FIFTY YEARS PROGRESS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 740, 12 February 1910, Page 12

FIFTY YEARS PROGRESS.

[' IfcN INTERESTING HISTORICAL SKETCH. f; 'N C, BOROUGH AFFAIRS AT A GLANCE. t l ': ■

r- v - ki-;<-r?''Tha -.foDowing.- interesting "figuresre-, : t' I (Raiding the municipal affairs, - of, -; thea of .Masterton are taken, from ,re-i h I' - 'turns dated March 81, 1909 — " a f-.<A-Attiea-(ia acres) - 2,100- t I' population I , 5,500. ... 6-v.; v|G»pitaljvalne of borough-......_'....£1,075,541. - 6 \ ' [Local debt .£85,01] c f , (Local debt per head ...~ —• ' £15 0 « > , — 1.C48 „ f ,l ©welling''houses - 1,600 5 valuov (unimproved;:-.... :. .£339,083 j, f SOverdraft. (mchisivo of loans, • t |r" somo JJ4000) , -tl2i f (General rate in >£ 2Jd. f • ' rates in vX - .94d. (j I i farrterest on loans -23,077 1 r .testes collected .£11,493 j * BSmking fund «CCIO 1 payments,out of income £43,270 j fe Odes' of - streets, ' ■ -.82 j- v miles - of;..- ■ 1 t j \7Jfootpathi,'6-l v 96 ] f- ' Cost of Administration. . . jfajiageiucnt .-■ £1,492' ( ' • Streets ana 'footways, incomo i - , l £2j232, loan £6,644 ............. > £8,876 1 Xfraiiu&o . c £1I3 ; [. Waterworks • £1.523 [- 1 Sanitation £930 J ' Prevention of infectious diseases £170 » and Charitable Aid ... £359 1 3?iro prevention . _ £5(12 j:E -.-j: Street lighting- — -.r.- ■ r.-[Parks .and library- .....'' . ' £707. - j" Public baths . .. • - £211 i * Abattoirs, slaughter-houses, c pound, dogs, etc . ... .. • £961 ■-. Municipal fps -undertakings v £15^71 Area of reserves m acres j 890 ■ J Miles from Wellington by 'rail... 66 M Erom' Palmerston N0rth::;...;;...— 66 ; ; XVdm Dannovirke . ,j 65 1...'.' ffirom Pongaroa• (approxi- . t matoly) f 6<> L' - .-. - Pnictically tho whole of .tho foregoing . C'>:i..J . -:?-.Snformatiou- was supplied-, to- a DoMraioN,. [-'"-- --;'.- iopresontahve .- by ~Mr. - W. -Mansheld,- < Clerk. ofMastorton,. at .a minute's, fi avotice Front a statistical schedule it apIsA'(pears that in 1892 the. area of the borough . iwafl 4311 acres, with a population of 3400 [ N people. In 1893 the population increased [ by 200, but lemained stationery in 1£94. I Eln 1895 tho figures advanced to 4000, but j.: : peceded 507 m The population went , 1 c bp to 3600 in 1897, and increased by an-l-'-.'i yjothor 200 in 1893. '.-No further progress ; \ jnraa mado until 1960, when the figures ta.: again- stood. at.4000.:1n 1901. the •-numbers S ; -J'K 'Ji dropped 54,-but for -tho third time-stood pv:ir,v,!ja,l9osiMastorton-'appeai's-.to have Started. ■ t -f..:.: : -.(irell:on tho lme of progress which marked ; |u ; -;4'-K:ifor. ; some- -years, as.'one.; of '.ithe- .-mijst: r prosperous inland towns in Now Zealand, paw: ti Notwithstanding the ifact, that the size ofi -. the borough m that year was reduced by [ acres, tho population went up 500 on j - : ••Slat of - the - preceding, year. Dwelling-. ) [houses - increased-: 80 (720 —800), while ■■ the ifc.-:-,.,-:::mniiiber:of.ratepayers.waS'Set down at-B<lß.. t . year 1906 was apparently the best the ir .' '(town has ever experienced No fewer fe; ithan; 300 dwelling-houses -. were erected in b ' thai period, an average of nearly one for : ,>;|Brery'workmg.day,,bringing-;the-. numbers: p'.s|:v;-v+&om;800 -t0..,1100, 1 while-'the populationjin--creased by 526; i Another-. 90: Houßea ' Were f.:-''....- added' in 1907, -still 410 i in 4"1908j [, and 100 in 1909 (March 31 period), iho • increasing; in- the .three.-yeafs; - - . ihy ili. Of course, m-building'alone.tho t??'f?.i« ! rperiod "ended''March.: 31,'»-1903;.. was .-.bettor but 1 .there-*B3. .not-nearly.? the !-V'.game -j.: lnorease':-:-'; in .population. ; It. } , hull be seen that between the March, { - " periods of 1905 and 1906 the population increased -more -by; 72 ,than it did :n,-.tho three'. years,,', but'idwellmg-honsos pr-.erected-:-m.■ the-.-two;-.terms show.;3oo-.and. L- -KtSOO'' respectively. ■-: Ai town • cannot - always Fit ( i ( callop along, it must have a "breather" v -:-- ,--.->'-pioW -and order : to,get..ready. for. (Wfm-. (renewed-effort; : andsdoubtlessun the course. --Icfva few;years:there -will .again- be the. k&' of further, building - and still more. *»:,i eft increased- prosperity.-upon; the .part of this t' . most progressive borough It is interest.ting ;to l note-that .previous *to -the period.ofI i {exceptional prospenty, which commenced: Bv;'-/ir.:»;Ei.the'.'rl9o4-05' , March'period,vMasterton'Si *1900-1901, wheni 79. ■/. :. biew houses -were; erected. The years, 1902, ! n<)o3, and until March, 1904, were virtu:...tally - quiet,: while from-1802 to -1901—nine t ' npeara—only 164 new houses wore built.- In ' She next: nine-years ithe. number. of- new mouses erected has totalled 771 These f [figures require no further explanation as Ho tho chances of the future .progress-.of P' ftiasterton. r (

terwards Masterton's; first school teacher) and his lot, whioh comprised .himself, his- wife, nephew, and Messrs.. Do Lisle and Jones.

Lost on tho Rimutakas.' 1 "In those days the main road was made only a3 • far* 1 as Mangaroa, and , vehicles cohld go no farther We therefore left 'our.-goods at Mangaroa, ..and I , was, placed on v a- horse with Jones and ..Do Lisle, and we started over ■ tlio old .track,.which had. I>een'. cut over tho ridges by Henry Bur-; ling and other early pioneers years hefore' The trip -wa3 not too pleasant for ■a youngster, -and•in- going up, to tho top . I'oOmmenoed-to :ory. The.-iesult was that I- was put "down: to .wait.for tho oihers. 1 They,' -however," travelled, overtho - forma-.-tion'-'bf''the present, coach ;road, ..and. I was left on the Ml.' On reaching Henry Burllng's 'hotelratv.Eeatherston,, my..par-, ents'were astounded. :to..,find that ;I was lost, and parties wore immediately sent out It rained all night, and spent - a: most imiserablo.time. |n roaipmg abopt I lost one boot. I heard the cooking, 1 and saw the. lights, of the search parties, but. on the- trip up my adult 'companions-had -foolishly telling, mo ■fairy -'tales -about, .-the., oannibalistio propensities of tho-'Maons, and I concluded that those individuals wore looking for me Eventually, thoroughly tired out, 1 laid down' against the r ,'battor- of - the road;:and'went, to-sloep.I.wis fopn^.to-a-Maori and iArthur. liurlii^. /.Curiously. enough, I never saw Henryßiirlmgaga-n till about seven yeara ago We had a good reception on our arrival at the. i'eatherston Hotel. >

Feathcr'ston to Mastorton. :: "The 'next day we started for Greytown' - There- 'ivere ' no , bridges, : and, ,J can remember\ : my carrjing my. mother and Mis Crayno on his hack over the rivers. The Tauhemikau H6td was 'in 'existence.. , evenat that, early 'period,', kept, I believe,: by, a. man. named bhirlcy We made our way over the Moroa Plain to ;thc Kisujg Sun notcl at Greytown. Greytown was all tneb, and men' were chopping down the hmocr in order to : mamroad. There was just a' xcmgh track, andthe Rising ■Sun. stood on. the; edge.,, ere 1J ? ! t;.,T. 0 such place as Carterton, onlv solid bush, with a load hne out through. We came to the end of the forest at a tho Taratahi Hotel now, stands, . and • bore , :we were met by. Mr. Joseph, Master? and bis: bullock dray.' X don t. ; taowi : ,whether ■Mt. Masters had: the -mail -contract ness with his bullock, but 1.-do know. that 'he 'was . a good; tellow, .and ■that he brought us into Masterton. ,-.Lhe "town • was > named after • Mr. Masters, and 'it'has' a' -'ot to 1 thank him. for.'

Masterton In 1856. "Prom'what 1 can remember, ton was not much to.. look, at in 185k placo':wa3 fern, , and. busll, with a clearing' or .'bo an 'what is now kiiown as Queen Street. There. w<a:o not ■ many houses.'; ; Mrs." Torus, moUier.oi Messrs. Joseph -.- and :W. -iunis. kept. a 'little 6tore. : 'where .'.the - AV.i .Ca. stands. • Mrs. Dixon's accommodation ; r/iioiise ' near. tho/Makcra Creek, near •'Mri.ili; 1 ' Caselberg's v t pr(s«nt':v.residenee;' ; -a\vay- ' from /the-, present- * Central \ Hotel. 'bnildijigSi'iandj right.' on' tho.odgo -or-tlio. j nearprhere ~ the! railway, f station'.-, now; stands}.-while ' .Road.-':. I '.-believe' 'tho. I)lace is still extant.;' Then tliere'.wcre Katon, a . cat-poiiter, .aTid ~J. ■fWriglbv'ia shoemaker;tfossibly :'V.thoro. wore others,'but I do not recollect them. .bark; wha™' ?«r.' what: is now-known as'tho .junction of iliul otreet !and Lincoln have 'in Uhat place'■ lor'two ' years. l ; ';No : start. with''; other?--■'The• northern end.-of.tlio town was mr.de : ,ip -of;padaocks;;owned; : by -.iejSalso which' ■'li-understbod ; ; ho;.afterwards' . ini- ' migrants." •. The ;'Maoris; were very ; hu- : .'merdus'' at''"Akiira,'.,;Ngamatawa,and'.'l-'e Ore - Ore. '.''Main, .tracks',;led '.through tho, place 'what-is-now .known .as .Perry'Street,':sfnd. also-'hear .'-.the< presentsite : : of.^Chamberlain's flour mill. Higher up the area' was swamp. •.- .;■■■■ v Hard Times. "Wo had hard times and food was difficult ,to . obtain, 1 and what we.did., get was -.brought 'up/.;by .the Maoris.;'\Ve. grew * nothing ! for a tinio, , and . our . sole. .articles of food were wheat and potatoes.: J'have. a'lively recollection; of that .wh(»t; ; because my : .brother, and I had'to grind l •itt.jipl'in' a/ miUi.; : AYe'used ' to- grind' Vail.''day, C and- years: later , wo 'hailed the advent . .of Mr, A. W- :Eenall'e 'flour mill-with'- joyous 'relief. rMeat lwafi not- easy to' .obtaifii'for, - although";:there ■ were plenty of wild, pigs, ammunition lva 3 very scarce.: We had therefore very little' use :-for , the shot-gtma . which ,we had brought out with ns. .1 should sal our meals : usually comprised bread-and potatoes' threo times a day with a littlo beef and mutton occasionally.. Coin of the : realm—decidedly scarce—was' used : for. our/ bartering' with V the, Maoris, 'but 1 between I 'ourselves : the ; ! .business ;'was', us- ; nally one of ", exchange. '. X-'. think; the first : store' in Masterton was., kept by Mr. ; Torus, and later was .continued by Mrs. : Toms.'.- ' : 'V '•* ••• • , • Tho Maori "Scares." , 1 "In the sixties, it was several times , thought ' that* \the'rMaori',, trouble * would : out in war iin and.

F BACK IN THE .FIFTIES. |, Jan. H. J .DAGG'S EEMINISCENCES. [-.. ■ ■ first connection 'with the Masterp.;.;the : well-known Ihiiraua farmer, to .a iDomikion representative,: ;"is- -even ■ now jrividly" presented :tb.i ; iny.^mmd, : owing ; to jS r (the. fact that wlien betwoen five and six ■:TOars 'of::aga ..I iras -.forood to sloop one jjigjit ; all 'Dy i myself' on ■. tho;■ Riihutaka 1!v... ! : leoaoh • road,- which was then only being • '•> • formed. I was born m ■ Westmcath, IreKvJarid, in 1850, : anaicame out to .New Zeai:■■■■ land intho Westmoreland (Captain. West'jcorte); afterwards Uost. in the China Sea. J), arrived.;.'at' : Wellingtoni; in', May,; '1856, - end', made'a : 6tart; ; for-.;Masterton about rtho end; o£ tho samo year.There were . two parties of. lis coming over the Rimu- • ftalcos< my father ■ mother,.'.brother!, George £§&& end myself, , and Mr..Holmes Crayne (af-

wo had Qiir share of the militant troubles of the time. A redoubt was built at a spot near tie present Pownall Gates at the entranco'to tho park, for defcnce purposes. .'.The .plnco was a two-chain square, with a double wall .of split timber filled up irith' earth; W« had a fair number of- able-bodied fight-• iag men.- I.know that.l cause I was two years tinder the required age. Of our .small ,army, there . were forty the ; armed constabulary . at WoodrofFe's, then there warp theiimmtrv and- cavaLTr,'numbering about eighty altogether, 'and the .militia. Captain Donald, father, of Mr. Donald Donald of this town,' was in commatid ofi tho. caTalry, Captain Smith tho volunteers, and Captain Burton Boyes. I believe, the militia. Captain ■ Cleland ■ was , adjutant, and Colonel Gorton ..was: in command of the whole' district.. Ngairo, the Maori, who with We Wliaka, was tho most warlike'of the Natives, built a fortified: pa on the other side of tho Opaki, Kaikouta I think the placo was oalled. There wore a : number of friendly Natives m .'the district encamped near where Meredith s ;now is, anu the story, 'is: told 'that .on. one occasion thev • exchanged shots near Ewing-, ton'? corner with Ngniro's mob. , It is generally considored'thafc the Maoris were pre-

first settler in Masterton, and who was in partnership • with Mr. 'Barney' Ehodee. -Mr. B. S. Wardell was the first magistrate,' and the first whito man to die in the place, I think, was Mr. lorns; The first marriage celebrated was that between W. Deadman and Miss Bessie Jones. . . .. "I well remember two gTeat social events which took; place in the early sixties. Both were dances, which were dignified by: the name of balls. .Thei ball on the first occasion was opened by a bride, while. John M'Lachlan was bought some miles into town to play the violin. Danoing took place in a marquee. The event the next year was : held in Bannister's Stables, where -the Bank ,of New Zealand now stands. These" were great functions, and the tickets w«re. £1 nor head. I remember carting mv father's first wool clip, from a flock of some thirty or forty sheep. The wool was spade pressed, and we carted the stuff round to Bannistor's store, and 'took it out' in tea. and sugar. Mr. Bannister had sheep-himself later. His shearing-shed was the site now occupied by the Bank-of, New South Wales, Queen - Street. . . .

vented from commencing waT in the Wm- | rarupa, only by the bold attitude of some of the: European leaders.: Of course_the Mnons were f.very. boastful at times. .. Once -Mr- C- Matthows, an old eettler, met a a-crowd of them when he ..was ploughing ivith his "bullock, and they Btaitled liinr considerably by stating ' thai they were going to fight the-Pakohas. .. No one was' allowed to sell arms or; ammunjtxm ■to the' Maoris, but the ingenuity of these people enabled them to triumph in a degree over tho law They would make it a practice to go into a store with a shilling' for > a penn'orth of lplnea, and the copper change was utilised for making bullets. '. Another of - their, devices; was the use of.-, boot • eyelets,: and match heads in' place of caps.

First Mail Service. -"The fixet mail service between Masterton 'and-. Wellington ,was'started by Mr,

ttastweU, ; who rah- a trap. 1 The '.trip down' and back oooupied a week, and' the fare was £1 each wayi I'remember mymother and father used to laugh - satiric. allv ; and say that they would go ~ to . Wellington when , the trains oonunenced to run.' As a matter o£ fact, they;'did not think that-, the trains would ever run through, the Wairarapa. in their 1 time. The packing in - the earlier days was'very irregular. ■■Mr.'-C;''' Cuhdy! had .6onie ■ bollocks,;, which were ■very/useful : in this respect, but thfe .'goods/ -very 1 frequently, became damaged -when the animals ' were forced to-swiiii the bridgeless rivers.: It was a 'groat .day'iwhen'' the daily - coaoh . servioe started—down to Wellington in. one day; we thought ■ that we had reached the millennium. • .Then sevoral.oarrying (companies commenced by Henry 'Bannister, at theManaia, !and were managed by Mr. Donald Donald, who was, X believe, the

Wages and Land Values. "Wages ui thoso days were Cs per day, but there was a good deal of exchange labour. Pit-sawn - timber, heart... of, totara, was 9s. per 100 feet, good, ordinary- building timber is. (id. per luO feet Ten shillings an acre was tho value of: land outside the town.:: Any-, town acre sections could have .been purchased for £5.~ Boots were dear and hard to get. Soled watertights, which did all sorts of duty from... the ..bush ,to the dancing hall, woro retailed out by old 'Jim'Wrigley at 265. per pan, ' A Big Flood. ' ' ■!■ '"There ■' was a:. big.. flood in • .1857. The 'Waipoua Biver flowed all over the town. The water was VTflist deep, and father, and mother carried-us; on th<ar backs to . Chew's now house on Lincoln Road It was thirteen years after I.arrived in pe

1 Wairarapathat I. went through , to Wellington. It was the year 1b69, and I rode on horsoback via the -Manavvatu Gorge, • There were then forty miles ofbu9h between Masterton and WoodviHe.The Gorge . Bridge "was . just. being : commenced. It took me two days«to reach •Palmerston North, and', the Whole trip oocupiod a fortnight/' . r: