Taranaki Re-visited.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7735, 10 February 1905, Page 4

Taranaki Re-visited.

, Strolling about, the busy streets on Saturday evening last a News man happened across a well-known Auckland business man, Mr K. O. iiemly. ; | After the usual exchange of courte- . sics "Now, Mr Hendy," said the News ■ man, " being an ex-Taranaki inan - with a good knowledge of tlie ont- ' side world, you ought to have a i deal of interesting information for •|the people of your old province, r | Come and have a talk." Very cour- - j teously Mr Hendy agreed, mid New ej Plymouth being not yet within a I i Prohibition area, it was easy to find II a convenient place for a pleasant f chat. " I "I lived in various parts of Taranaki for thirty-three years,'' said the 1 visitor, " and left this province 1 some years ago, but I still retain e not only a personal, but also a finh ancial interest in the district. Since -j 1 was last here I have been up and , e ■ down the world a good deal, have k had a long trip to the Home Conn- . '-1 try, and some years' residence in e •Auckland, and I want to say right ( L " here that I have never seen a place : 0 ; that has more signs of solid, steady, ( >. prosperity than the once backward . r Taranaki. But I must not go too • s fast. When I came down from Auck- j n land last week I was, of course, proit pared to see some changes, but from J c- the time the boat drew up to the 's Breakwater up to the present I have ( sr been noting progress and improved ment on every hand." , lc " New Plymouth itself has chang- c ed greatly, and for the better in all j directions. There are more substantial buildings than there were, and ( the town is spreading out. When 1 ] ?u was here last the railway station "1 was a small and shabby erection squeezed in between a formidable hill '1 and the sea. Since that the hill has , in been cut down, a large area reclaim't cd, and the station moved back ; 1( - and instead of having to get into the r- town via Brougham street there is . 1 the direct route via Egmont street. ' >o I wish now that I had secured some is sections in Egmont street. What a will they Ijc worth as the years roll , e- on ? There is a fortune in a tew ft feet frontage. But I can't tell you a all the changes in New Plymouth er which have been wrought in a few od years. I notice the Esplanade has >n been completed, and that much progress has been effected in public lo works in all directions. As for prier vate buildings, while of course many us of the old landmarks remain, thore c- are so- many new ones that I have not seen half of. them. Conspicuous, ." though, is the Commonwealth Hotel, er which, facing the railway station, co naturally catches the eye at once." ■al "Of courso I visited the Exhibition building, and I am only sorry fh that I was not in time for the Exhibition itself. The holding of ail Exid liibition was evidence of the grit and he confidence of tho men of Taranaki, ier and I trust the building will be re- 1 tained for public use, and not pulled I lis down and scattered." I " Equally, of course, I went to the' fe. Recreation reserve. I don't think 1 ih e there is anything prettier and more irk appropriate in the world. The nu-; tive bush and the view of the inonn- j er tain over tiie water in the fore-1 ce ground forms a picture which' one as can never forget, and which many a i a l son and daughter of Taranaki will !' s recall when far from home, and won- ' on der why they left it and when they will see it again. The young folk lV _ of this town who have not been away from here don't know how privileged they are in the daily surroundings of vc their lives, and will not know until or they have had experience of other vc towns less blessed with natural beau-| •h- *ies.'' j j "I took a good look round the country too, and everywhere X went |Cg I saw changes for the better. At' " Inglewood I noted abundant evidence r _ of progress, and was just in time to | n _ see an old landmark, the Inglewood . Hotel, being moved bodily for some re-adjustment to meet more recent ~ conditions. From Inglewood I went ! C( j-to Tarata and Purangi, and noticed i . that a large amount of clearing had ~ been effected, and that there is a < " vast improvement in the homesteads ! and outbuildings of the settlers. ! ' V * About this district a large number | 118 of properties have changed hands •• since my t imo, and at greatly enhan- i or ccd values too. In the hill country the sheep are looking splendid—the season having been specially suitable "j® for them. The late increase in the | price of wool has put great heart. , m into sheep farmers, and many of ve them are already considering how l>est to improve their holdings, so as °* to increase their carrying capacity, j The flat country in this district is . mainly devoted to dairying, and I - r " everjbody seems busy and happy." I c " "On the return journey I stayed ve with an old friend, Mr J. P. Clifford, of Tarata, and thence went via tt< i Tariki road and the zigzag to Tarue iki, which I find has turned out a magnificent district. The timlier inin dustry here is -in a most flourishing °n condition, there being huge stacks of rimu and white pine lying seasoning ed at the mills. The latter is, of ne course, chiefly for butter boxes, and er one cannot help seeing in the presn" ence, in the premier dairying district, as of a vast supply of the very timber id. it requires a most fortunate coinciut dence." n- Driving from Tariki to Stratford ne I passed through Waipuku, where the ■e- new mountain line branches off, and ne observed a large number ot men al pushing on with the work of con- i e- struct ion. Even now the place ' to shows a tremendous advance on the ' g- old days, when all was dense forest : n- and the gravel pit near Speck's ho- ' y, tel had to be used as the only place i in which to enclose travelling* stock, i ar The road, which in old days was A known as Chute's track, running y. through from Normanby to Centre k. Hill, is vastly different to what it of was then—so different that no one ■ t. would recognise it for the same." |' Df " I had a look at the Mrdhirst ' ,n dair>- factory, and while satisfied J n- that it is right ujKo-date and sec•s ond to none, I was really more atr, traded by the horseflesh whicji I saw! j e come spanking along the roads in the s e- farmers' milk carts. All of them Id were, I think, above the average,and ! | ( - many wore simply splendid—and that ij I take it is as good an indication of. a a prosperous and happy district as 1 ;'L any that one can look for." , c is "At Stratford itself I found the'? r _ place pretty well grow n out of recog- , i: lo nition—some even say over-grown, , lt but I hardly think so. Stratford is 1 1- a go-ahead place all right. I put I 5, up at the County Hotel, and had a .? ■r good look around the town. Broad- i' J a way, the main street, is well named, * and would be a credit to any citv in is New Zealand. I visited the various ' factories of. the town—bacon, dairv, h , cheese, sash and door, and others, " a and found them all going in full c .(» strength, and a credit and profit to * e the town. In its possession of ay- 11 ailable water power Stratloitl has a a c magnificent natural advantage, and, d 'he fact that this is so largely 11,-M.I P ; 1 and that the town has a syKtein of 81 0 electric lighting originating in that h n power, shows that it has also men 3 who know how to appreciate their __ opportunities." is d " Outside the town I took a drive | fl down the East Hoad and found where Cl d not so long ago was dense bush a Sl large number of grand farms with 11 ' e excellent stock and an especially h h grand show of sheep. Proceeding )y via Toko road and Anderson road to ; a ' I, Eltham, I found the country mostly 'S „ given over to mixed farmingi mostly L grazing, and all looking as good as 11 gold. Elthnm itself has made great & strides, ami there are large new A" buildings all around, and every evi- m dencc of good times." |\\ " At Hawera with its new brick in shops and hotels things are very di-f- T " ferent from the days when I shot ly ducks on the water at what is now je the corner of Princes street and High'eh . street. On the next morning after |tt j my arrival T went for a drive in , through Taiparanui -to Mere Mere, bt ) where T" saw some of the best conn- se . try in New Zealand, and that is sc . equivalent to saying in the world, is Crossing the Wainiate Plains I drove en . through Okuiawa to To Ngutu-o-le- til nianu to see the memorial erected to Major Von Tempsky and his companions, killed there in 1808. .The caretaker showed us over the scenes 1 of the old fighting days, and one had I much to reflect over when comparing ! the present with that not so dis- ■ tant past." "At Kaponga we found a real live place, with every proof of a good : lime now, and even better times an- • ticipated ; and I might make special ; mention of the excellence of the roads of this district, which are a credit: to the local authorities." " Returning through Mania, we found the town not. greatly altered in recent years. It is apparently ■solid, but not so highly progressive as all the others Iliad seen." " Taking Taranaki as a whole, I found so much improvement that I have not got over wondering at it yet. Values within the last five years must have improved at least 100 per colli., and the output prol>atjly, wore still* I jvnut to way to

the settlers of - Taranaki that, they are in the very pick of New Zealand. There is, as the bill advertisements say, " no other just as good." Your district is miles ahead of any other in natural fertility, abundant water supply, and all that goes to make permanent prosperity. You have, it is true, a high rainfall. Well, that is the cause of your prosperity. With a rich but porous soil, plenty of lain is absolutely essential ;so thank your stars when the heavens open and the rains pour down. Just say to yourselves " those are golden sovereigns falling on Taranaki," and congratulate one another accordingly. " Those of yotj who have not been elsewhere don't even begin to knowhow (rood a thing you have got hold of. Go in for working it at "top," and your district- will hold its own with any place in the world, and another five years will probably see your values doubled again. Back up your local ventures in every way, improve your farms all you can, and your stock as opportunity offers. Go in not merely for good cows, but for the very best cows ; and—don't forget your sheep. Freezing works are a part of the institutions of NewZealand, and you can keep yours abreast of the best without halPthe trouble of the Southlander or the men from Auckland." " Hut time is running on, and, as I leave for Auckland this evening, I must stop right here. Mrs Jfendy and myself and our family have had a most pleasant time in every way. The weather has been grand—" the. skies blue, the fields green, and the visions golden." And the peoplewell the people have been -what Taranaki people always are—the height of cheerful hospitality."