TAIHAPE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 15

TAIHAPE.

' <►- RAPID PROGRESS. A TOWN WITH A FUTURE. Tho progress of .Taihapo is one of tho features of development which has resulted in tli.e opening up of tho Main Trunk line on tho way to Auckland. In 189-1 the' site of tho present thriving town was all standing bush, and at Ellis and Nalder's solitary bush store the work of tho post offico was conducted with a record of two mails per' week r.ortli and south.' The' population about' 1890 was SO. At this time Taihapo was described as a small Government township, situated at tho junction of four roads, each.-'being.-tho .highway to a largo district.' "It is tho stoppingplace," says tho report, "of the line of coaches'to and from the Hot Lakes district, Maiigavveka; and tho Hunterville branch., raihvay. the.! traffic .having largely diverged in this direction. It is the centre of tho famous Awarua Block, which contains some very superior land." Early Dayo. At the period mentioned Taihapo gave no special signs of tho progress which now marks its splendid and continuous development, and so , far , 'as population was concerned it was badly behind Mangaweka (349), which in turn, was superseded by Oliingaiti (410). The first settlement was undertaken in 1904 by some Canterbury settlers, amongst whom wero Messrs. Sliute, Cryor, M'Cormiek, and Stewart. Messrs. Shute and Stewart still reside in the town. Tho settlers were given sections of from 12 to. 17 acres on time payment. A little - co-opcrativo store was run by them on a sito now occupied by Ready-Money M'Dulf's business premises. Ellis and Nalder's storo occupied Darvell's present site. Tho principal trado was with co-operativo men working on tho roads and the bushmen. Mr. Shute erected the first accommodation house ■ which stood at tho southern entranco to tho town. Later, Mr. Eli,- a resident-, built an accommodation house 'where now -stands the well-known 1 Gretna Hotel. Taihape was then,' in fact,' a bush village relying wholly for support upon co-opera Mvo labour. : Tho place was first called Ilautapu, after tho' river on which it stands, then as there was found to be another Hautapu, the name was changed to 0 taihape, and tlien finally to Taihapo. , A First Pior.esr. A pioneer who went through the placo in 1889, twenty-two years ago, was Mr. G. Bray, now a resident of the town and a member of tho Borough Council. It was then a weird sort of place, especially after leaving Vinegar Hill, a locality five miles north of Hunterville. Tho road was merely a bush track-felled by Ross in 1884 : for the Main; Trunk. Mud was thirty inches deep,'and the only method of locomotion was on horseback. On the way up, Mr. Bray- passed through Oliingaiti, then known as Pohutera and Utiku, then called Kaikoura, and which was called its present- name after a Maori chief now resident at Rata. Tho only man Mr. Bray met on-the road was "Taranaki Jack" (Jack Austin), but on ono of the clearings.lie saw a man. crawling on his hands and knees looking for SDecial sijns of turnip growth. This individual was "Tom"-Adamson, tho greatMaori war scout. Mr. Nathan'f, .Expsrienoas, Some -further, interesting particulars of early days in the' Taihape-district, are supplied by-its'ono and' only 'Mayor(Mr. l! Aphony_ Nathan), oiie t>f tta>sts- : strenuous pioneers of whom tho Po- ■ minion might well be proud. Mr. Nathan has been Mayor of Taihapo since its municipal inception. He is a New Zealander, born in Wanganui in 1843, his father having come out to' Wellington in 1841 : in the sliip Staines'Castle. Mr. Nathan went through tho Maori war. He was a sergeant iti the Forest Rangers with von Tcmpsky, and ho served at Opotiki on tile' East Coast, and also at Kaupokonui on the Waimato Plains. He was in numerous engagements, and although never wounded, lie on one occasion at Taurangarcre, near Waitotara, had his horse shot under him. He knew Titokowaru well, and confirms the statement that the old warrior was a "snappy" ill-tempered man, who had little to say, who hated the, Europeans, and who never bragged of his exploits. Mr. Nathan is also a Gabriel Gully man. He first camo to Taihape in 1891, when he had a contract.at Hunterville and Utiku running a bridle track through to Taihape. All tho way from Hunterville tho country

ivas dense bush, with no visible signs af a human being, north of the ilakoliino viaduct, but a store was being built at Ohingi'.iti and also ono -at Mangaweka, then known as "The Throe Log Whare," so called from its one desolate bush hut, a portion of which, is now utilised as the Jlangaweka School. lliniLcrvillo was then very busy. Nobody resided at Taihape. A Circuitous Journal/.After finishing his con tract.at TJtiku, Mr. Nathan went on to' ltaeiihi. To accomplish this journey with his' teams Mr. S'athrn had to :ial;o a most circuitous route, via Hastings, the Taupo Road, and thenco b.v way of Moawhatigo to Kaiioi. A bridle track led from north of Karioi to Olmkunc and on to Raotihi. Rochofort, tho surveyor who cut tho Main Trunk line railway track from Taihapo to To Awarmitu, had a camp at Ohaluuio on tho site once occupied by Littlewood's Grand Hotol. A store, built by a Mr. Maiison, was not erected till two yours later', "and linnson himself was then residing at Karioi, The.ro was no sign of habitation at

Raetihi. The contractor obtained his supplies by canoes which camp up tho Wanganui River as far as Pipiriki, after which tho goods wero packed to Raetihi. A pleasant fact in connection with tho bush life on tho Main Trunk was the dearth of mosquitoes. The air was too clear and cold for those venomous insects —a circumstance much appreciated by contractor and men alike. Mr. Nathan afterwards purchased a farm at Raetihi, and resided there for seven years, but ho was always in touch with Taihape, and be noticed that gradually the place began to bo further settled. Contracts wero let by the Rangitikei County Council, and the construction of roads gavo a much required, impetus to the work of opening up tho county. Life in tho district, however,, was miserable, and in tho winter, muddy to a degree, and a team of six horses was required to pull a ton of goods. In stressing the lonely lit'o of a pioneer in those days, and the manner in-which he Was cut off'from town communication in those pro-tcle-phonic days, Mr. Nathan mentions that on one occasion when ho wished to send a telegram ho had to ride 60 miles from Raetihi to Upukongara, near Wanganui. He thus rode 120 miles to dispatch tho wire. Tha sawmills. " 'Mr.', J.'Knapp had tlio first sawmill at Taihapo, and shortly afterwards numbers of mills started at Utiku. Messrs. Punch and Bennett had a mill at Eaetihi in 1801. Mills have been in active operation for hilly' twelve years, 'but they'are now passing on up tho line.

lii his contract works, Mr. Nathan had to. use pit-sawn timber for his bridges, and somo of these structures arc still in existence, eight in existence! between Ohakune and Raotihi. Two pit-sawyers used to cut 1200 feet per week, for which they received 12s. per 100 feet. It was not such difficult work as ono would .imagine,, except for thelogging up. The contractor built the pits. The bottom'' maii' J iy6.r.q. a 'veil to keep tho sawdust from his eyes. Definite Progress, The railway lino reached Mangaonoho in 1897, and seven years afterwards Tailiape, and sinco then, said Mr. Nathan, tho town has never looked back. Two years later, in 1906, the town was mado a borough, with Mr. Nathan as its first Mayor and a council, not one of whom "had ever served on a local body before. That the council very soon mastered the details of municipal management is proved by tho fact that sinco the formation of the borough they have never had a tag placed upon their balancesheets, while now the .council is frequently. asked its advice by other councils. Taihape is now progressing by leaps and bounds. Its area is 1030 acres, population estimated at 1800, public debt £41,000. It has 350 buildings, and 260 ratepayers, while its capital value ia £180,000. Of municipal reserves it possesses twenty-two quarteracre town street sections, from which it receives EOT rentals amounting to £550

per annum. Of this sum £235 will be utilised as interest oil the cost'of municipal 'L'owy Hall, which is to cost £•1000, and which will soon bo in course of erection. Tlio town lias also a domain property of 120 acres, part of which comprises a fine scenic patch of SO acres right in the borough. Tracks have boon cut through this property which is well worth a visit by tourists and travellers to the town. Municipal Enterprise. Somo idea-of the development whi>'islnow taking place in the town nia.v bo gauged by the (following sums which .are being spent oil municipal enter-prise:—-£II,OOO for water, £7500 for clcctric light, £3750 for drainage, £1250 for septic tank, £1000 for swimming baths, £=1000 for a Town Hall, municipal buildings and a library, and £500 for a lire brigade. The future of Tailiapo seems to be well assured. It is a prettily-situated town with a population 'which is keenly alive to doing tilings, and which is strongly opposed ! ;<i anvthing approaching stagnation, i The policy of "it was good enough for

my father, it is good, enough for mo" is not included in the Taihape programme, and consequently in tho raco for progross amongst other Slain Trunk towns, it is more than holding its own. Tho friendly rivalry which exists amongst these towns is something like that, of Wellington and Auckland, but the light presents « reminiscence of tussles _ on the sheaving board of a big shod. Kacli town may be said to represent a shearer who does his best to beat tho other fellow from the "ringer" downwards. It is a rivalry to determine which will be the bigg-st town on the nowly-dc-voloped portions of the Main Trunk. A Commercial Centre. No town will over become a commercial centre unless it lias .communication direct with great areas of back country, coupled with its proximity 'to a railway lino,-and its geographical position as a sub-terminal or terminal railway centre. Taihape is a sub-terminal railway centre. It is the starting placo and also the terminal point of trains, and it houses'one of tho great "ninetyton" locomotives which does tho run to and from Taumarunui. Tllcn it has some splendid, back country, good roads, and some fine pastoral land when cleared. Its connecting roads extend 20 miles on the ono sido to tho Turakina River, 25 miles to Pukeokahu' and Moawhango, then south past ' Utiku and north as far as Ohakune. It is tho centre of all that country, and is gradually becoming recognised as an important stock sale centre. Last reason it exported over 5000' bales of wool and

.over 1,200,000 feet of timber. The progressive spirit of .its people is clearly demonstrated by tho fact that they subscribed half tho funds for the erection of the new district hospital, a fine building which costs £1700 to erect, and which is to be opened in about a week's time. The town is also the headquarters of.the Rankitikei Sawmillers' Association which controls some thirty odd mills, and possesses an- enterprising; Chamber of Commerce of which Mr. T. A. Garratt is chairman. Referring to its public buildings it is worth noting that the town has a post office clock with chimes as sweet as any in New Zealand. The clock itself was installed through the generosity of tho lat.e Mr. Frank Gibbons who found half tho money for its cost, the Government supplying the other half.