SHOP IN FRANKTON.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 123, 25 May 1923, Page 2 (Supplement)

SHOP IN FRANKTON.

THE BUSY RAILWAY CENTRE. GROWTH OF BUSINESS PREMISES. A PROGRESSIVE TOWN*. The business people of Frankton are very jealous of the larger centre of Hamilton, of which Frankton is an integral part, being now under the. same administration. To conserve their interests and secure trade -which might otherwise go to Hamilton they have formed a Shopkeepers' Association, the slogan of which is "Shop in Frankton." That the faith they have in their town lis justified is shown by the very largo | number of new shops and business preI raises which have been erected -within the past few months. A substantial j class of building has boon adopted, tho [majority of the new premises being of 'concrete, with large and handsome shop ; fronts. Every class of trade is well rep- ' resented, and as the. advent of extensive railway works has resulted in an influx of population there has been a great 1 revival of trade. Frankton Junction is situated on the j Main Trunk line, 8- miles south of 'Auckland. After its affairs had boon administered by a Town Board if, was 'constituted a borough in 1913, and four .years later it amalgamated with Hamilton, of which it now forms a part. The | business centre of Hamilton is only a jmilo away, and the two places are eon'uected by a constant 'bus and motor-car .service. ! Frankton is an important railway 'junction, trains arriving and leaving nt all hours of the day and night from and to Auckland, Wellington, Wanganu", Xapier. Cambridge, Rotorua, Te Aroha, ! Waihi and Thames. A first-class motor service is maintained daily between ; Frankton and Whatawhata and Eaglan. ! Xow that the Frankton-West Coast light railway district has been gazetted I Frankton will become still more impor- | tant, and with a light line running to

I the seaside resorts of Raglan and | Kawhia a large number of tourists and j others are certain to pass through Frankton. A considerable amount of i goods traffic, including fish, coal, lime land metal from the West Coast will also j greatly increase the present activity at i j Frankton. ; The site of the present town was orij (finally held by Major Keddell and j Lieutenant Spiller, who, at the conclusion of the Maori war, received it in the i form of military grants. The area, totalling some 540 acres, was afterwards purchased by the late Mr. T. Jolly, about the year 1567. The outlying portions of the town were held by Messrs. Cox, Williamson, T. Mander aud Dr. Carey, the latter's property also being a military grant. Mr. Jolly held his property intact until the advent of the railway in 1577, when he offered a nuin- ] ber of town lots and 10 and 20-acre i sections for sale by auction. This was | i the first land sale ever held in the I Waikato, and took place on the day | made famous by the arrival ot* the first j train. The highest price obtained for I the quarter-acre building sections was £.'!4 for the site on which the Frankton Hotel now stands. | The township, however, made very j little progress until some 15 or 20 years i ago, when, one after another, private residences sprang up. the population having increased since then from about ! "-10 to nearly 4000. Frankton had its own electric light, j which was generated from a steam j plant, but with the advent of power li-om Horahora the power station was |

closed, and the town now obtains all fa light and power from Horahora. G a ! is obtained from the Hamilton Gaj :Works, and a drainage scheme ia now well under way. In order to obtain sutheient pressure for fire-fighting p ur . poses the water service is augmented by a specially-constructed water tower which, standing on an elevated position in tbe southern portion of Frankton forms a commanding landmark for miles around. Frankton possesses an exceptionally fine Town Hall. It. is situated near the railway station, and as it has a pani.•ularly good door tor dancing, it, is very popular for dances and similar rune", tions. A commodious supper room jg now being added to tbe rear of the Town Hall, whicli, when completed, will fill a long-tolt want and greatly add to the convenience of those using the hall for soeia.- functions. A first-class picture theatre lias also been recenilv opened at Frankton. Frankton is rapidly becoming the centre for a number of very important industrial concerns, due no doubt largely tn the fact that it is an important railway centre, and that a practically unlimited supply of electricity is avail", a'olo for power purposes. Adjoining the railway line, with its own siding, the N.Z. Co-operative Dairy Co.. Ltd., has erected most, extensive buildings, consisting of one of tho largest butter factories in New Zealand, a casein factory, and an up-to-date box factory, in which boxes for the whole, of .he company's numerous branches are manufactured. Tho Waikato Dairy Co. has __ butter factory on the other side of th<; line, whore is also situated tl>3 large ■ factory of the X.Z. Bacon Co., Ltd. j Other important industries are engineering, coach building, sawmilling, furniture-making, etc. i A short distance irnm the centre of: ithe town there are modern sileyariif, | which were opened two years ago. These have been constructed on most up-to-date lines- They provide ace imtnoriation for a very largo amount of stock, !and. being paved with concrete, are 1 always clean and sanitary. ! Owing to the extensive wo. .";; now -.a course of operation by the R.Hway ■Department at Frankton a model suburb i has sprung up a shout distance from the 'station. A good olas. of bouse has beeerected and there 'has been a keen demand for them by workers in the district. The Railway Department's building branch has established a huge factor*.- in which houses are manufactured ion what are really wholesale, lines. The

Canadian system has been adopted, and what are called '" mill-cut" houses are being expeditiously manufactured, lac basic principle underlying the system is that the builder, instead of obtaining his timber from a sawmill in commercial size-, i__ supplied with every piece needed for the house he i- building, cut exactly to size, so that there is no fitting to be done on the job. The house has merely to be put together. Everything is done by machinery and everything is standardised. The buildings and maichinery have been erected in such a way I that the log of timber pa=.=cs in at one end, and, if it does not conic out of the other a house ready for occupation, it certainly comes out in pieces sawn and planed ready for putting together ftt very short notice. Tiie Railway Department's garden suburb has aroused considerable favourable comment. It is par: of a scheme I for the provision of houses for railway {men at Kaiwarra, -Manon, Taihape, Ohakune, Taumarnnui, Te Kuiti. an* JMamaku. The Government has acquire! land set a.-ide land at each ol these i centres, and laid them out on modern town-planning line.-. I At the Frankton model suburb chainwide streets have I n provided, witlawns between the road and footpathThey have boon planted with avenues of trees, and the suburb i- connected to the municipal water, drainage and lighting schemes. Liberal provision ha* been made I for recreation, thirty of the eighty acres jot" the settlement' being reserved for playing grounds. live a. re- of which are for" cricket and football, .mailer areaare reserved for bowling preens, teani-cotu-ie and children', playground;. I Though built from standardised •part-, the houses aro of various designs. land each has its o.vn individuality. I They will remain Government property lin perpetuity. the vent to railway servant- tain? one day's p.i.i ;- f ' r .>eek. The j experiment i- an interesting one. and its su-.___ is apparently as-urcl. | Frankton is well provided for in tbe matter of a..-ouimodat ~n for -i.tors, and no matter bow -even, the -train may be it rarely happens Cial suitable accommodation cannot be obtain. 1 in Frankton, in addition to the lai"_e licensehouse, there are a number of excellent private hotels and boardinghouses all of wbi.': m:i : nt-in a very hi__ -t vi lard mil -an .<■- b ponded upon'to' .a-'., every -at'i-f.i : on. The shops nr.. w-.l| built. •'..• .--."•-< are attractively .ii.|.!_v. I. • i .- * ■<■ -'' '!'- ---kee- and bus'mc-s ■■...!.■ ate .con, '"- 'u'.ui-..0'. ~'"-oi;'. ._.-■ " ':- :■** born completed in tint niiitl -Tee*. wbi.-b ba- been : :ti iro'l'. '"■' ~ ,-••.. ' i om-riie.-,-e Street, a .!..•»."."..;' .-.'i ere nwl havin_ been laid a- an e\o.. neat. T'y.s i ii.ir.m_i. and ■ i- .-. ..■••;.- I n" :f L - * | —-111.-l -- i -is • ■ •■ ' ••■ -I