NEW PLYMOUTH'S LOST HERITAGE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 279, 22 May 1912, Page 6

NEW PLYMOUTH'S LOST HERITAGE.

WHAT OF THOSE BOROUGH RESERVES? THE DOINGS OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. A VANISHED TOWN BELT. (By "The, Antiquary"). The New Plymouth Borough Council, as was stated in an interview recently published in the ''News," and as has been indicated on more than one occasion, views the advent of the Local Government Bill with serious apprehension. And rightly so. To a large, extent its fears are based upon the fact that wide and arbitrary powers are proposed to be vested in Provincial Councils. Advocates of the Bill appear to overlook that New Plymouth, although many of the ' present generation are-unaware of the fact, has an ancient and unvindicated grievance against the Provincial Government in general, and the Provincial Council of Taranaki in particular. "IP POSTERITY ONLY KNEW." The words "Provincial County," or, "Provincial District," are not euphonious to the ears of many of our pioneer townsmen. The mere mention of the name of that deceased body to certain of our respected octogenarians was, as the writer discovered last week during the prosecution of his enquiries, ) : ke waving a red flag before a panic- ; cken bull. It was while chatting ; nformally with a venerable ex-borough councillor on the subject of the latest product of the. Parliamentary Bill-making machine, that the scribe quite innocently mentioned the proposed Provincial Councils. That was enough for the veteran. "Provincial Councils!" he suddenly broke forth; "we don't want them within striking distance of New Plymouth. If posterity only knew what it has to thank, or rather curse, them for, folk here would——" A TOWN 'BELT THAT HAS DISAPPEARED. "But what is the nature of this seemingly heinous offence which you were about to recall?" queried the interviewer. "Why, they shamefully robbed the baby township and posterity for all time," was the retort. Getting down to hard facts, the ex-couneillor asked what had become of the town belt and its several parks, and the municipal reserves? Proceeding, he stated .that when the town was originally laid out by the late Mr. Fred. A. Carrington the whole area, excepting the sea-front, was bounded, or, to put it plainly, ring-fenced by a town belt. In support of his contention, he produced the original plan, drawn out by Mr. Carrington, which he has in his possession. This clearly showed that, in addition to a broad expanse of town helt, New Plymouth, in the time of the old Town Board, possessed some spacious breathing spaces, in the shape of Victoria, Somes and Devon Parks, besides numerous reserves in the township proper. These, he feelingly remarked, had not been bartered away by an improvident town board, 'but had been unscrupulously filched by the Provincial Council, under the connivance of the old Provincial Government. A ROMANTIC HISTORY. How the town belt and the broadacred parks were lost to the Town Board reads almost like a romance. It appears, from what the veteran councillor disclosed, that some of the early settlers went out to Mangoraka and took up land. The Maoris, however, were, under the impression that they had not been fairly treated in the sale of their lands in that district, alleging that they had not received a proper price. Consequently Governor Fitzroy came down to investigate the natives'' claims. As a result, he told the Maoris that they had not been sufficiently paid. Forthwith, the natives, as our informant expressed himself, "kicked up a big rumpus," and the settlers had to give up their holdings. This placed the Government in an awkward contretemps. It was faced, in effect, with this question: "You have taken the settlers' money, and what are you going to do about it now? Clearly you must fix them up somewhere else." THE FIRST CUT IN.

So, casting their eyes around, the State authorities coveted the town belt, and then, without so much as "By your leave," tipped the official wink to the Provincial Council, which body immediately proceeded to despoil the hapless Town Board of its birth-right. All this took place in 1858, and was but the tliin edge of the wedge to more spoiling of the municipality. It still possessed a number of other fairly large reserves, which in its foresight for the town's future it had set aside. These were held in trust for the town by the Provincial Superintendent, backed by the Provincial Council. It was not very long before this body dispossessed the Town Board and gave away the reserves in question for education endowment purposes. Pro- , tests were in vain, being met with the ' curt official intimation that a town board had no legal power—tTie moral of the thing apparently did not enter into the quostion—to hold any reserves. And so the process went* on. Where the Post Office now stands was reserved for a market-place, but this, too, "went the way of all flesh." Two cattle markets were also mopped up, and the Council gave agriculture a chip in by giving it St. Germain's Square. ALLEGED BOBBERY. In the words of the ex-town board member and borough councillor, "they (the Provincial Council) gloried in giving it away. We were shamefully robbed, I and now that the Provincial Council looms large in the political horizon again, I would like to see all this shown up. The Council was largely composed of country members, and what did they care for the town ? Mark my words, and see that if this Bill is passed and the Councils or their committees have a preponderance of representation, whether this same old cry of 'bother the towns' does not rise again." Reverting to the fate of the reserves, it appears that one of the principal causes that influenced the change from Town Board to Borough Council was on this account. PARTIAL RECOMPENSE. With its reserves practically all gone, however, the borough found its finances at a very low ebb. Accordingly it informed the authorities that failing relief it could not "ipso facto" carry on. In order to quieten it, the paternal Govern : ment made it a grant of some 2000 acres of bush land in the vicinity of Stratford. It was a poor recompense for their lost birth-right, and for many years had to be let at almost a peppercorn rental. Later on—about 22 years ago—the borough succeeded in leasing the land to various holders, and to-day it brings in about 2s 3d an acre. The" leases have a currency of 42 years. The reserve has been much improved by the lessees, and to-day it is understood that some of the sections are being sub-leased—not by the Council—at 15s to 20s an acre. The leases are not renewable, and some day, only about 20 years hence, the borough will be in a position to reap the full benefits of its reserves. But this 2000 acres of farming land is infinitesimal in value compared with the "lost heritage." Just imagine the municipal uproar that would l>e caused, say, in Wellington, if

some fine morning the civic fathers awoke to find that their town belt had been made over by the Government to land-seekers or to an education board! Yet New Plymouth was robbed of more than its town belt, lint, then, as the ex-couneillor parenthesised, "that was in the days of the l'rovincinl Government!" THOSE THAT .SURVIVE.

The few reserves that Xew Plymouth possesses to-day are comprised in the racneourse reserve of 41 acres, the leases of 11 acres of which have been auctioned —the Council has no power to lease the balance—the old waterworks reserve of 31 acres, which lies well out of the town, 3 1 / 2 acres of scenic reserve, in the shape of Fort Niger, the cemetery reserve of 24 acres, and a few small sections here and there. Marsland Hill (8 acres), Mt. Bryan (s'/a acres), Western Park (21 acres), East End picnic ground (2% acres), are not reserves, but are simply Government domains, administered by the Council.