KAPONGA’S PROGRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 May 1922, Page 6

KAPONGA’S PROGRESS.

THE HYDRO-ELECTRIC SCHEME. ADVANCE OF THE DISTRICT. THE OPENING CEREMONY. Kaponga has long 'been noted as a •most progressive township, being equipped with every modem convenience provided by the enterprise of its residents, and further evidence of this was given yesterday, when the hydro-elec-tric extension plant, recently installed by the Kaponga Dairy Company and the Town Board in conjunction, was opened. The ceremony took place at the factory (the site of the power-house), and there was a very large and representative attendance. Flags flying everywhere made a bright scene. On the platform were Messrs. P. W. Alien (president of the Kaponga Chamber of Commerce) who presided, A. V. Tait (chairman of the Kaponga Dairy Company), and Mrs. Tait, R. G. Cook (chairman of the Town Board), and Mrs. Cook, W. A. O’Neill (deputy-chair-man of the Dairy Company), E. Moss (Kaponga electrical engineer), and Mrs. Moss, O. Hawken, M".P., and Mrs. Hawken, and F. E. Wilson (Mayor of New Plymouth). Others present included Mr. J. B. Murdoch (chairman of the Hawera County Council), A. H. Guy and C. E. Betts (past chairmen of the Town Board), and Priestley (first electrical engineer). A host of apologies were received from prominent men throughout Taranaki. THE FARMERS’ POSITION. Mr. P. W. Allen, president of the Chamber of Commerce, in welcoming the visitors, said that the large attendance showed appreciation ot the efforts of the Town Board and Kaponga Dairy Company in connection with hydro-electric development. He urged on all farmers to join the Chamber of Commerce, pointing out that the business people and farmers, by working together, would be much, stronger. He outlined what had been done by the old -Settlers’ Association, composed of business men and farmers, 20 years ago, and he considered it a retrograde move when it was changed into a Tradesmen’s Association and the farmers were not represented. Mr. A. V. Tait, chairman of the Kaponga Dairy Company, said that in going round the district, he noticed, that in some cases farmers were very despondent, and talked of a slump in prices. That was wrong, as it was only a case of prices receding. No one expected that they would have kept up so high after the war had ended, but unfortunately other things had not dropped, and they were in a rather awkward position. However, he thought that the prospects of the dairy industry were Vfery rosy. The day would come when butter and cheese would filter into every portion of the globe. There was no doubt New Zealand made the best produce in the world, not even excepting Denmark. He detailed the progress made by the district, pointing out that over 20 years ago a butter factory was established at Kaponga, and 10 years later, from an area of less than four square miles, 1000 tons of cheese had been manufactured per annum. The greatest move of all was the establishment of the hydro-electric plant. To-day the cost o-f production was killing the industry, and that must be tackled by everyone, including the individual farmer, and he thought the electric scheme would play a prominent part in reducing the cost of production. There were some who considered the scheme had come too soon, but he considered it was five years too late.

RATEPAYERS UNANIMOUS. Mr. R. G. Cook, chairman of the Kaponga Town Board, congratulated tne directors of the Dairy Company on tne highly enterprising spirit they had shown and the hearty manner in which they had co-operated with the Town Board for the purpose of utilising the water power facilities the company possessed, and particularly in regard to the bold spirit in which they accepted the heavy financial obligations involved. In thia respect the town district ratepayers were also to be congratulated for accepting financial responsibility, particularly as the moneys raised were spent outside the town. He emphasrsec* the fact that the general appearance of the township showed that it did not lack a progressive spirit. Established fifteen years ago with an annual revenue of £3OO. the Town Board had since provided every possible modern facility for its residents, and its revenue was about £5OOO. The residents had always supported the board’s policy, and in connection with the present scheme a record was established, not one vote being cast against it. They had by no means exploited the scheme to its full extent, and he fully anticipated further proposals would be equally well supported. He paid a great tribute to the work of the engineer (Mr. A. E. Moss), who had saved con--/lerable money by taking on his shoul- • s tasks that he might justly have .;-ked to be placed in the hands of outside experts, and the result had exceeded anticipations, more than justifying every confidence placed in him by the company and board. WORKING POLICY OUTLINED. Mr. Cook said the working management was that the company would instal the plant and lease it to the board for a number of years, the company to purchase its power from the board. He emphasised that the 130 h.p. at present available from the two plant© was only a little more than ,one-third of the ultimate available power. They could not count on the further 80 h.p. the plant could develop until provision had been made for water storage against summer shortage, the possibilities of which had not been Investigated, or until a-fuel-driven stand-by plant had been installed. Personally, he favored a fuel-driven stand-by plant. The turbine installed in the original plant was an exact duplicate of the one in the new power-house, though with the present head it was not developing half the power. To increase the head it would be necessary to shift the powerhouse and extend the pipe-line lower down the river. The shifting of the intake further up the river would also increase the head, and would be done almost immediately. As business warranted tbej ja succeMjve

I increase the capacity of the plants up to at least 300 h.p. The present 130 h.p. was costing £6 per h.p. per annum, and he estimated that the cost of the 300 h.p. would be reduced to between £4 and £5 per h.p. The policy in connection with the sale of power was a' simple one. It would be fixed at a price that would compare favorably with any other form of light, heat and power. If the price of benzine came dow’n they would drop their price, so that the electric motor wourd always be a better proposition than oil.

The possibility of obtaining a supply of electricity would probably be uppermost in the minds of many. This was principally a question of the board being provided with the wherewithal to erect the necessary transmission lines to serve any locality. As far as the district already reticulated . was concerned a self-reliant policy had been pursued, the work being done with money loaned to the board by the parties concerned. This had been greatly assisted by the dairy company in the first instance disposing of loan debentures to individual suppliers on easy terms, thus preventing the saddling of the scheme w’ith heavy interest charges. Six thousand pounds was the sum authorised by the ratepayers and forthcoming locally for reticulation purposes, and it would be fully expended on the 30 miles of line now being completed. In respect of future extensions, the sanction of ratepayers -’r "a further loan would be required, the actual money being advanced locally by dairy companies and farmers concerned if an immediate supply was required, or by waiting till money was cheaper, as he did not think the board would sanction more than 6 per cent, interest. Individuals could advance £5O on loan bearing moderate interest, and against any little difficulty in finding the money, property-owners would have the advantage of being relieved from rating.

Mr. E. A. Moss (electrical engineer to the Town Board) thanked the members of the board for the unanimity with which they hgd adopted any 0,.g--gestions and the readiness with which they had footed the .bills. He considered that the scheme was largely due to the -foresight of the present chairman of the Town Board.

Mr. O. Hawken, M.P. for Egmont, in declaring the scheme open, congratulated the district on the spirit of cooperation which had brought about the scheme. The district, though comparatively a -small one, had, by the energy and enterprise of its people, done more than larger districts. Mr. Hawken then formally declared the scheme open, and Mrs. Hawken pressed the button which turned on the power and cut the ribbon across the entrance to the power-house. Little Marjorie Cook then presented Mrs. Hawken with a bouquet.

The visitors inspected the plant, after which they were the guests of the committee at afternoon tea in the public hall, which had been prettily decorated, and a dainty repast was dispensed by the ladies of the district, with Mrs. A. V. Tait as chairwoman. The ladies were accorded a hearty vote of thanks.