OPENING OF THE RAILWAY TO TE AROHA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2129, 2 March 1886, Page 2

OPENING OF THE RAILWAY TO TE AROHA.

Ykstkrimy wa* an eventful day, not only for To Aroha, but for the W.iikato a" well. The opening up of communication between tho plains of Waikato and the s^oldtiolds and sanatorium is an event which lesorves t» be m irked in tho k.ilond.ir of )i>th place-*. That, Waikato so regarded it was proved by tho largo number of people .vho took advantage of the e\cur-ion train, riio train left Auckland at an early hour ve-.terd.iy morning, having on board about 700 people. At almost every station fresh wcessions. of strength were received until, svhen the train arrived at Frankton, there nust have been about a thousand on board. It the junction a further contingent of ibout one hundred from the Upper Wa.ipa. iistricts joined the train. At Hamilton West fully three hundred passengers got iboard, and at Ruakura the balance of the Cambridge contribution got on, so that when the excursion left the la t tor plaoe, it consisted of faomewhero About 1500 people, in 32 carriages. The train was in charge of Mr C. Hudson, District Tiaffic Manager, who did his utmost to administer to the comfort of those who had taken passage bv it. Nothing of importance occurred until Waihou was reached, where tho Aroha orass band was in waiting and played a lively welcome to the excursionists. Here ilso a vory pretty arch of welcome was erected. At the Aroha station ground a largo crowd of people waa gathered who, is the train grew up, greeted their visitor.* .vith hearty cheers. Over the road from the station was erected an arch of flowers And evergreen b, and as tho first batch of excursionists passed under the cheers were renewed with enthusiasm, and responded to heartily by the visitor*. The towu wore a holiday appearan«3, the various hotelbeing decorated with bunting and evergreens, and a necond arch of welcome vwi-. erected ncross Whitaker-street, near the Hot Springb Hotel. The inaugural ceremonial was tho planting of meiwnul trees in the Hot Springs Domain, and thither the crowd tended. The spot chosen was near the centre of the reserve, where a flagstaff had been erected, and where the school children, each bearing a bannerette, were congregated. The ceremony was ■rracefully performed by Mrs J. B. Whyte, the wife of the member for the district. Mri Whvte, having planted the trees, an oak and a puriri (emblematic of the union of bnth race*) in a, " workmanlike " manner, said, addressing tho Chairman of the- Domain Board :— " Mr Wilson, ladies and gentlemen, I now declare these trees duly planted, and believing that they will grow md flourish, it is my earnest hope that Te Aroha will grow and flourish with them <r Cheers were then given for Mrs Whyte and the assemblage dispersed. Sulise qnentlv another tree was planted by Mrs Kenrick, wife of the Warden. The visitors then dispersed over tho domain, many of the ladies going to No 3, (commonly called the •' private bath ") which was reserved for them all day, while the sterner sex indulged in the luxury of a hot bath in the other pavilions. Numbers also climbed the mountain sides and went for walks in the neighbourhood. The weather was beautifully fine and all seemed thoroughly to enjoy themselves. The various hotels and boarding houses were beseiged and their capacity was severely taxed. It must be borne in mind in this connection that tho people of Te Aroha only expected about 500 visitors, .and their breath was fairly taken away when they saw the crowds decending from the longest train that had ever run on the Auckland railway. Shortly after tho ceremony of planting tho trees, a number of the guests proceeded to the Public Hall to

The Luncheon there provided. This had been «ofc up by the residents in honour of the occasion. Amongst the invited were the Mayor, Council, and Town Clerk of Hamilton, and the chairmen of the various local bodies in the Waikato and adjacent districts. The chair was taken by Mr J. B. Whyte, M.H.R. for the district, Messrs Wilson, Chairman of the Aroha Domain Board, Williams Chairman of the Piako County Council ; and Brodie, Chairman of the Thames County Council, filling the vice chairs. About a hundred guests sat down to a plentiful repast supplied by Mr T. Lawless. After dinner, the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were proposed .and duly honoured, the band playing the National Anthem Mr Brodie proposed " The Ministry and tho Minister for Public Work I *." He apologised for the absence of many Thames people, who would hive been present had they recened longer notice. They sym pnthUed very intich with their neighbour* at Te Arolift. He eulogised the Minister of Public Works, and hoped the Government would remain in power long enough to complete thu line to the Thames. The tnasfc was drunk with cheers. Mr W. H. Hales, District Engineer, returned thinks on behalf of the Minister. Mr John Lamb proposed "'Success to tho Railway," coupled \w'h the name of tho mfinacj-ir, Mr Hudson. He praised the management of the railways* and pronosticated that the opening of the railway would tt>nd to bring tho spring-) into general notice. He related instiiice-i in which the springs had conferred blessings upon buffering humanity. These things deserved to bo known. He himself was carried to the spring* wheu he first came there, sind had derived immuisu benefit. (Applause.) Mr Hudson thanked those present for the hearty manner in which the toast lnd been received. He hoped he he w ould be able to bring yet bigger train* to To Aroha, He was sure f»uch would be the case when the plaeo was better known. Mr W. J. Suiter, Mayor of Newmarket, pioposad "The Local Bodies" coupled \\ ith the name of Mr William', chairman of the Piako County Council. Ho referred to tlie important position occupied by the«e bodies, but said it w.w necessary to e\tend thoir powers, and ho hoped measures tending in that direction would betaken. He was proud to have been one of the number who came from Auckland to be present on this occasion. Mr Williams responded iv an appropriate speech. Mr W. A. Graham, Mayor of Hamilton, proposed " Suece-s to To Aroha." Ho was certain that tho toast would bo received with enthusiasm. The word Te Aroh* meant "patriotism," "loyalty," "love.", Tho cheifs wished when they were dying to be carried no that they could look niton the mountain as they passed away. Ho felt certain that would become a most important sanatorium and place of resort, and had the greatest pleasure in proposing "Success to Te Aroha." Mr F. Pavitt responded. He felt that the future of tho place was assured, and those who lived there believed this thoroughly. Mr Wilson read apologies from a number of gentlemen who were unable to be preRent. The Mayor of Auckland wired that he fully intended coming, but had lost the train. Mr-J. B. Smith proposed "Our Member, Mr J. B. Whyte. " He thought it would be impossible to get a better member. He wan an exception to most members. Most of them owed an apology to their constituencies, but they owed their momber a debt of gratitude, and he felt sure that in the event of a contest they would return him triumphantly at the head of the poll. (Loud and continued applause). Mr Whyte, in reply, said that nothing w.w more awkward for a banhful man than to have to nib and listen to his own praises, however sincere tboy might be, and the most embirrassing part of public speaking was replying to the toast of one's own health. Nevertheless it would be very ungrateful to deny, and extremely foolish to pretend that he was not very much pleased at the very cordial reception which ho had just received. He was exceedingly grateful for it, and could only prove it by doing hi* utmost to merit a continuance of their friendship. He was pleased to be present upon this occasion, as he considered it a most important one, even more so than the last upon which he had the honour to reply to a similar toast, namely the opening of the first hattury on this field. ( That was an important occasion to the mining community, and to those residents in the surrounding district, lv.it this was even more so, as it completed the last liuk, by an easy means of transit, with the rest of the colony and, he might Ray, the rest of the world, with what he thought must become one of the moat important sanatoria in tin's part of the world. He also thought that it wou!4 te ««4 by very in«iy W\ W »bso.#

lately ill health, but simply in search of change and lfoio.ition. In fict, he had noticed <ift"ii lately that it w.i- Ijuiii^ "■>«->'! very much by those \erv uiti io-tin/ people, young man ted c mplos. Tin*, ho thought, w.is a very hopeful sign, .1-1 w hato\er mi^ht b; thought of people m tint (-tage of tlf\elqpinent, tlicio was no doubt they pla> «■•! .in important pirt in the di m a of coli'iiial progress. His fiHMid Mi (Jiaham had lust said that the woi d Te Ami.i ui> aut lm c and pitriotism; and who, he might ttsk, exemplified thov» qualities more than thf-.e young couples '; If this wen- thi- tas ■ already, notwithstanding the dill'cultic- of transit, wh.it nuirht it not be in thb future '' (Linghtei.) A gn'it d-'al had been houd lately of the prevailing depression, not only i.i this district, but all <>\ei the woild, and it mi doubt w.i-i vuv real and ])iinful, but u i "lie pieient could deny th.it, novel thelcss, vt'iv substantial progi.-ss had b.-en m ide during the last few yeai.s. As an instance, he might mention th: fact tlut when he c mtesti'd the Waikato s >.it in IK7O there was only one polling place in the whole of the Thames Valley, and actu dl> only ten votes polled, of which he was h ippy to -ay he had got nine. (Liughtei.) lie did not think it too much to •»,»> that in the event •)f anothei contest (winch h« confessed he hoped wah far distant) that numbsr would hi multiplied by fifty. Nor did he care how much it was inu eased, in f icthei.ither gloried in it, provided the it-Milt wa-> the ■> une, and the voting were in tlio same proportion. (Loud laughter.) Then, as regarded thib depression which they all felt h'> keenly, it had taught them many useful lesions. It had compdlcd them to look round for new means of miking ni'iin-yand, what was of e\en moie importance, for new w ,i} ■> of Having money. In fact he thought it had actjd aa a salutary check to that cxttavag.mce which had become such a prominent characteristic of colonial life. In th.it respect its effect, although severe, had been wholesome. Before he sat down he had jn*t one more thins? to say, and although he thought it usually unwise to introduce politic* upon an occasion of this sort, he wished to state what he looked upon as a fact without adding any opinion of his own. He did it also because ho thought a dissolution was probable within the ne\t six months. Tt was thi-., that thu r.ml question now bcfoie the colony was not one of Vogel, Atkinson or ftivv a.s leaders. Xor was it one of u broad or a narrow policy. It was himply this : Is this the tini'j for the colony to constiuct at a c >st of over four million-,, the East and West Coast Railway? That was really the pivot iip >n which colonial politics now turned, let it bo e\er so much covered up and veiled by so-called policies, and he only mentioned it so that they might give it due consideration before the next general election. He b°gged again to thank them for the veiy cordial reception he had met with. (Ap2>lause.) Mr I). J. Frazer proposed " Mr Warden Kenrick,' 1 and that gentleman responded m a characteristically happy speech. To the people of the Aroha this was a d.iy of unmitigated pleasure. The early settler-? of this place had determined t>> niilce it thn chief centre of the Th imes Valley, to open up a permanent goldfield, and to bring it into connection with Auckland by rail. He was sure that Te Aroha had a gre.it and prosperous future before it. They all knew that they had a great and permanent ','oldfield, but it was only recently that tho people had awakened to tho knowledge of Kdvincr the gold. They had gone too much in a groove, and had actuilly thrown away more gold than they had sa\ed. He thought goldtiek l matters should be brought yet more prominently before Parliament. What they w.uited was scientific knowledge, and though they could not atfoid to pay for tUis, he was sure the colony, if it voted the money, would make a gteat deal out of it. He hoped these pleasant excursions would soon be the. rule and not the exception, and he trusted the Department would learn the valua of the nimble penny. Important as was the opening ot the lailway to Te Aioha, it \\.i3 also important to Waikato. Thore cnuld be no batter market for the f.umeis than a goldfield and he hoped the farmers would put their shoulder to the wheel to help to open thi-> field. He would not dis n 'ui<o the fact that V) far tho field had been a failure, but he was certain that nothing was wanted to develop the resouicj-. of the district but eueigy and perseverance. Mr John Knox proposed " Tho Pioneer-, of the district " coupled with the nann of MrJ. P. Campbell, who responded m a suitable speech. I Mr Mills proposed " The Visitors " I which wa-, responded to by Mr Cook, Chairman of the Ohinemuri County Council, Mr Russpll proposed " The Contractors" to which Mr T. (I. Sandes returned thanks on behdf of Mr Livingstone. Mr J. A. Pond prop >sed •• Our HosU" Mr Jas, Wilson responded. Mr l\ Fault proposed "The Press" which was lesponded to by Mr YonStunner (Horald), and Mr Gieville Smith (Waikato Times). The toast of the Chairman brought the proceedings to a close. As the hour for departure drew near the visitors gr.uitited towards the railway station, and at G o'clock a start was made for home, the e\c.irsioni»ts all agreeing that they had spent a most pleas nit day.