AN ENERGETIC TOWN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 77, 26 January 1914, Page 6

AN ENERGETIC TOWN.

-NEW PLYMOUTH, TIIK PUSHFUL AND PLAMNINC. (Woodville Examiner). A representative of this journal made trip to New Plymouth in the holidays with a view, among other things, to note how the place was progressing, and In; was well pleased with his (rip. as it showed what, can be done l)V a community which means to do sometiling. Kvitleiu-es of progress are visible all around (lie town, and give good reason for thinking there is a bright prospect before it. Some of .our New Zealand town* have names hard to live up to—it looks sarcastic to see a collection of cottages and hear it railed •'Sliellield" or "Oxford," and we think our friends not far oil' were wise to agree to tin- name of their pretty little suburb of Pahiatiia being! changed from

"Scarborough," with its visions of the sen, to Maiigamutu, which is at once euphonious and natural to the land if belongs to. New Plymouth is not so hampered. It is true that it is named after one of the busiest and most thriving of I'.nglish ports, but its people are as enel'geiic as those of their godlallier town in the Old Country, and hope soon to make their own town of as much relative importance to the Dominion as their name town is to England. J They recognise, however, that it i» only hv planning and pushing the. can do justice to their town, and planning and pushing Ihev are. For they have no great garrison and naval port fo .attract population and make trade, like old Plymouth; and they have some ot the natural disadvantages of that town to contend with as far as seafaring goes. Yet lliey base their chief hopes on making a port, and, following that., on oil and on their seaside. for all three they arc working diligcntlv. I Taking the last lirst, there certainly does seem good reason for tliein to be ;.hopeful of making the place a seaside I resort—and, included with that, they I hope to make it a tourist one. For New j Plymouth and its suburbs stretch for half-a-dozen miles along the beach at I the fool of Mt. Eginout, and it is the' : vexation of New Plymouthites that the railway has struck the beach and fixed i its station and goods yards just upon I it in the very centre of the town, ,so [cutting oil' access just there, and diuding the beach into two parts—tile cast and the west ends. One result lias al- ; most been a case of .lews and Samaritans over again. One of the mayors, tile late Mr. Tiseh, was struck by the possibilities of the beach, and set to I work to raise the public spirit ami funds to improve it. A walk lias been made from the railway yards, on the seaward side of the line, out as far as 'IV llenui bridge, nearly a couple of miles eastward, and a local committee has been formed there which has taken charge of a level spot by the llenui river mouth, and has erected a bathing pavilion, with compartments for men and women, enclosures for sun baths, coppers for boiling water for picnic parlies, and has added an upstairs hall for concerts, by !-which it raises a large part of its re- | venue. It has also provided seals and swings, and is making a capital place for spending au afternoon. The hcacn is all ironsand. clear of rocks, annl the bathing is both surf and river, and is absolutely sale. It i.s the idea of Ha committee, our representative believes, to extend the walk on to the Waiw.ikaiho river mouth, when there will a splendid length of seaside stroll, nut to be equalled in New Zealand. On the western side of the railway there is another walk which leads as far as Moturoa, where the breakwater is. Another committee has been formed for it, and about half a mile from the centre of the town a little clearing has been made, a band stand, tea kiosk, seats and swings creeled. lint there was no use building a bulbing pavilion--for there are rocks (here, heaps of them. A couple of tracks are cut by the seaside from this to Moturoa for foot passengers, and it is a splendid walk, the breakwater and Sugar Loaves facing you all the time, while the ever-changing sea is always attractive. At Moturoa there is a long stretch of sand again, and steps are being taken to make 't available for visiting bathers, so that the East End shall not have things all i its own wav.

| One of the most remark utile things about tlie development of those places is tile way in which the townspeople have taken tho matter up. They have put time, thought and cash into the idea of making their town the holiday centre of Xew Zealand. They have not. spared printer's ink, and their booklets and folders are sent broadcast, and are models of typographic work. A copy of their last booklet lias just been sent us, and is evidence of the push of the tfew Plymouth people and the skill of the New Plymouth printers. Beside the beach resorts it shows that not only the mountain but the Mokau river —well worth seeing—are within easy reach, and that a pleasant trip can lie

made from the latter lo the Auckland line. When the line is opened from Okahukara to Stratford the New Plymonth people expect to have a great influx of tourists, and will have il if tinfoil rists gut good ideas of where to go. Oil is a great mutter, and the cilivork.s are very interesting to see. Ureal hopes are entertained of them, and great doubts are felt about them. The latter is the case everywhere anil about everything, however. The need of capital is being fell, ami (Hurls to raise it are being made. Experts s:iy there is oil there, and that il can he got. Let us hope, it will, for il would be a great matter lor bpth the town and the Dominion.

Their harbor works are a thing Hie New I'lymou! bites may well be proud of. For years they were a favorite subject for scolling at by oilier placid and speakers in other towns. Hut the Harbor Hoard has gone ahead steadily, unmindful of the advice and criticisms of amateur engineers. It has extended its breakwater and enlarged its wharf under its shell.er, and has dredged awa,. the sand. If first had a small dredge, and followed il with a much larger and more powerful one. -Now it keeps both going, and has arranged with the crew* for more than an eight-hour day so as to keep them going as long as there is light to work bv. The result is that ■lhey are gelling thirty feet of water by (lie wharf, and over an area sudi cient to allow big steamers to come ill and go out safely. They would have had one of the Home boats in at the time of I lie strike if that had not Jis■organiscd everything. They expect to have them very soon now. When that happens New Plymouth will be the only port iu the North Island, beside Wellington and Auckland, where Home boats can come alongside a wharf, anil it will mean a big business for the port. All (he cheese, Imlter, wool and meat from the Stratford and the Main Trunk [.lines, as far north as l'oro-a-tarao, and : the Wellington line more than halfway ' lo Wanganui, perhaps all Ihe way : ail I from the West Coast around the mountain and far up towards Kawhia, will I come tumbling down to the neuvsl (harbor without transhipment or • age. New Plymouth ought speedily lo become the third port in the Island then. It may cruel the little pol ls like W-.i----lara. Palea or Opiuiakc; it will give Wanganui good cause lo take heed of itself, and will be fell, even by Wellington and Auckland. It will be a big porl willi a big business, and should make New Plymouth a big town.

One of its anticipations is hardly liki'lv to he realised, we think. Tint in, that Ix'iiiff tlic nearest port to Australia. it will he made the point of departure mid arrival for tin* Sydney steamers. If is true there would ho ahout 181) miles less .steaming to ilo ■Hi'lwoon New I'lynioiith and| Sydnei tlian hetwoon Wellington and Sydney, hut there would ho 2.">1l miles railage lo do instead. Jioth take about twelve hours to do, so that unless this hoats couhl he timed to arrive and depart in close eouneetion with (lie trains, there would he time lost. The extra land travelling would mean extra expense to the travellers, ami the extra port of "all expense* to the steamer in addition. But if extra expense is incurred and 110 time gained—perhaps Home lost—there seems to lie. very little to recommend 1 the plan. lint New Plymouth does not depend oil that. It has plenty of .support.-, uiid it, is laying its plans and pushing on in a way that deserves success—success that is certain, as far as anvthini: in this world can he certain, to couie i to it.