant. If it is decided to go in for supplying power for manufacturing purposes, and the necessary alterations were made, the capacity of the plant would be increased another 40 killowatts, making a total capacity of 140 killowatts. If this is deemed advisable by the Borough it should do a great deal to promote manufacturing enterprise. It should be a source of considerable revenue to tbe Borough. Such a move, in conjunction with the erection of the new bridge should mark a new era in the history of the town, a distinct advance in our development as an agricultural and industrial centre. It will not do for us to overlook the proximity of rival towns, which, if we concern ourselves too much with our tourist connections, and too little with our agricultural, gold-mining, and manufacturing prospects, will lose no time in out-bidding us for the very connections and relationships upon which our whole destiny as a town of provincial importance depends. One thing which is of the very greatest importance, because it will increase our accessibility, is the making of a good road through Thompson’s Track. Until this is accomplished we are really labouring under a nightmare of obstruction so far as having a ready and expeditious route to the coast is concerned. This affects the exports of the whole district. Besides, it affects us so greatly in a detrimental way so far as coachbuilding, saddlery, and bacon-curing and also our tourist department are concerned, that the sooner the road is made right through the better. For, with the opening of this road we shall be brought into touch with Katikati and the district between it and Tauranga. Another matter which requires adjusting is our present want of a morning train from Matamata and the surrounding district to Te Aroha. As the case at present stands settlers and others who have business in Te Aroha, must if travelling by train, arrive here in the afternoon and spend the night in town, instead of being able to come into Te Aroha in the morning, transact their business, and return to Matamata the same day. This matter of a more convenient railway connection with Matamata is a thing we shall have to agitate about until we obtain it. And likewise, the road through Thompson’s Track will have to be kept before the Government until we have it. For it is ridiculous for us to be less than a day’s journey from Tauranga, and yet be wholly cut off from there through the want of a good road. Fortunately for us we have in Mr Herries a reliable representative in the house, arid one who is as fully persuaded of the need for this road as we are, and we can with confidence rely upon his getting the matter carried into execution as soon as possibly