TE AWAMUTU.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 123, 25 May 1923, Page 8

TE AWAMUTU.

■ GARDEN OF WAIKATO. A TILOQMVBhBVrE CENTRE. Like many others which have only beei d_velid within comparatively ~* ye .rito T r C tf wonderful .Shed by the Auckland province- The excellent nature of the soil, a.d.d by E climatic conditions, .bountiful rainfall, has enabled the farS to win from their land a volume of wealth unprecedented in the Domt_io tin such a short period of development One BpecW feature in connection with the rapid growth of the le \wamutu district is that the people sorted on the right lines, doubtless <h;__ hv the experience of the I So°S S the oIJ settlements o, t P he country. Thus only the very.best strains of dairy stock are to be found on the farms. It is a comparativelj easy matter to chronicle the results achieved in this district, but the fact that they have not been secured without much hard work and __.ny.rym_. experiences must not be overlooked. Above all, there have been no strikes and no go-slow policies in operation to pamper the development of the country The task that lay to the farmer's hand has been performed with a will and with a knowledge -that it is only by industry coupled with hard work that tlie best fruits of the soil can be {rained. Consequently there has been an abundant harvest at Te Awamutu, and the people of the province are the richer for it. It was only to be expected that a town with such a large and wonderfully fertile hinterland would progress, and to-day it as one of the mile-posts of the Waikato, which proclaim the extraordinary development that has followed up the "opening of the country by the construction of the Main Trunk railway line. It is the best evidence that could ■be offered in favour of a policy of Wain line construction, -without which Te Awamutu would have been a hamlet on the wayside, instead of a prosperous commercial centre, bidding far to outrival many others established years before the residents boasted even a town board. Having regard to the vast possibilities of the district the progress already made is but a mere beginning compared with what may be reasonably expected in the future. The lay-out of the town is such that there is room for thousands of people there, and as production develops on an intensive scale, industries will follow in the wake of primary industry. The advent of electricity will cause to spring into existence schemes for ultilising by-products of the soil, which to-day are being wasted, and as these become factors in our productive system, it follows that Te Awamutu will expand and become . one of the great wealth-producing . tributaries of Auckland, the cluief com- ' mereial centre of Xew Zealand. Te Awamutu, which has been proudly , christened "The Garden of the Wai- , kato" by the inhabitants, is 250 ft above sea level. The climate is ideal, and the , temperature even. It is estimated that there are 6,700 . cows in the district. The Xew Zealand . Co-operative Dairy Company, Limited, i i 'has a large milk pow_er factory near i J the railway station, the ouput of which iis considerable. A large amount of ; I cream, however, is sent to the butter •factories at Ngaruawahia and Frank- . ton, while other factories in the district - absorb other cream. , Te Awamutu offers exceptional attrac- . tions and inducements to all, from the independent man in search of ease to the humblest labourer, but to no class does it offej such inducements as to the . f-vmc-r either big or small: nor does it matter what branch of farming it 5s desired to undertake. The reason is not ' hard to find. Firstly, climatic conditions; and secondly, the nature of not only the subsoil, but the stratum of earth for 100 feet below it provide the reason. This , is an enormously valuable as.set, and j accounts for the continual greenness and j growth during the driest summer- in and t around the district for miles, while t country to the north and south is brown . baked. The almost total absence of high L winds or any chance of flooding from the _ innumerable low-bedded rivers and creeks t relieves the stock and produce raiser of two anxieties. . The land is easily'worked, and, what is ,' perhaps of more importance, its nature _ is such as to lend itself readily to ._ chemical conversion to any required chemical condition. With such conditions existing it is only natural that dairying £ should have gone ahead, but when the capabilities of the district arc considered, * it may safely be said that the district is ' still in its infancy. . The district offers exceptional opporr tunities to the fruit farmer, and for anyone desirous of finding lucrative em- _ ployment of either much or little capital, openings present themselves such as are rarely found elsewhere. Stock raising is carried on most successfully under ideal conditions, and stock from this district has gained many important sucesses in the principal show rings of the North Island. Sheep farming i B carried on to a lesser degree, and on many occasions wool grown within half-a-milc of the town boundary has topped the Auckland market. The advent of electricity from Horahora has been a great boon to the district, and the power is widely used. The Te Awamutu Power Board controls an area Of 309 square miles, which includes the borough of Te Awamutu, the town districts of Kihikil.i, Ohaupo, and Pironoia part of Waipa and WaUonio Cjuntie--and three of the adjacent load dUt.ic's as its inner area: and also parts of the Te Rau-a-moa and Otorohanga ridings including Otorohanga township. J„ ]92u a poll for authority to raise £120,000 was earned without opposition, and in August, 1021, Te Awamutu was ii>l,ted for the first time. Kihikihi received the current the following Peptember, Firon-ia in Decern Der, nnd Ohanpo a few months . j later. In addition to the towns men- ( t.oned, the board's electric lines extend . for many miles into the country. and a t large number of farmers arc using Ihe , power for milking machines and other i tarm appliances. t Foremost in the many proj.re_.sive i steps initiated by the Te Awamutu I Borough Council is the splendid gravita- -• tion water supply from springs on Mount I Pirongia, 14 miles away. The catch- ■ ment area comprises 2,000 acres of native bush and the reservoir has a capacity of fully clear and pure, and there is a water pressure of 1251b, a great asset from a I nre-nghting point of view A loan of £42.000 for sewerage was ti._.,° n .l d b> , .' c rate P--.™™. and practically the whole of the town is retlcu- • lated. A combined gravitation and ' ___?""*_ hette h - u, been adopted, the outflow being treated by eeptie tanks.

Loans totalling £20,000 have been expended on street formation. The roads are particularly good, the main road to the railway station, which is tar-sealed being an exceptionally fine example!' Lined with trees on both sides, it has _ very pretty appearance, and gives the visitor arriving by rail a very good first impression of the town. The buildings in the town are of a substantial nature, notable examples being the handsome post office, with its clock tower, containing the clock presented by Mr. W. Taylor, the two bank building?, and the new concrete premises erected by the father of Te Awamutu Mr. P. B. Teasdale. The shops have their goods displayed in an attractive manner, an. are staffed by thoroughly efficient and attentive assistants. The streets arc well lighted with power from Horahora, the same seiwiee of electrical energy being utilised by the. majority of business premises and private residences.