MAKING OF A TOWN.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18571, 22 December 1925, Page 3

MAKING OF A TOWN.

73 Years of Achievement. OLD WHALING DAYS. How Pioneers Conquered the Wilderness. Seventy-three years ago, the first flock of sheep, belonging to Messrs Rhodes Bros., was driven across the boundaries of North Canterbury and into the comparatively unknown south —a. vast, almost treeless expanse of grassy plain, bordered by rolling downs beyond the Opihi, and extending westward in long, lonely miles to the tussock-covered foothills and the far, misty gorges of the snow-capped Alps. Space almost illimitable it seemed in those not so distant days, when there were no roads, and the only means of transport was the crawling, lumbering bullockwaggon. A wide, wide plain; on the west, the mountains; on the east, the sea. ... In a little, open bay on the coast, where the spurs of the Downs country ran. out to meet the sea and the long Pacific rollers broke on a shingly beach, a few whaling ships had found an anchorage in the shelter of some reefs, and their crews had erected huts and try-pots on the shore. Now and again the low bluffs resounded to the harsh rattle of an anchor-chain or the chanteys of seamen heaving on capstan-bars, and at night the glow of fires lit up the lonely beach. Rough, roystering fellows those whalers of 1840 must have been, yet, like the sheep men of ten years later, pawns in the hands of the Destiny that was already shaping the future of the country that sheltered them. Thus, seven decades ago, Timaru was a collection of huts upon an open beach, its population a mere handful of farmers,, shepherds, a few others who were dependent upon the needs of the pastoralists for their existence, and the seamen who worked the primitive landing stage and surf boats which were the only means of loading and unloading cargo to and from the infrequent shipping. But, within the next few years, Rhodes Bros, were followed by a number of other sheepfarmers who took up large holdings, and their wool output soon made it necessary that the shipping facilities should be improved. Immigrants were brought out from Britain, constructional works of various kinds were commenced, and from that date Timaru hats never looked back. Its population has increased steadily until it is now over 16,000, and on every hand building and commercial enterprise are, brisk. • • Where once whalers forgathered about their fires on the shingle beach is now a busy main thoroughfare, and the dangerous anchorage where lay their ships has been converted into one of the finest artificial harbours of the Line, capable of berthing at its spacious wharves the largest liners visiting the Dominion. Where once the .bullock-waggons crawled laboriously over rough grass tracks, and days were required for the journey from Christchurch, express trains now speed smoothly over shiny rails, and motor-cars, undreamed of in the days of the pioneers, swiftly eat up the miles of metalled highways. The day of the great grazing runs is past, and the summer sun now ripens mile upon mile of waving crops; down the wind comes the purr of the motor-tractor, the clatter of the reaper-and-binder, or the hum of the threshing machine, where sixty years ago a few lonely shepherds rode amongst widely-scattered flocks. On every hand are to be seen evidences of the prosperity that has come to Timaru and South Canterbury* though the district is as yet but in its lusty youth. By rail and road, wool and grain, mutton and beef, butter and cheese, and many products of farm and factory, are transported to the busy seaport town, supplying the local needs and steadily adding to the wealth brought by increasing exports. It is not surprising that, as the natural outlet for so productive a district, Timaru should have grown in a few short years to rank amongst the first ports of New Zealand. Its past has been a splendid record of high endeavour and of noble achievement; its present is a time of prosperity, of commercial security, that, could they have foreseen it, would have swelled the hearts of the early pioneers with pride that they should have been permitted to bear so large a part in laying the foundations of one of the Dominion's richest provinces. What of its future? With its fine harbour, its productive hinterland, its splendid geographical position, its sources of unlimited electric power, and consequent possibilities as a manufacturing centre, Timaru is a town of great potentialities. It lies with the public men of to-day, and with their children, to see that the natural endowments of the town and district are utilised to the utmost; that the gateway of the sea to the world's markets, is improved and equipped; that sources of food and water and power are developed; and that the spirit of civic pride, of interest in public affairs, of co-operation, of loyalty and patriotism, is fostered in the succeeding generations, that the prosperity of town and country may be brought to its highest possible limit.