MAIN HIGHWAYS IN THE ASHBURTON COUNTY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 22, 5 November 1938, Page 8

MAIN HIGHWAYS IN THE ASHBURTON COUNTY

No. 10. IVlum Mr Alainwaring. the Ashburton County Clerk who had spent close on half a century in office, was on May o, 1922. given leave of absence on full pay for one year, steps were at once taken to fill his position. Meanwhile Miss Rosa Brown (now Sirs Stephen bill, of Maronan Road, Tinwald) was installed as actiiig-Olerk till the new Clerk was appointed. In answer to advertisements for the position there were 85 applicants and a short leet was chosen from these to l>e interviewed. This was done, two at the ordinary meeting on July 7 and one at a special meeting on July 14, 1922, the latter heiim Mr George Kelly, of Otautau, Southland. After the interview, Mr Kelly was appointed as County Clerk and has occupied the office till the present day with great credit to himself and the County. He is the son of Scottish parents who came from Carluke, near Edinburgh, in 1881 to .settle on land, at Riverton, in Southland. He was horn at Invercargill and Was educated at the South Invercargill primary school and at secondary classes at the Southland Boys’ High. School. He afterwards passed through his accountancy studies under the tuition of Ml' James Hunter, an accountancy tutor, of Invercargill. Mr Kelly’s Public Body service. in 1901 Mr* Kelly was appointed, after an examination, to the staff of the Southland County Council, where he served for 14 years, relinquishing the position of Assistant-Clerk to talce up an appointment as County Clerk to the Wallace County Council m 1916. The distinction 'with which be carried out his duties there led, in July, 1922, to his appointment as County Clerk for Ashburton. While in (Southland he showed a

keen interest in the Volunteer Forces and rose to commission rank in the Invercargill City Guards.. After the outbreak of the Great War he joined up with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, but a serious illness intervened and ho was finally invalided from the forces.

Mr Kelly is ;i past president of the Coimtv branch of the Institute of County Clerks and lias been vice-presi-dent of the New Zealand Institute since its constitution in 1928. In this year, too, he was appointed, a Justice of the Peace. He is well known in Ashburton as a. successful horticulturist and a. k«fen angler, and is a member of the Council of the Acclimatisation Society.

Early Condition oh Golf Club

To me, in the waiting of these articles, he has been kindness itself. Not once, hut many times, I ihave'had to consult him regarding the Council’s doings, and he has never shown annoyance at what must have proved occasionally an interruption in his work. His staff, too, I have had to bother •to look up matters I was not cjuite sure of, and each orte has laid himself out to help me in every way possible. The County is indeed- fortunate in its County Clerk, and lie is to lie complimented on his staff and the efficiency of the office.

It was on September 22. 1922, that Mi' Kelly began Iris work for the County, and at the October meeting of the Council Miss Brown was coin-

Early Opposition,by the Council Specially written for the “Guardian” by John Brown, “ Lowcliffe,” Ashburton. (Copyright.)

plimented, on the excellency of her work as Acting-Clerk. Labour Day, October 24, 1938, has come and gone, so also has the golt tournament held l on the Golt Course in Ashburton during the Labour Day week-end. On December 19, 1922, appears a. motion in the Council’s record with reference to the lease of a. reserve to the Golf Club. It reads as follows: “That tenders be called loathe lease of the reserve and that a condition lie inserted that, if the lease is obtained by the Golf Club, golf be not played on Sundays.” An amendment was moved to this motion : “That tenders be called, without specifying the condition re playing golf on Sun-, day.” The amendment was defeated by 6 to 4 and thte motion carried. Evidently a cog has slipped since then, or a new cog been inserted in the machinery. Amalgamation of Road Districts, The Superannuation Scheme as_ submitted by the National Provident Fund Board was recommended at a meeting on December 19 for adoption from January 1, 1923, and on March 13, 1923, appeals the following: “That the undertaking to become a contributory on behalf of all persons in the application of the Council dated December 19, 1922, lie, .and is hereby confirmed.” The Road Boards of the County are now being gradually absorbed by the County Council, but the question oi absorption in December, 1922, was only then being mooted, and figures wene submitted at a meeting by the Chairman in support-. In the following August the question was referred to the Road Boards for discussion,but the opinion then was against absorption. To-dav only the Mount Hutt and the - Rakaia South Road Boards of all the Road Boards then in existence are functioning apart from the Council, and tlite Council and these Boards are still debating tuc question. Highways anil Railways. The activities of the Main Highways Board have added greatly to the work of the Ashburton County Council and a resolution passed on July 6. 1923, by the Council, in answer to a letter from the Public Works Department regarding the Main Highways Act. makes interesting reading to-dav in the light of development since then. The Council’s opinion then was “that the time is not ripe to expend a large sum of money in constructing highways running parallel with the railways. It will only cause competition with the railways, which have cost millions of pounds. All money available for expenditure should be used in providing road access to the backblocks, thus encouraging closer settlement, increasing production and thereby increasing traffic on the railways. The Government and the local bodies should direct their energies for the next 20 years in this respect. Constitution of Districts. " “That the Council is also of opinion that if highway districts must be constituted under the Main Highways Act, separate boards should be appointed for both Islands, and large counties —say those with a value of 10 millions and over —should be constituted separate districts, and the provisions of the Act should be executed by tile county councils of each of these counties instead of by the highways councils, thereby obtaining community of interest and saving the cost of administration

“That the proposed representation on district councils is very unfair in-as-much as counties with a. large value and area have only the same representations on the district councils a.s small counties.

“That the money raised from taxation on tyres he apportioned among the local bodies in proportion to the motor vehicles registered with each local body. “The Council therefore emphatically protests against the provisions of the Highways Act as at present constituted.

“That copies of this resolution he forwarded to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Works and the South Island members.” Ratepayers Support Protest. The Council followed this up on August 31. 1923, by calling a special meeting of the County Council. Road Boards and ratepayers and, after discussion a resolution was carrited that “the ratepayers protest against being grouped with other counties, hut that

Ashburton be one district, in the main highway grouping,” Little satisfaction was vouchsafed the Council and ratepayers of the Ashburton County, however, because a letter came from Aty' G. C. Godfrey, executive officer of the Alain Highways Board, stating that it was finally decided to constitute No. 15 Highway District comprising Ashburton, -Geraldine. Alackenaie, Levels, A\ aimate and Waitaki, and asked for notification of the Council’s representation. The Council protested, and a second time protested on March 1, 1924, but on May 2, 1924. agreed to come into Group 15 until better arrangements could be made, and the chairman (Air bill) was appointed to represent the Council.

It would seem as if there has lieen little alteration since in representation, but the Alain Highways Board has pushed ahead with great speed on its main highways programme, tne Transport Board has been formed to co-ordinate the work of road-services and railways, and the Public Wojrks Department lias done excellent work in opening up, by formation of roads, some of the worst of our hack-block country.