HAMILTON.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 17

HAMILTON.

4 CAPITAL OF THE WAIKATO. SOME PAST HISTORY. Hamilton, tho capital of the Waikato, has boon in existence about half a' »SHtury. In its early days the place a largo Native'-settlement called Kiritiriroa, and harboured about 200 t,'hares and some magnificent peacli trees, so largo that many of thorn could

and did shelter the bell-shaped spreadout tents of tho military forces. Possibly a thousand Natives lived on the then willowloss banks of the river near the present site, of the town, and numbers further up tho river towards Cambridge. This was the state of the district before the war; At tho end of tho war tho Maoris had been driven oiit of the place, and the district or village was occupied .by 150 of the Royal Irish. Tho place was then'divided amongst the military settlers. Amongst the arrivals just after the war was Mr. Hungerford Roche, who still resides in tho town, and, notwithstanding his years, is still exceedingly active in pushing forward the interests of the county. In tho course of a conversation with a Dominion representative Mr. Roche briefly referred to tho stirring accounts of early days. The district was first settled, said Mr.. Ecobo,. by tho 4tli Regiment of military settlers who were put "on Hah'iilton lands," the 3rd Regiment at Cambridge, and the, 2iid Regiment at Piriongia. The population -of Hamilton at this time was nbcut 1000 souls, and for nearly a year the whole of them 'lived in tents. These military settlers were recruited chiefly in Australia, and they occupied tho. iand' after tho Maoris had been driven away" by the > British soldiers. Each military settler received a town acre, fifty acres of farm lands, and twelve months' rations. It appears, however, that very few settlers remained on tho land, tho gold fever claiming largo numbers of them. Those who remained increased their areas to 800, and sometimes 1000 acres. Settlement at first was fairly rapid, but there was a sot-back when the Thames goldficlds rush broko out, and popula; tion was considerably reduced.

Surviving Settlers. I Amongst the first settlers to Hamilton, and still living, are: j\lessrs. G. Edgecumbe, J- C. Barton, v!. A. Graham (who laid .out tho_ town), Isaac Coates, H. Roche, G. Reid, F. Lo Quesne, It. F. Sands, E. Wilson, P. Munroe, S._ Fulcham, and a few others. Nearly all wero-military settlers. For a long time after the conclusion of the Maori War (twelve or fifteen years) there were Maori scares, which in a large measure wero promoted by interested parties. The settlers were r-aturally anxious, and they wero fed up on the scares, which got to lie known as "Storekeepers' Panics." Whenever there was a panic the troops were rushed up to the frontier, the commissariat was replenished, and large stocks of tilings were purchased with winch to "sweetoi up" possible recalcitrants. There was a Nati/j questiqn, and although the Natives generally were not much concerncd ,so long as, they wero not interfered with, interested people saw to it that the trouble did not dio out Kapai to Cuv'mont. The work of defending the settlers also devolved upon friendly Natives, and a. funny story is told of the. manner in which these gentry carried out their duties.' They wero Rangiriri Natives, 150 in number, enrolled at 6s.- per day to patrol tho frontier and keep back, the Hau Haus. There were fio Hau Haus within hundreds of miles of the place, but tint did not matter to the llangiriri warriors who used to make n practice of lying down and smoking aipipe, an:l-as they twiddled their.toes in the air, would say, between the expectorations: "Kapai to Guv'ment — Kapai te six 'bob.'- Me keep back to Hau Haus." Finally the Native, question and its panics was exposed in the Provincial Council, largely through tho action of Mr. Roche, who was then a member, and the system, with its spurious patriotism, was abolished.

First Buildings, The first buildings in the town were erected by Messrs. Owen and Graham, I'. Le Qucsne, Turner, and Sergeant dotting, and tho first bridge over tho Waikato in tho town was 'erected. in ]37 ( J This structuro has now been replaced by another 0110 at a cost of £24.000. Tlie firit railway reached Hamilton at 1977, when even then the population had not 'increased to more than 1100. ■ . Tlie placo was made a borough m IS7D, with Mr. J. R. Ninlon ' as Mnvor, and the following council: — ' Maiisrs. Beale, N. Cox, I l '. Gaudin, - J. Hume, D. Gardiner, E. Gwyiuio, A. Potter, T. Dawson, D. Coates. Hamilton is built ml' spacious linos both sides of the river/ hut. tho. easier it side has lioiv practically become a residential section, while tho west ,lias been given over to business,.the premises of which are of an imposing nature. A festuro of both sections are their sccnic attractions, which are reminiscent of tho plantation scenes in Southern Hav,-lie's Bay. Lake Hamilton, on tho western side, is . a lovely water_ area, comprising 120 acres, and right in tho borough. Tho sloping lands running ilown to tho lake arc now being grassed, ind when completed will add much to the natural beauty of tilings. One of the features of Hamilton is its as a distributing

centre, upon which every line of railway converges. Ono section leads to Auckland, another to Wellington, and the great southern uveas; another to Cambridgo; others to Jlorrinsville, To Aroha, and Thames; and another to Ilotorua. Then there is tho Tiver, which is navigable l'or seventy-five miles. There is■ immense back-country all round, with fine arterial roads leading right into tho town. Splendid Endowments. The town is splendidly endowed, and possesses a town belt which goes right round the borough ten chains wide. TIIO domain lands comprise 070 acres, whilo tho town endowments bring in

£657 per annum. The scenic reserves are rather neglected, and in this matter Hamilton could very well afford to take a. leaf out of Palmerston's book. Street sections in the main business street soli up to £70 per foot. Twenty-three years ago the total revenue of tho borough was £1351 9s. Id.; last year it was £3364, an inereaso of uver £4000. In three years the revenue has gone up nearly iIOO. Tho town has a public <(lebt of about £60,000, but of this sum £3-1,000 odd represents a sum which has just been .paid for tho new municipal gasworks, previously owned by a private company. Tho town possesses a highpressure water supply, sewerage, municipal gas works, sa!o yards, horso bazaar, Carnegie library. A Technical School has just been constructed at a cost of £4000. Tho new handsome steel bridge erected over the Waifcato River, in the town, at a cost of £24,000, is 500 feet in length, and with a single arch span of 340 feet, and earth' embankments/ • It possesses a roadway 18' fcei .wide, and provision is made "for'la'H clcc'ilric tramcar traffic or a live stock load of 2240 per lineal foot. It is one of tho largest bridges of its kind in the Dominion.

Public institutions. Tho public institutions include two well-equipped State schools, a new-Tech-nical School, Winter Show Association, A. and P. Association, hospital, Old Men's Home, Anglican, Presbyterian,' Methodist, Roman Catholic, and Salvation Army churches. The South Auckland Racing Club has its course at Cloudlands, a suburb of tho town. 'i ! he usual sports clubs, and friendly society associations complete a very good list. A Well-Known Rositient. A notable resident, of Hamilton is Jlr. W. A. Graham, who i-ccorapanicd his father on tho peacemaking expedition of 18G5, which' resulted in the surrender of the noble Native, William Thompson. Mr. Graham had Native sympathies, and ho is still regarded as the friend and adviser of the Maoris. In proof of this fact lie holds the Royal patu painoa, which was presented to him by King Mahuta. The gift, which is a white mere, indicates that its possessor is a .man of peace, and is u, t>o regarded as an equal. Mr. Graham has also the distinction of being the oldest magistrate in tho Waikato, having 'received his appointment as far back as 1808. He was also a member of tho Provincial Council for threo years, and later represented 'his district in tho House of Representatives. Of lato years ho has taken a considerable interest in tho sugar-beet question in the Waikato. i

Tho following comprise tho Hamilton Council Mr. J. A. _ Young (Mayor), and Councillors J. W. Barton, J. R. Fow, H. Roche, J. E. Tidd, J. Bettlcy, 0. C. Atkin, J. Tcddie, 11. Gillies, 13. H. Northcote, with Mr. E. J. Davey as Town Clerk. The population of tho borough, with that of Frankton Junction, is about 5000. Tho junction has now grown into Hamilton, and it has been fitted with one of tho finest junction inland stations in Now Zealand. A noticeable defect, however, is the distance travellers by the Main Trunk express trains havo to walk beforo they arrive at tho cabs waiting to take them into town. Tho journey leads along about four hundred yards of platform, and then a climb of fifty or sixty feet over an overhead bridge, and then down again. A tramline is wanted, or some arrangement by which passengers, especially ladies and children, do not have so far to walk. HAMILTON AS A FARMING METROPOLIS. ■A GREAT DAIRYING FUTURE. Although Hamilton was in existence nearly half a century beforo'tho'opening up of tho Main Trunk lino to Wellington, a large section of tho inhabitants refuses to admit the fact. Tho other half pleads guilty in extenuating circumstances. Tho opening up of through and direct' land communication with Wellington, and, indirectly, with the South Island, is regarded as the Hamilton liegira—a date 'from which Tilings Began to Move. "We havo boon moving forward slowly , for tho past nine years," said a prominent townsman to a Dominion' representative, "but wo have now jumped .with a bang into tho forefront of prosperity with the opening up of direct land communication with the south of tho island.. And I can tell you, ,wo aro 'after tho goose.'. You from tho I south aro sending up your farmers, and aro teaching us what a fine country wo havo been neglecting. We aro learning and,., mako no mistake, beforo wo aro finished Taranaki will hold no medals as tho champion dairy province of the Dominion, and Palmerston will havo to go moro than sho is going now to hold tho title of tho biggest inland town'in Nov.- Zealand." Tho 'foregoing just about represents tho present opinion of Hamilton on Things that Are. For years and years Hamilton_slumbered on

its noblo river, cut apart from any special communication with the greater part of the island. Tho town languished, and began to assume au old look; and with few exceptions its people began to loso their faith in what undoubtedly i" ono of tho finest fertile districts in the Dominion. What the Railway Did. The railway line brought the rush from tho smith, and it camc with such a continued force that Hamilton was astounded. Day and night there came through men from Taranaki, from Wellington, from Wairarapa, and from tho South Island, and they arc coming still. A new people is filling the town, but at

the back of the business there is nothing but sound progressiveness. It will have to enlarge itself considerably beforo it will havo reached a boom, but there is no doubt that Hamilton has taken its second wind, and, as its resident said, it is "after the goose."

Great Dairying Future. Thero is hardly any doubt that Hamilton has a great future, inasmuch as it lic-s in the centre of a great district which is fast becoming ono of the biggest dairying counties in New Zesland l'ho land is of good quality, light loam, which responds generously to cultivation. As a rule it is not a perennial' grass land. It is chiefly rolling and drained swamp, llesowing may take place every six or seven years, and accompanied by top-dressings of basic slag. The dairying output is already very largs. The drained swamps, however, are splendid for dairying, and hold the grass nn;cli better than tho other areas. Of these areas thero might bo noticed the Tauhei swamp, situated about twelve miles away from the town; the Htikunui district, ten miles distant, and tho areas round about Cambridge, where thero f.rc sjme splendid patches. "At To Awarautu, Kiliikihi, aiul Ilirinie the land is tableland, with a loamy roil. All these parts are settled, and tho farmers are doing well. It is worthy of note that it is only now that the drainage lands a>-o beginning to materially benefit from the drainage commenced a quarter of a century ago, which later was under tho control'of the Assets Realisation Board. For some considerable period the land did not seem to improve, but it is responding generously now. ar.'d is giving a productive value which is ' continually on the increase. With artificial cultivation tho best dairying land should run one cow to three or three and a lnlf acres. Farmers on some lands are receiving £10 per cow gross, without b>--nroduets;- which are estimated to yield "another £2 petcow for the calf and the nig. At Pnkerimu, about eight miles from Hamilton, the cow j'ield per annur.- gross is about £14. Tho district is snlendid for dairying.

AGRICULTURE, Cropping. As agricultural land tho areas easily accommodate themselves to treatment in the way of manuring. Turnips grow exceedingly well. Wheat is not much grown, but at Hukunui oats have yielded a return of oO bushels to the "aero. In a good season oaten chaff will return from two to three ton to the acre, sometimes as much as four and five ton. The past season has been rather wet for oats and chaff. As regards sheep country, the land is good for breeding sheen and fat lambs, in conjunction, with other farming; Lambs mature very well with rape, but as a rule the country in the vicinity of Hamilton and the district is very well adapted for sheep in conjunction with cattle. In the Raglan anil Matamata districts there are somo particularly fine flocks'. The climatc of Hamilton, is good. Comparatively speaking, there are no wiiids such as are experienced on the West Coast, and all 'tho trees grow straight. Tho grass grows all tho "year round, although there are occasional frosts. Growing weather continues up to July. There is always' more orlpss rain in the summer months, and dry weather in February and March.