NGARUAWAHIA.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 123, 25 May 1923, Page 3 (Supplement)

NGARUAWAHIA.

-AN HISTORICAL TOWN

CENTRE OF DAIRYING LANDS.

The centre of one of the most impor- , tant dairying districts in the Waikato is ; the prettily situated township of Ngaruawahia, known as Newcastle at the time of the Maori war. j, Ngaruawahia was an important military centre in the early days. It was I the" headquarters of the Kingite move-1 ment among the Maoris, and was the residence of King Pota.tau I. During tho Maori war it was the centre of a good deal of military activity. In 1863 General Cameron established his headquarters in the district, the British troops occupying the town and hoisting tlie Union Jack on the Maori king's flagstaff on December S of that year. A i redoubt wns constructed on the site of j the Maori pa, near to the township, and | I a military hospital was established the l | following year. In passing it is interestI ing to note that one of the firing turrets | \ used on one of the warships during tbe | Maori war has 'been renovated, and now I forms the base of a soldiers' memorial column. The idea of thus commemorating the gallant deeds of those from the I district who fell in the Great War is a nice one, and the Governor-General, Lord I Jellicoe,' made special reference to it at I the unveiling ceremony some months 1 ago. j On the cessation of hostilities the j splendid possibilities of the district from j a farming point of view were quickly i realised by settlers, and so rapidly did I settlement take place that in less than ' twenty years after the fighting Ngarua- ! wahia was constituted a town district. | Three years ago a borough was formed, j Mr. ll! J. Sampson being the present I Mayor.

Ngaruawahia 13 situated at the june- | tion of tlie Waipa and Waikato Rivers, I and is 74 miles from Auckland on the Main Trunk line. Hamilton is only 12 miles distant. It is served by a good service of trains, while the Roose Shipping Co.'s steamers run to Ngaruawahia from Onehunga, cargo being transhipped from the Onehunga steamer at Waikato Heads. Tins service is chiefly for cargo, but a large passenger steamer, formerly used on the Wanganui River, carries many passengers to favourite picnio resorts during the season. j The business portion of the town has been built on level ground near the railway station, but the land on the outskirts is more or less undulating. The business premises comprise many fine I buildings, while a number of concrete I shops and offices are now in course of construction. Pome delightful residences, 1 mostly of the bungalow type, are pret- I tily-situated along the banks of the two! rivers. The area of the borough is 1280 | acres, while the population is 1200, and: the capital value £166,034. The Raglan j j County Council al6o has its headquarters 1 !in Ngaruawahia, the capital value of the •Raglan County being £3.000.000. The ! town is lighted by- electricity from a . j plant installed by the Borough Council, ! I but which is now being used in conjunc- i j tion with power from Horahora, the j i same source of current also supplying l I many of the farms in the district. Aj • water supply scheme, estimated to meet I I the demands of th_ borough for many j j years to come has just been completed iby Mr. I.ockie Cannon, while the matter lof a drainage scheme will in all proba- | bility be tiie next important step in the I inarch of progress. For many years road i traffic had to make use of the railway I bridse to cross the Waikato River, but I last year a new traffic bridge was opened. I and is proving a great convenience. A ' new bridse over tlie Waipa River, giving access to the Te Akitea, Wainzaro, and other settlements in that direction, was opened recently.

Important as Ngaruawahia was from a | military point of view in 1863, it is likely to _c even more so in the near future, as , some time ago the Defence Department purchased a 500-acre block of land for i the purpose of establishing a training . camp for the Northern Military Di triet. i The land is situated on both sides of the , Waikato River, and should prove an j ideal Bite. The' soil is sandy and well drained, and the heavily bushed hills j across the river will make a safe background for gun firing, while the river i will prove useful for bridge-building and other engineering work. j Dairying holds the pride of place in j L I the m_tte°r of industries, and the local | . I butter factory is one of the largest in | _ the Waikato." Figures for this season are not available, but some idea of the extent to which dairying is carried on in the district is shown by the fact that j the output of butter from the Ngarua- ; wahia factory for the 1921-1922 season I was over 2000 tons. Tlie soil is eminently suitable for dairying purposes. and as there is a good rainfall, droughts are practically unknown. The district is well sheltered from prevailing winds. I Stock winter well and always took in the j pink of condition. A considerable amount of attention is j paid to stock raising and fattening in the district, while across the Waipa j River, in the Raglan County, there is j splendid sheep country. Large saleyards ! have been established in Ngaruawahia, j at which sales are held regularly, and I as many as 39,000 sheep, as well as many I head of cattle and horses, have been . ■ passed through in a year. Flax milling; lis carried on to a large extent in the 11 ! j district, the many large swamps provid- j i | ing adequate supplies of excellent flax. j - j Native and imported game are plentiI | ful, while trout abound in the rivers, and l j afford excellent sport for anglers. - j Visitors to the town are well catered . j for in the way of accommodation, there , j being two good hotels and several t private boardinghouses.