LAND OF POSSIBILITIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 178, 27 July 1923, Page 9

LAND OF POSSIBILITIES.

AWAKENING OF THE NORTH. PACE SET BY "WHANGAREI. FARMING AND INDUSTRIAL CENTRE. fßy Our Special Commissioner.) XXV. The North Auckland Peninsula has jnuch to commend it as far as settlement is concerned. It is emerging from its chrysalis stage, and metaphorically gpeaking threatens to fly far above the beads of other districts that hare been far more favourably treated by successive Governments. The awakening of the North is amply demonstrated by the wonderful signs of development that are to be seen on all hands. Whangarei the capital of the North, is perhaps the' most outstanding example of what the district is capable of, but it is only within the last few years that this progressive town has Teally shown signs of leaping ahead. Whangarei can be reached either by steamer or railway froa Auckland, the distance being 80 miles by water, and 131 miles by rail It is on the East Coast, and is the principal port of the North Auckland Peninsula. In addition it is the chief centre of population and trade, and may be termed the "stepping off" place for the industrial and farming districts further North. WHANGAREI'S RIVAL. In a sense Whangarei may be said to have a rival in Dargaville, "on the, West Coast, or to be more exact, on the wonderful waterway, the Northern Wairoa Kiver, but Whangarei has up to the present kept well ahead. There is a reason for this. Whangarei was farming the land and developing her industries, while Dargaville was still living on her natural resources—kauri gum and kauri timber. Now that the timber is cut out and the gum industry not nearly as lucrative to the individual as formerly, Dargaville hae set herself to the task of developing her farming lands, and some day Whangarei may find that she has a serious competitor for supremacy, but that day is not yet. Whangarei holds the palm in push and progress, and has left every other district in the North far behind. This is not on account of the superior quality of the land in the Whangarei district. ■As a matter of fact, the land is "patchy." There are certainly many . good areas, but on the other hand there are extensive tracts of poor gum lands in evidence in various parts of the district. Whangarei has succeeded through sheer hard work and the utilisation of the bounties bestowed on the district by nature. Whangarei has secured a large proportion of the trade of the North. The town is a natural trading centre. The civic fathers are alive to their responsibilities, and during the last decade have done much to beautify their .town, to construct buildings worthy of the district, and to improve itheir river and /harbour in order thai Whangarei nay "have a port worthy of the great district which it drains. There are lime works at Hikurangi, at Whangarei Heads, Waikiekie, and Ruatangata. At Kamo brick works ere in full swing. These started three : -years ago, the first year's output aggregating 50,000 bricks a month. This has , since been doubled. There are - plentiful ''•seams of red clay, fireclay- and white "''"'jsTay in .the vicinity, so that the higher -• .^ranches. ai manufacture only, .awaifc. •/. to produce pottery and ;'■ porcelain. . - £i As indications of the progress of the district, it is interesting to quote the estimated postal revenue over a decade. For 1912 it was £2500, and for 1922 £6800. In the same years the telephone exchange connections increased from 204 to 843, and the savings bank deposits rose from £75,850 to £146,742. Exports from Whangarei for the year 1D22-3 were as follows:—Butter 69,888 j boxee, .fruit 9770 cases,. kauri gum 10,962 sacks',' wool 4600 bales, cement j ,Md linie' 77,554..t0n5; coal 15,502 tons. SUMMED UP. The WhangaTei branch of the North Auckland Progress League does not .indulge in the least exaggeration when in its propaganda leaflets it states:— ."Whangarei, as the capital centre of ' the North) with sound and steady progress behind it, has before it the' most promising future of any town in New ■ Zealand. It hae an unrivalled backi /country, and the primary industries of the district constitute a dependable assurance of continued and expanding prosperity. Besides this, the district; ' has untapped - resources . awaiting ■ development, and nowhere are the horizons of opportunity more varied, ; . more inviting, and more assured." DAIRYING ON THE INCREASE. .«■. itaring recent years the settlers have gone in for dairying very extensively, ' «nd Some of the farms in the country wouM do credit to any pastoral district in the world. It has always been ■aid of the north that the settlers do : not farm their land »s they should. •\ While this criticism applies generally to the north it must be conceded that there is a bigger percentage of settlers farming their land properly in the • Whangarei county than in any other district of the north. The dairying re- '•' turns are in themselves an index to the t ■ progress of the district. Theje are four j 'Cutter factories and one cheese fae- ' with a' dual plant in the Whangarei county. Last year these factories produced 106 C tons of butter out of a total of 6726 tons produced in the twenty factories operating.in the North Auckland peninsula. In ' 1908 the B Whangarei Co-operative Dairy Com I pany commenced with 146' suppliers r and" an dutput "of 118 tons. In 1918 j they! had 238 suppliers, the output reaching 238 tons. This year they had 525 'suppliers and an output of approxi- | Bately 730 tone. The first year's pay lnentto suppliers was just, under 9}d JOT lb. Last year the payment was Jttit under 1/6 per lb. The- Hikurangi factory, produced 39 tons from 66 suppliers in its first year (1904). Last ;iiaeon the number 6f suppliers was 472 and the output 705 tons, the paytttnt being 1/3 per lb. The Weddel : Cop for the highest average grade in <•: the Auckland province has • been Won I loilr timee in the Whangarei county, twice by the Whangarei factory and twice by the Waipi factory. ; INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY. .'ln addition to being backed by the firming industry, Whangarei is the centre of much "industrial activity. The coal mines at Hikurangi Are very important to the district. Recently a '■-:, new • electrically-equipped mine, with -/two 343 feet shafts, was opened. The -.export of coal from Whargarei harj hour aggregated 1500 tons a month, i tnd & large quantity also goes by ! -nil. The cement- works, seven miles from Whangarei, a description of which . 'hag already appeared, are the- most comI plat* and modern in the Southern m Httniiphere.