THE OHURA SETTLERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 208, 10 February 1915, Page 8

THE OHURA SETTLERS.

VISIT TO XEW j'JA'iIUUTII. at the i:uci;Ti:iCAi, l'ovrKi:. i IJOU.SE. j Yesterday morning the vwitor<;\vi-j' irotmvJ out to the power Innic rt t'i- ;\ !wt 5 u « uf , t! '« •'•nil itie pkmt, #teu ti.e new /ir,a.,e. AT XEW I>Ll-JIOUTII miiil (SCHOOL. ! i-al.-r t.i.'j- vi.,;ioil i| ;u Xuw 1 j •,jno ni.-> -•'anJickooi, wlipnt llu-y worn met by ! ; di \ioyes and biiowu over the school. ! lnUuduig die preparatory department. ui i ,V, Sjxt -V keys Mere asjemb'ed. ■ ' Uv " °ouipame.j of cadet* paraded j "11(1 Went throu«4'li a eour.se of drill and i 'I t l ' Xur<-I < ie '' i . «"<! at the conclusion i tlic boys were drawn up ami addressed j b) -Mr Loveday. If had given tin; party '• great pleasure, he said, to visit t'i'* ' school and to sea t ! u . good work th;lt v,a s be,,,}, done at the institution. .\,< I a visitor and competitor at the recent) l'.lle meeting it wa s particularly 'pleasin." I to him to,meet flic Cadets of the High | o. o ' aa.l to see that they were dis- ! l'Jayiiur oiic same enthusiasm a<; witheir principal. He j theiii ,!I take a keen interest in shooting. \v.u-.i wa< one of the best r-ast : ra« jos-di:e. lie congratulated the s/ho;,! 1 Upon po^e-.■',!•>• ivally rv(vi,'e,i,r 1 s hots ami referred to the line senr" t'i ■ ' seeeol torn bad registered in the' P'lv . nr.vtMatch. The y'loul.t ;["fi j wiixav.n-.r t» make themselves cnicient shih, f„ r ; 1;1 K1!n! t!;at w!u; ; tl;ey did eecorne good shots thev '.von: ! ™ V? mcnf e ct T>:ea a:;-.' cef.t. If any of the lads earn.' a'orn-! "'I i:l] r: >» any of the b'g mozli:,-* ' Present lis promised to <<o ail ,k» po;iM to hob li ( > Will.- gratulatcd Ihem w,.:,' t i,rr ">'.ll. «'h:ei! Ma-'. '.vel!-i!!!»]i coticlud-'d by remark'n - th" x - !■" i..|j 'v, > •»<> !•!'•••« !!»•! school hiv'i »*"*;*» wa.Wiit'i.lc It a vn a « SBr ' t- 1 tlio partv to visit ii>» "-Vn'i i'V<l < '>n behalf of the visitors ,he-oll\ovl " s a! ? a shooting Priz«i to be competed for in the principal may decide. Jua veuars all evpi'e:3;e,l t!isclv 5 as beiiij, delate,! with th u school, th • }!-oiiiid::. and f;ir:oandiii!^. AX AFTKRXOOX IN THE COUXTKY. In the afternoon the visitor, were I.lo*ol ed by nn :iio( rs of tile Chamber of Commerce to the farms of three lcadiii" pedigree cattle breeders in Xorth Tan," luki, namely Mr E. (iriliiths' Jersev farm at Bell Block, Mr Xewtcn Holstein farm at the same place, and ltTw/° I ;, ! » !ev '' ooJ iiml . '"'"niont Vilfc' i C - ey / ent OVCr Mmrs - 01sB » Bios. Ayisbire farm, rotiirning to town at about <>.3o, via Egmont Koad, tliwby twining a good ulea not only of the dioice cattle bred by the breeders named. of tb S dis°/-' T' bi!itiM ° f 1,10 I:ln!l ot tin; distnct. It was to the visitor; end cv,n ' L ' to ; AT ME GRIFFITHS' FAKIvI. j On entering Mr ririflitbs' farm the fir,! j tonditim, 'f J' eyu was tl,c "c^t , condition of the fences, and the careful ' rti^'l'? • M f l " Cl ' t,U! farm lllld bpon liaddoclc'l " )!, "y f ma " P«<Wopks. Kaeii bo nl CO dnef l"'i •''• USh ' 1!U! Wat " r Winf n . d " c , U ' ll b y from the oi,th 1 ' 111 ' Cl ' !ltn ' 0f tk ' f!lrm - r - rh outbui dings were all neatly arramvd. A splendid implement shed enabled a complete set of implements of every kind t.". be kept tinder coyer and protected from the fluitaci, Backing on this w;w a feed

I and manure shed and general store room. I , I ll " ,ltl '' 1 w'th sky-lights. 'I ho ' B,! "'alls show that (lie horses were not overlooked. As tile 23 pedigree Jersey cows, all in f„H M tk, were sWly paraded for inspection, they presented a most pleasing spectacle. All were quit.. J'junly handled. A special feature ef llie nerd was the grand strong constitution, every animal showing plenty of hue Kach earned a bag with teats ideally placed, and the general condiiir and sleek coats of the cattle showed the health which is necessary for the heavy production of milk and butter-fat, the chief essentials of this herd. Amour; tile cows were many .that have made prominent marks i„ New Zealand Jersey history. The famous "Oranny's Oirl," who has a record of (iSTIhs of butter-fat in one season, looked not one day older Uuin \vlu>n \v<> saw her six years a<;o. "Manet's tho reserve eluunnio,. at three of the leading shows, shines like

» racehorse. "Mercedes Noli!,, Queen," | w:i,ner of the championship at tile two Inst ,\<.y Plymouth shows, looked as if T *»'» a sood fight and do (he hilt trick." Each year Mr Ciimths Ims five cows 1»Imck1 ujk!vT seim-oflieial test. TJioso which competed hist year put up tlio following S])ler,(lid records n,'f butter-fat, for the season :~"Magnot's Pe<r"v," 4..:!!l)s.; ''lvy's Riotress," 43511, 5 . ; "Palmtree." 4] libs.; "Cowslip." 5671ba.; Oralis,. IJose," 4.w]l,s, Of the' five uiidiT test this year, three arc two-year-olds; and one, a daughter of old "K.CB." has alnwly made R 'ij;l,Hy ,„«« than oOOlbs. of fat, her average tost for the Season bi-uifr 0.3. "Cicero's T,ass," is arother, she having made 150lbs. 3 f fat m the past three moHhs. [f the iierd is not the best in New Zealand, it is certainly one of which Mr Griffiths may M proud, and one which is doing grand v.ork for the dairy fanner of Taranaki. 1 wo yearling heifers shown wore models ot beauty, and so well grown that they were mistaken for two-year-olds. The imported hull, ''Tetunes Noble" is in ideal show condition, and will be. scon to good advantage at the show next "cel.. Ihe wonderful old sire, "K.O I! " carries luh 11 years well. His broken shoulder gives him a peculiar appearance. but the keen student of dairy form easily realises why his stock have heroine po famous. Even more remark -

.»■> <•. i.pri.ni.R than t1... old 1>„11 hi mso lf, s his I.vnioiillis old son from "Granny's "'■l. Si'vcntccn beautiful wives, every '>><• a DK'tniv, xyor,- waiting in a small '» fl "' of fl.e trees. Th-v very n'i iot, ami did not. resent tTu-1 i.hamvs o! t !". uho overhauled | ''V, Mr says they l,!i of the t»T, ! H ■ iMisiy mentioned. and eertainlv look ; "nsy enough to make hisfon- Aa ir,. has wit yearling bulls tbrouis.-j

'-vm z, t,!S !:?iJyrV o i ij jJz; Sd -e'| 1 l )rnih " ,|i <»> «f thr herd i s hc Vrm!'" t! "' I'olonv. and 7 r,s constant ines from .pi e i.'iniM'rx n, cvcfr province. : J , ■ , V VS T ,r,, "" fo' HflUl , "'"oiiKst V] . v is i,H V< !- a 7° S of tllis ' landing I " K,I|I ' S '"fill, and hy cnttinc it »>' <lnv, it liWp^rSeping

t tlioir milk flow steady. Mr Wcl>b, tin: 1 manager of the I'ami, evidently takes j u r. at intercut in the cows, and is ulj ways _ glad to refer to the merits <;f J < acii iriiii v]: 1 iia3 e>; i!, lAcryono

i!;'-pressed wit!i the splendid CDndiiion of tile calves, which cene under the i-peciai ii c~re. of Mrs \\ ebb, and they are a great " credit to her. Until recently there hav» i: btvn 40 grown beasts o n the 50 acre:-, li and 17 cahes. They, of course, are no! b dependent upon the graa'one, hut lr J: {.jv.viug catch crops sn-.-li as <.; V.'.dth's rye j»ra.s*, plr.o c-nifi, pea*. tt : l ie., they are kept going in line con- li dition. I h I STR NEWTON nixrrs. i ! T'i« party tlien went to Sir Kind's p | celebrated "Wiilowbauk" pedigree Hot- e ; stein farm. They wore; met by Mr ! James, the. capable manager, who flv.it ii | introduced the. party to that leviathian C | amongst animals, King Alcartrti Pietje, v I who.se wonderful depth of shoulders, con- d j dition, and size were mucli admired, lie n \ was imported by Mr King, about three li ' years ago, and came from stock that 1; I has held the red ribbon in Holland for £ ! generations. The best cow America * | ever imported from Holland, giving 3()lbs. I , butter-fat per week, was a near rela- 11 ' tion of King Alcartra Pietje. It is not 1 j surprising lie has secured so many first t I pri;:es, and is considered by judges to be * I one of the best specimens of his breed 1 j Kev.' Zealand contains. But King Al- ' I earlra does not reign.supreme at Willow- j 1 1 bank. Tn the next' paddock, grazing I contentedly was ano'-ner splendid bull, <■ • bigger eve,, than his neighbors, in the 1 1 form of King Favne Fogis 11-, known * ! throughout New Zealand as a typical J H.'lstom-Friesian, displaying fine dairy ' | (jralities. He lias a distinguished pedi- 1 | gree. his sire being out of One? Fayne 1 ■'lf Homestead, the champion butter-pro- 1 1 (hieing cow of the Tlo'stein world, giving 1 lin one day 1041bs of milk, with a test i :of r>.4C. ITis colossal proportions were : ! scanned with interest. His weight? ' j Mr.James, in reply to a question, said ' J that as a three-year-o'd lie turned the ; scale at 22 cwt. "Hut he is 27 cwt now ' j if he is a pound!'' ejaculated one of the I visitors. He is a flue animal, an:', it is little wonder that lie's never been licked in the show-ring in New Zealand visitors. "He is a fine animal, and Tlie milch cows were next inspects I ' They are a fine lot. There is one, Pietje Kaitana Nora of the Irue llolstein type, that is milking, according (o Mr James, 2!)lbs. in the evening and 341bs. in the morning, the average butter-fat for' the season being over j 4001bs. Rozine 111 de Ivol, near by, topped this record with 4551b5. for the year, though, she has seen 14 years, her J daughter, running a short distance away, producing 5121bs.—a truly great yield j with butter-fat at between Is 2d and Is 3d. Lady Parthcnca yields 701bs. of milk a day. They were a fine lot of 1 dairy cows in this paddock, and it did J not surprise the party to be told that twenty-three of them wore producing OlHlbs. of milk daily, though two of • them, only gave 71bs apiece, and thus ' brought down the average. A 15-months • old bull was show,, near by. He was Of ■ great si;:e. ''lie's as big as four- '■ year-old in the Oh lira," said one man. and lie would certainly have passed as a well-done three-year-old anywhere. The yearling heifers showed great develop--1 mcnt, one, a two-vear-old by King Fayne j Scgis, having taken champion prize 1 wherever shown. The two-year-olds ' - were all well-developed animals and i splendid specimens of their breed. :• Returning to a paddock near the ' house,, the party, were shown King Alcartra Rose de Kol, a .three-year-old, i who took first prize in Auckland last ■ year. He was bred on the farm, beina l>y Kill" Alcartra Pietje, out of Mottled i Rose, a-fine butter-fat cow. Near by I, were running somy late calves, in tipatop condition. I

'Jo Hie milk shed the party I'opairal. Dairy farmers should inspect'tli is place. The visit would well repay tliem, Con-' erele floors, as clcuu as a dining tabV white-washed walls, windows each end! away from the wind and lying to the sun, with a natural fall into yards that arc cobbled tad -.•(■!» hopt, it si a.<i ideal place for milking. Money has not been lavished on the place. Its construction i could l> e undertaken by the average . dairyman. The walls, one noted, were lined witli prize tickets won by the i various cows stalled hero. In a neighhn\:rw!( sh< (I the calves are fed. Its construction lias bee,, well thought out, and it is a model i„ its way. There is comfort for the calves, no waste in teed, and economy of time i n feeding. AT OLSON BROS.' After a pleasant run to Ejrmont Vllage, via .Sentry Hill and Inglewood. J >ai "V' r S «WC<I «t "Messrs. Olson Bros.' arm, \vacr ( . thoy mot 2Mr Arthur Morton (chairman of the National Dairy Association). All the beasts were in the pink of condition and splendid specimens of this breed. In fact, tile visi,biv I,"" 1 , SI>I ; " !,Ptt '' r ]R ' ! '' l ° f A V" s.imt, |„ the whole province. The Olson Brothers have been big prizetakers «licrever they have shown. One of the , n»»nals inspected was Louie, the wiu"e'vlil/of lmiT? f il " <! ,StriltfoE - (I . • r,?,l m, p° r month runs into. fiOlbs. I his cow and many of her idatives average over 4001bs. for the tn aS nll Artifid ' ll foo<l is not resorted to-all grass, of which, by the wav, V seems a superabundance on the faun. In tJie heifers considerable inbreed A feature of the breed u their early maturity, coming to profit 2-1 to -23 months. On? was in milk at 21 monhts, iuul it was anticipated her output for th • J ear would run to over 2501b5. butter!.it. Ayrshire steers also develop spccdiutehcrs ' V ( i r boinpf , S0 " Sllt aftor b - v ■fr li • CmV !ow " was 11 bit of a freak i„ its way; ,t had stumpy and moved about clumsily. "But she's

a good 'iiii," said one of the' owners,'who cZu't *« 1 sl '!' ! ' ,ilko,l )loav % and consistently throughout the season, the \<igaiies of the weather not affeefimr l.w yield in the slightest. Aft .•.car-old bull, Less Nessoek. should make

a name for hiniK.-if in tl.o show rin«s b,'t-> rl(pait before thov partook of thr. lma My of },lvs Oiio\, sen- ° t!^! w-Tn i vas and on ' ; vot '-' or thanks was accorded Mrs Olson :md lu>r sons bv the party, who then motored home via tin ■l'jftniont Road tl„ „ n( , ulllti cauß . ti.v ami th.* bcantifu\ vistas opened up impressing the visitors. 1

THf; BAXOUKT. The visitors wore entertained at cliuner last nfeht in the Ky.ainnic rooms, w' Wcre l ,rosc »t "'wilt thirty lepiesentativ,. commercial men. Mr j laton, president of tlie Chamber of ( rmmeree. presided, and Mr (". IT Wei. I(.n occupied the viee-ehair. Amo'w fillers y,-ere: "Messrs TI. .T <>Ve" M.P.. .T. G. Wilson (Mayor of SeV Plymouth). and J. B. Connett. chairman o" tlie Jicw Plymouth Harbour Board.

After justice had been done to tbv good fare provided by .Host Jfinlay, a eouple ol hour* was spent in dUcuasiii" a snort toast list, interspersed wita musical items.

After the u-:u,i) loyal toast Iliad been tvnourcil, tU« vicu-|>r<>suicnt propose;! •The I'arliauiciit of »N«:w Zealand," ur;,'::g that in tins tune or trial the i'armnient of New Zea'and could not do jitter Lhan take ai a standard th-., British Parliament, whose cjnduet hail .»l;cd forth the admiration of the whole ivorld. All parties in the British Parliament—and hi: hoped New Zealand nould be i;h(: same--had united so thai, jiisinesw might 'progress as easily as possible. The peculiar political situation licre called lor (tile co-operation of .til parties, whatever liheir opinions or'whatever leader they supported. (Applause.) ■Mr 11. J. Okey, M.P., said that he intended to follow the example of the Olmra people when New Plymouth visited lilieni, and allow the visitors to do most of the talking. The trip that members of the Chamber of Commerce had made to the Oh lira last year, was, he felt certain, going to hear fruit. In fact, it had borne fruit in the present visit of tile O'iiura representatives to New Plymouth. 110 had come to look upon Oliura as a young Taranaki, and he wanted New Plymouth aiul Ohma to know each other. New dlymouth was .ooking lor the Ohura trade, and he knew if they provided-tllie conveniences here, the trade would come. Trade, like a stream, could be easily dammed back. The mam tiling ruquirea was good road ccuitniiuication netweeu lime and Oliur.i. and he liopod that this would be acnieved ere whg. The sum of jtjOOU was voted last year lor the Kotare road, and iarger vot.'s must follow, as it was recogMoed that that was one ol tno mam loads. ..Members of Parliament n.ul to loliow the wisnos of t.iu peoyie, and il the Chamber of Couuneite kipt up t!u pressure Jor tins end, and Ohura spurred up their memuer, he was sat.slied that they v/ou.d soon have t.le road completed. The chairman, in proposing the toast o: "Our Visitors," sai.l that they had tried to t'liow their gcests as much as 'possib.o of New Plymouth, during the fast two or three days, and he tiioug l, r that they had been interested in wliat they saw. One thing he regretted was that no relureiiee to Uiiura could be found in a Taranaki directory, Auckland people aiways looked upon Ohura ttj belonging to Auckland.

llr Lovcday, in responding, lirst ivfilled to Hie enjoyment that the Ohura itl,tiers had derived from the visit, which had been fireutly added to by tins friendly manner in which they had been met on all sides. One of the lirst tliingi that appealed to liim was the lavish way in winch New Plymouth had been treated by Nature. He had thought that out had to »o to the bush districts jr to some of their grand gorges to see r.atin'e_ at its best, but here, in their teantimi Recreation Grounds, and in private property, wis to be found som-j of tuc grandest scenery to be seen in Now Zealand. It was .just over nins years since the speaker had previously waited New Plymouth, and he was struck with the progress that had been made in v.: rims branches of industry - process that spoke volumes for the ( lit.'ipvis :* cf the people. In -going tnroug.i lh" freezing works lie was impressed by the enormous amount of work that had been dnie in the interests of ' f J I{ ' s< 'U'ers. and li 0 was quite certain lliat tlii people who erected them were convinced 'that tilic produce, for the North Would be ennmi!? en to Nov Pl> mouth a* the port of departure for the whole district, lie had visited the freezing works, the iron works, the oil works, the harbour, the power-house for electric light, anl also the lIHi School. The management and equipment of the lottej- bat] been a revelation to him, and li t . ' it, that New Plymouth was second to none in' this respect. He would be delighted* to have his boy trained here. Mr Moves appeared to be 11 splendid master. He voiced the sentiment of his party when lie said that the memory of this trip would last them for aye.

Mr Sandison, also replying," Auckland had done business with them since the Omira was si-tled. and thev had »l> till recently no trade interests in this direction, but now that the railway line was going through, New Plymouth would be 70 miles closer to theni than Auckland was. They wanted to save this 70 miles of railage. The. chief object of this trip w;is business. They wanted to get a connection with the New Plymouth harbour, which up to last year they had bdieved would never ikof much use to them. Xow they had come to see for themselves. They were part of the New Plymouth harbour district, r.o took a little interest in it. When they had asked Parliament to devote the rents of their Crown lands sales towards making roads, thev found that the rent went to the New Plymouth Harbour Board. s<nd naturally they wanted Jo kok after their own. I„ Ohura they had two sections, of which one worked and the other slept. No doubt it was the same in New Plymouth. If all coir.binod and helped to get them roads, New Plymouth would, no doubt receive considerable benefit. The Ohura was only half developed. Development meant more money, more money meant more trade, and it was for New Ply. mouth to get that, trade. He would do his host for the interests of New Plymouth m his district. (Applause ) "

■Mr J. E. Wilson. Mayor of New Plymouth, proposed "Commercial and Pastoral Interests," a most appropriate toast, ho considered, at a gathering where townspeople, representing the commercial interests, were entertaining representatives of the pastoral interests. JJptractors of Britain had said that Bri tain was a nation of shopkeepers, but wo I'ad taught thorn that Britons wore able to do something besides keep shop. The power of Britain was in a very groat measure that of her commerce Commerce naturally required its component, and in this country the complement was jit the pastoral industry. They hud m Taranaki, and with them that evening, some men who, in a marked degree, had contributed to the °uccess of the pastoral industry in' New Zealand.

IIV. W K Williams (Oluira). aftor lOicrnng to the various places thev had visited, remarked that ho had" been struck v.-itli the magnificent stretch of country through winch they Im,l passed J«ivm« Whang,nmomona, but it was not cultivated as it should he, and with proper manure it should produce treble what it did. Tie considered tliat in introducing the direct importation of basic slag to Taranaki Mr Newton Kin" had done Taranaki one of the finest nos° silde services. In the Waikato lie knew instances where manure to flic extent of 2/s per acre was used, and it paid too. Regarding the direction the trade would take, he said that. Ohura was 1(10 miles from New Plymouth, ami Ino from Auckland. It was only 100 miles from ITamil- [ ton, where freraing works were about to be started. 11' Wnitara gave the best inducement,, naturally they would come tnat way. With the increased pvoduction of tile back blocks, more ships would be required to export our produce, I'.nd he remarked, anent the present struggle, how proud we should be to belong to a nation which could calmly say to the lvntile (.'evmans that the'v were not afraid of their threat to attack our commerce. Mr King, referring to the Harbor, said tint when he told them at Ohura of ita possibilities they had thought he was drawing the long bow. but the visit ot tiie Valkuro hail disabused them oi this idea. No .doubt, this would be their natural outlet when the roads and railways were completed. lie had honed to have had ships of a better class

higher tonnage Tigit the port, arid hail gone Home specially to arrange for this • but th ( . war lihil prevented it. Regard-! i»g tliu benefit of manure, he referred to the wonderful diU'erence in the appearand) of the land at Urcrmi and Tito- \ rangi during the past few years. Mr Stevenson, while not doubting tlx; capacity of the harbor, considered that the small volume of the cargo offering might fail to attract Home boats. In order to swell the volume, ho thought that they as business men should recognise tlie need of good roads. To have only bridle lracks,.\v«i«h ooulj be used for but three or four months each veer was, he considered, a gross national economic waste for it did not enable the settlers in the backblocks a chance of getting full retur u from their lands. Townspeople, whose influence was potent, should help them in getting'metalled roads. It was, he said, much easier to get £20,000 for a railway than £2OOO for roads. If the Chamber of Commerce and the townspeople believed that they would Tie better for roads, which would increase their wealth and incidentally that of the towns, they should forcibly express such an opinion, and lie believed the roads would then be miick'y made.

Mr Hope said that Ohura had great possibilities, but had been kept back by inaeccssilrility. Lands in the Hawer'a district, lie understood, had been sold for £OO per acre for agricultural and pastoral purposes, while in Ohura, land in .the remotest parts was not worth morn than 2s (id an acre. - This was the dill'erence that roads made. He asked their eo-operation in helping to push through the Kotarn connection, and to assist them in obtaining direet telephonic communication with Now Piemouth,

Jl'sss C. If. Burgess, S. W. Shaw, W. J. Penn, Meredith (Ohura), Hagens n n (Kotare), and T C. List also spoke. The toast of "The Chairman" was proposed by Mr G. Lovcday, and was' responded to by Mr J Paton, who complimented Ohura on their success in winning the teams match at the Taranaki Rifle meeting. During, the evening an excellent musical programme was submitted as- follows: Song, "The Admiral's Broom," Mr C. 11. Weston; recitation, "Camp Fire Story," Mr Goldsworthy; song, "Three for Jack," Mr F. S. Johns; song, "Longshoreman Billy," Mr C. H. Weston; recitation, "Boko," Mr Goldsworthv; son" Mr McClelland (Ohura), Mr Murrell was tiie accompanist.