TAIHAPE TO-DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 90, 16 April 1913, Page 8

TAIHAPE TO-DAY.

v MODELt:MUNICIPALITY.

- BUSH TO BOROUGH IN TWO DECADES.

CENTRE OF DISTRICT

. WOOL, BUTTER, AO -TW-BEIt.

("Star"' Special.)

As you stroll down Taihapc's wellbuilt main thoroughfare and listen to the sweet chimes'of the post office clock, which remind you so much of an English village, it is hard to believe that only seventeen years ago this thriving township boasted only one muddy "street," on which abutted three or four ramshackle shanties, one of which was dignified by the name of "The Store." CANTERBURY PILGRIMS. To trace the genesis of this settlement of phenomenal growth, it is necessary to go down to Canterbury, where people were crying out for land when no land was to be had. In order to relieve the hunger the Government inaugurated small settlements in the North Island, and a handful of Christchurch people decided to throw in their lot with Taihape—or "Otaihape" as it was then and for some time afterwards called — away" up the Rangitikei Valley among jthe hush fastnesses. The sections were small, and the ' settlers were helped by the Government in felling the bush, and they were also given work forming the xoad. As a matter of fact, there was only one road in those days. It ran up the picturesque valley of the Rangitikei River, aud the nearest settlement was Ohingaiti, 23 miles down the valley, then the railhead of that slowly moving concern, the Main Trunk line. A few of the old hands aire still living at Taihape—notably, Messrs. W. McCormick, Tom Shute,. Alex. Stewart, and John dryer.' The first settlers arrived from Canterbury;just twenty years ago. Recalling the old days, Mr. McCormick gave a "Star" representative some graphic details of the hardships the founders of Taihape had to put up with. "But," he added, with, enthusiasm, "if I were twenty years younger I would start out again for another section in the wayback. We were all one big family in those days, and 1 look on them as the happiest of my life." To give some idea of the isolated situation of Taihape, it is enough to • mention that the big runholders of the . vicinity used Napier as their outlet, carting their wool close on a hundred miles to the Hawke's Bay port. ADVENT OF THE LINE. The brave pioneers from Canterbury— the good old English colonising stock — held on bravely,; and their faith was rewarded. Later on the country to the west was settled on the improved farm system, and then the railway works crept up the valley, giving the township its first real start. When the railhead reached Taihape, the last stage before the "dry" area was tapped, the social life was rather more boisterous than was advantageous to the reputation of a township founded by pilgrims from the "Cathedral City," but many of the stories of the orgies on pay-day were highly coloured, and many stock yarns of a bibulous character were localised at innocent Taihape by outside newspapers, whose sense of humour was greater than their regard for the township's reputation. - BUZZ OF THE SAW. It was in 1904 that the railway went through, and two years later Taihape was a borough. They believe in taking time by the forelock down that way. When, the :rioto._s "Co-op." passed on ;;■ with, his pick and shovel, and his abnormal capacity for alcoholic liquors, the more peaceful - and profitable sawmiller came along, and soon the valley was humming with the sound of circular 6aws ripping up the majestic rimu and kahikatea into milling timber that was scattered from New Plymouth to Wellington and Napier. In the immediate yicinity - of- the borough the timber is ' practically "cut out, and there are few . mills "witliin a five-mile radius, but in ' what may be called the Taihape district ' there are probably a dozen mills at work, • turning out. over SoO.OOOft a month. The sawmiller is" giving place to the settler, who-wins, a living from" the soil itself — the sort of man who really makes towns ~___td'.ci-i-_!_.an£,l-- ma P e may be said to hayfe. really;-; entered -on -its permanent career. 'Speaking of ~ sawmilling, it is Tather interesting to note the operations of the Egmont' Box Company at Ohu-u,.-near Taihape,, the...whole of its large o-itput of white, pine being shipped ; .t_i' Eltham for conversion into cheese ■ <i_ates and-butter-boxes, to accommodate -t-ie-enormous shipments of produce from the "Dairy of..New,. Zealand." Tho '-"..manager of this ".big j mill is Mr. R. C. Barr...' ' ' . .r,..;':;THE PROFITABLE COW. ' ; As.iv; so many parts of the North, dairying is getting a : strong hold in Taihape. A few figures of the operations-of the Taihape Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., which was started in IDOL will explain. In 1905-6 the butter manufactured amounted.to 138,3_21b, the average price paid for butter fat being 9.72 d per lb; in 1906-7 the figures were 190,5601b, OJd per lb.; in 1907-S. 148,011, 10 3-16 d per 'z lb ; ~19 OS-D; 238.3791b. 9|'d'per lb: 1909-10, 270.0951b. lOd per lb; 1910-11, 271,0531b, lOd'per-lb; 1911-12, 281,5081b, 10.57 d per lb. The amount distributed last year among the suppliers was close on £11,000. The company has an up-to-date factory at Ohutu with creameries at Taihape, Sandon Block and Mangaweka, and the list of suppliers now totals about 90. About half the suppliers go in for home separation, and it is only a matter of time in the opinion of the manager when it will be universally adopted, as it has been in so many progressive districts of the North. Home separation has much to recommend it, not the least important from a shareholder's point of view being that it cuts down working expenses . tremendously. In the manager, Mr. A. J. Isdale, and the secretary. Mr. E. B. Jennings, the company have two capable officers. The company's brand has been very successful lately in show competitions,. having been placed first in three important events, including the championship at the New Plymouth show last February. At Ruahine, in from Mangaweka, there is a proprietary cheese factory turning out an excellent article in increasing quantities. ._'._'-" BACK" COUNTRY. . V Situated as it is" at the head of a val- ; ley Taihape is the natural centre for a of :first-clas s grazing country. SIS. r 7 divided **» three classes—bush, .-natural- clearincs i (what we further North call fern couxftry),

£20 per acre. The bush lands of the Rangitikei Valley are all on papa foundation, and are famous throughout the Dominion as sheep country, carrying from two and a-half to three sheep to the acre at present.. The natural clearings carry from one and a-half to two sheep per acre, but are improving every year with stocking, and there is no doubt that in time they will ,equal the busli country which is now at its best. At present the land round Taihape is devoted entirely to grazing, but in the opinion of such a good judge as Mr. Powell, of Dalgety and Company, there is no doubt that in time a. lot of the* low-lying country to the East will be used for cropping—root and grain. ON KARIOI. Some very interesting experiments arc being made on the Hanoi Plains to the north of Taihape, and the results must be very disconcerting to the quid mines who, when the Main Trunk line route was a matter of heated debate, dismissed the vast stretches of tussocky country that border the base of Ruapehu as "barren deserts." The Karioi Plains was always a trump card in the hands of the crowd that argued that the traffic on the Main Trunk line would not pay for axle grease. Messrs Duncan and Campion, who hold a good slice of Karioi as a sheep run, are carrying out work of considerable importance on their station, and their efforts are meeting with well-deserved success. A few years ago a small patch of green turnips amid the surrounding sea of dun-coloured tussock used to attract the attention of train travellers who knew the history of the place. Each autumn has seen that green patch increase in size until to-day there are several hundred acres down in winter feed for the firm's flocks. About half a-mile from the line there is this autumn the cheery sight of a harvest field and the well-filled sheaves in stook prove that "the barren desert" can also grow oats, with fine straw and heavy heads. The crop makes splendid chaff, and some idea of its quality may be gathered from, the fact that the sacks run from twenty-two to twenty-five to the ton. The main trouble on the elevated Karioi Plains are the keen, biting winds, but with belts of shelter trees planted judiciously this much-under-rated tract should grow anything. Among the big holdings which make Taihape their centre are several known throughout the Dominion—Mr. Studholme's "Ruanui," about 14 miles west of Taihape; Mr. Birch's "Erewhon," about 30 miles to the north-east, and Mr. Batley's station at Moawhanga, 13 miles to the east. A MODEL BOROUGH. Taihape is probably the most progressive borough of its size in New Zealand. It has been exceedingly fortunate in its, qouneillors, and particularly so in having at the head of public affairs such a man as Mr. Anthony Nathan. His name is synonymous wiith progress, and no one individual in the district is entitled to more credit for the unique place the borough holds in municipal matters. The executive officers are all imbued with the same spirit of making Taihape a model borough, Mr. G. Sutherland, the town clerk, treasurer, and borough engineer, being a particularly keen and capable head of a very willing staff. In 1906, the year the borough was formed, the population was 1,270, and the ratable value of the property was £72,000. To-day it has in the neighbourhood of I.SOO people, and the ratable value of the borough is £190,000. Electric light, drainage, water supply, municipal baths, and library, in a town that became a borough as late as seven years ago, is not a bad record. The latest municipal venture was electric light, the station having been up only six months. The swift-running Hautapu, the pretty tributary of the Rangitikei that flows past Taihape furnishes plenty of pojver to' generate plenty of current, whicli is supplied to citizens at 1/- per unit less 25 per cent. Power is also generated nt the station to pump a first-class supply of water from the Hautapu to the storage reservoir, with a capacity for holding 1,350,000 gallons, situated" on the hills overlooking the town. The water is delivered to consumers at an average pressure of 1501b. The drainage of the town is perfect, and is carried out on the septic tank system. Among the public buildings are the municipal offices and library, a substantial block worthy of a town twice the size, and a fine post office, in the tower of which there is a clock with a particularly sweet-toned set of chimes, the gift of Mr.-Frank Gibbons. On one of the many hills round the town there is also a well-equipped cottage hospital under the jurisdiction of the Wanganui Hos-pital-Board. Of course these things cannot be obtained without some counterbalancing responsibility, and the borough indebted" ness is fairly heavy—some £43,000 —and the rates are proportionate. One of tho few drawbacks to Taihape is the fact that it has no metal, every stone having to be railed from Ohingaiti, twenty-three miles away. This makes roadingC.pensive, but in spite of this big handicap the borough has done wonders, and in place of the quagmires of a few years back it -will soon be possible to get about anywhere in the district by motor-car—a form of locomotion which is growing common in the vicinity.