PATEA.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 13

PATEA.

A RISING PORT, THE RESOURCES OF TIIU DISTRICT. On tlio western bank of the Patea Ilivcr, smijjl.v fucked away some JO miles from Wanganui in the centre of a wealthy and prosperous district, lies the lown of Patea. In the early days the townshin was located on the foreshore adjoining the river mouth, and was then known by the name of Carlyle. Afterwards as settlement progressed and roads and railways became the order of the day, the township was moved to the more favourable site it now occupies, situated upon the summit of a ridge about three-quarters of a mile from the.month of the river, and on the main road from Wnnganui to .Now Plymouth. The site is an ideal one and there is little wonder that Patea is looked upon as one of the healthiest spats in the Dominion. The country round about is extremely fertile and as a consequence the district can claim to lx> one of the soundest and most prosperous in the North Island. On tho| seaward side of the town arc to be found vast quantities of irousnnd. which will, in all probability, be worked in the very near future. At the present time a syndicate has under consideration the establishment of iron-works in the district, should the report of their engineer, who is to visit the district', prove favourable. In addition to this ironsand there arc

said to be large deposit's of lignite at Kakaramoa, some three miles to the northward of the town. These deposits are. said to be part, of a gigantic ccal S3,am stretching irom the Mokau district to the Wcstport. coal fields in the South Island. No attempt has so far been made to properly prospect the locality, but it is more than probable- that, important developments in this connection will take place in the near future, particularly if the ironsand 'deposits prove capable of being successfully worked.Industries, There are already.'-numerous/industries connected with tho town, not f'ho least being a largo.and.well-appointed freezing works, belonging to a company' consisting mainly of farmers in the fertile district lying.between the township of Patea and (he Mountain. .The various dairy faclories in (his area send their produce to (ho works where it is frozen and afterwards shipped by coastal steamers to Wellington, where it is transhipned to the Home-going boats. There is "also a huge meal' export works belonging to the Patea Meat Export Company wlio carry on an extensive business in the export of meat, etc. In addition to the .Meat Export and Freezing Works there are also brickworks on a large scale and an up-to-date fellmongory, the latter owned by Mr. Adolph Cliristensen, who is also president of the New Zealand Wool-buyers' Association. Connected with the town, but situated some miles outside of if, are several large dairy factories; notably those of llurleyrille, Kakaramea, and whennakura. These, with the factories on the Waimate Tlains, help to make Pa lea the largest cheese-exporting port of the Dominion.

' I he Port. The following figures in this connection arc of intorpst:— Value of Exports from Port of I'atea. a; Year ending .March .'II, 1900 37,717 Year ending March 111, 1910 545,392 Year ending March 31,-3911 811,ti29 The details, of the last two years' exports a re \ as follow:— In- Do--1910. 1911. crea;e. crease.

'The total value of the cheese exported from -the Dominion during these years was as follows:— £ Vrar ended, .March 31. IMO 1,185.705 Year ended 31 arch 31, 1011 1,216,137 From tliU it will be s-ccn Hint Patea alone shipped' more than one quarter of the cheese shipjicd from Hie whole of Ihe Dominion, and has well earned the title, of the premier cheese exporting (own in Xeu- Zealand. The brickwork 1 ; which are mentioned above are owned by llr. .7. A. Miuuizio, the present Mayor of Patea. The plant is an extensive and up-to-date one, capable of tinning out somo 120,(100 bricks per week. There are two down draught kilns, one Hoil'man, the latter bavin? a capacity of !IH,(III0 bricks. There 'are large drying sheds, holding 7f>o,(!no bricks when full. Hitherto the demand has not warranted the working of the plant at full prtssure till the year round, but with the anticipated rapid growth and expansion of the district, following upon the development of the oil and iron industries, the present output should be more than trebled. Water and Drainage. At the present time there is no water and drainage service, in the town, but it is generally agreed that, the provision of such a service would make Paten one of the most favoured places as a health resort in the country. A poll was taken some months ago en tho proposal to raise a loan for a water and drainage service, and was defeated by only fiv: votes. It is confidently anticipated that upon a similar proposal being put before Urn ratepayers, wh?n tho statutory period

has expired it will be carried by an overwhelming majority. The town is fortunate iu pressing a magnificent hospital, which was creeled some 12 months ago, largely owing to the efforts put f-ir'w.ii'd by residents of the town and dislrjct. As showing tho soundness and prosperity of the place, iv is worthy of note that at the last hospital bazaar no less"a- sum--than ,£G(K) was raised exclusive,''' of "(he ' Government subsidy. The hcspital is under the charge of Dr. Simmons. M.8., the Hospital Board, consisting of Messrs. H. 0. Clarke (chairman), \V. Van Asch, Captain G. Johnston, O. Symes. J. S. Death, E. J. Wilson, 1!. Brewer. A. Christcnscn. and 8. Blake, Miss Scolan being matron. Tho Patea County "Press," which is the only paper published in the district lying between Wnnganui and Kawera, is'one nf tho oldest-established newspapers 'in the Taranaki province, and Is looked upen as the farmers' paper in the Patea, Wavcrley, Knlcarnmea, Alton, and neighbcuring districts. It is csseii.tionally a local newspaper, and has achieved a. coivsiderablo amount of popularity -since its present proprietor, Mr. S. !•'. Hemingway, took charge. The town possesses an excellent electriclighting system, controlled by the municipality, the electricity being generated by water-power supplied by the Kaikura Stream, some three miles awav. Tho charge for current is Md. per B.Ci.T. unit, with a discount of 2J<l.-tot unit if paid on or before the tenth of "the month. Mr. 11. Priestley is the engineer in charge. Public Bodies, The personnel of the Borough Council is as follows:—Mayor, Mr. J. A. M'Kcnna;

Councillors, Messrs. V. \Y. Grainger, W. Cody, F. KnmsboKom. Pr. Simmons F. Spoonor, A. Gunn. W. H. Bennett, B. T. Bennett, and H. 0. Clarke. Town clerk and treasurer, Mr. li. W. ilamcrton. The I'd tea County Council consists- of the following gentlemen:—Messrs. 0. V. I'earce, M.l'.' (chairman), E. .1. Wilson. 0. Symos, W. Van Aseh, S. Blake, K. Bremer, J.. Death, J.' W. Jones, and .T. Kennedy, Mr. ,U. C. Horner.being secretary and Mr. A. 11. N.' Wright engineer. The Harbour Board is composed of Messrs. (.!. \". PoaTce. M.P. (chairman), Captain (.!. Johnston, K. L. Barton. J. ]{. C'orrigan, \\. H. Bennett, J. A. M'Kcnna, and A. Chrislcnsen. Mr. E. C. Horner is secretary and Captain W. Tinney, harbourmaster and pilot. There are two shipping companies eonnetted \yirh the port, the "Paloa" and (he "Aorcro" S.Sv Companies. The former possess five MKts, viz.—tho Mana, Kapili, Kapuni, Kiripaka, and Avapawa, which are chiefly employed in carrying frozen meat and- .dairy produce between Tatea

and 'Wellington. The Aorero S.S. Company's boats al'o similarly employed. Volunteers. The local company of Territorials, formerly known as Iho Patea Hides, is at present commanded by Captain K. W, H'umerton, who has been connected with voluniecring for some years. Lieutenants Turner and Honey-field aro tho other officers of the corps. The town is fortunate in possessing nn excellent band, which gives promise of being heard of in musical circles in tho near future. It is equipped with a splciidid set of instruments, which, thanks to Ihe generosity of the people of the town and district, the band were enabled to purchase recently at a cost of some .£250. There is a well-organised Fire Brigade, consisting of Captain W. Glenny, Lieutenant L. Adams, and 21 member's. Taking everything into consideration, there is no doubt the outlook for the future of Patea is brighter at the present than it has been ut any time during the last quarter of n century. Willi the development of tho oilfields at New Plymouth, and the consequent infiux of foreign, capital into the. province i:: 'lie near future, with tho ironsand industry about to l?e exploited in the immediate vicinity of the town, with a rapidly-growing export trade, and with tho surrounding district gradually becoming more thickly settled, one can be pardoned if tempted to err on the optimistic, side when attomniing to forotell the future of the town. Certain it is, in any case, that, search where you will, from north to south and oast ta west in the Dominion, it will be difficult to find a more <rmnd, prosperous or more healthy spot in this much-favoured land.

THE PROSPECTS OF PATEA. OPIXIOXS OF THE MAYOR, MR. M'KEXXA. "I believe that the tide has turned tor Pa tea. It has been a lons time turning, J II admit, but there appears to be every probability Unit Ihe place, will now showsome progress." Such was the premise nt an interesting interview granted" to a Dominion representative by Mr. J. A. M'Kenna, Mayoi' of" the town,'and lately a chairman of the Patea Harbour Board, a position he held for seven years.. Pirst in importance,; in Mr. M'Konno's mind, is the r.itea. Harbour. At oiio time it was no uncommon thing for vessel?, owing to the effects of tho westerly winds and tho sand-drift, to be held up for days. Tho result was V general dislocation, of trade. Mr. M'Kcnna took a -.prominent part in initiating a movement for tho development of the present eastern and western, walls, which has proved such n boon to trading vessels, and which except in the case of severe storms, will allow steamers to come up to the wharves, almost at any time. The work was carried out under the superintendence of Mr, Leslie Keynolds, engineer, and the steamers Kapnni, Mana, and Kiripaka now (ravel regularly to the port from Wellington, and to and from Wostport and Puponga. Another vessel, the Aorere, luul been trading to Patea for years. A vessel was also being built now at Auckland by (he'Patea- Freezing Company for (he special purpose of running troV.en meat to ■Wellington for transhipment to the. ocean tramps. This vcs<cl. which would be ready about December, would have n. storage capacity of 12110 quarters, or 5000 sheep. With the completion of (ho western walls in about a month's time,

the Hnrbour Board, e:h'i! Mr. M'Keuna, intended to furl her improve the port. A dredge was lo be procured—one was uow under offer—for the purpose of deepening the river and scouring out the drift fund. By those means I'alea would lio able to cope with tho increased trndo which was already coming forward through its proximity lo tho sea, and its harbour possibilities. To give an idea as to ('lie manner in which (he Irade of the port has increased lately, Mr. M'Kcnna. quoted the following comparison of figures, relating to the export h-ado of Now Plymouth, Waitara, and Palea: ' '3 months 3 months ended ended March 31, March 31, In-

It would Ihns bo seen that Pnte.v showed the greatest increase under this category, ajid. bj. a.JiandiDuio margin,

The export trade of I'atea, said Mr. M'Konnn, for the year ended December 31, 1910, showed nn increase of .£77,801) on that of tho previous year—a most satisfactory circumstance—whilo the increase in the export traclo of butter and cheoso was 2SOG lons. This was the biggest increase, for many years. Although the I'atea Harbour iioard had borrowed about X' 35,000 for its harbour improvements, all interest, said Mr. M'Kennn, was paid out of revenue, No rate had been struck, and this was another satisfactory circumstance. The wharfage accommodation was 700 feet for ocean steamers, 280 feet of harbour wharf, 105 feet for butter and cheese shipments. Mr. M'Kennn admitted that tho bar required careful navigation, and that a skipper had to keep his eyes open when coming up to tho channel. Since tho wall had been fixed up, however, thero had been few accidents, and as< a matter of fact there had been only one wreck in twenty-eight years, and on that occasion v.ho harbour could hardly bo blnmcd for the mishap. Going Ahead. Referring to the town and district, Mr. M'Kenna said: "I have been here for thirty-one years, and I confess that I have been somewhat disappointed that tho place has not progressed as Tapidly as one might have expected. .Nevertheless it is now slowly but surely going ahead. The prospects of tho district and town are now better than ever they were. There is no reason why I'atea should not progress during the next three or four years. Tho river entrance is being improved, more capable steamers are being brought into the trade, there is a large increase in the export of butter and cheese, mid a new industry in the shape of export' pork is being introduced by the Patca Freezing Company. Further than that," added Mr. MMvonna, "the farmers are beginning' to recognise the fact that nothing pays better than dairying, and they are cutting up and sub- • letting or selling their farms. The land in this district is eminently suitable for dairying, and it is being leased for as much as <£2 per acre." As for tho town itself, Mr. M Kenna

pointed out-th.it. hardly any borough n New 'Zealand possessed more endowment; -than Patea'. Inxfact, half the borougl 'Belonged to the municipality, includin! the greater portion of the main street Rents were low. A quarter of an acr< section in the main street could be leasee for 4s. per week on a 21 years' lease, witl the right of renewal for another 21 years ■This was a chance for a business man The borough was' lit by electricity, ownec by the municipality, and returnug i profit of .£2OO per annum to the people The borough was going in for a iowi Hall, and then intended to instal a watei supplv and sewerage works. Patea was t most healthy,place. There was very little sickness, arid'the town had a fine assei in its four-mile Tim of sea beach, wnict. was all sand, and a splendid place foi bathing. The Borough Council mtendee to improve the road to this beach, win the idea.of developing the place for visit ors and tourists. ■ . -. The arterial roads of the district wen now being developed and metalled, atthough this latter work had been one o! great expense to the County Council, nci. Road was about to become a main arterial road, and Patea would 'get the benefit of that, and there could be saie: to be a good deal of enterprise in opening uii-other .thoroughfares, all of which would bring a considerable amoun. ol 'trade to the town. Mr. M'Remm s advice is that now, when Patea is on the rise is the time for people to settle m tlu toWn. THE PATEA GRADING STORES. . SOME STRIKING FIGURES/ ' The Patea grading stores, which are situated alongside the railway station and the wharf, top the butter and cheese production of South Taranaki, from IbltJiam downwards, and alsa from AUngaiuii northwards. The first dairy'company, to send produce to tho Patea freezing works wus the old Waverley Company, and other factories have now followed suit. lnc result is that tho Patea works now nbsorfc amongst others the immense cheese out- . puts from the ICaupokomti, Joll, and llawera factories, and the total makes tlu store one of the largest cheese grading Stations in New Zealand., For the year ended June 30,1910, the quantity of cjieesc graded at the store totalled 111,7-17 crates, and 62,030 boxes of butter, the total tannage being 10,070. Por tho year ending yesterday (.Tune ;10) the cheese shows s shortage and tho butter an increase on the figui'fs of the previous year, tho numbers being 91,23-1 and 50',480 respectively. The tonnage was 0638, a decrease of 1032 tons compared with that of.tho previous year Appended is a table shoving the qnantitj of checso and butter graded at tho store since 1901-02, tho periods ending in eael: pase on June 30 of each year:— Crates Boxes Gross Cheese. Butter. Tons inni.o2 — G1.G30 1,791 i.iiw.o3 1,070 99,314 ' 3,001 1903-01 15.335 109,973 4,51! in(it-05- 902 125,503 • 3,751 ii)Os-0G 16,924 111,972 5,151 1900-07 51,583 107,089 7,191 io()7.08 75,802 68,908 7,831 1908-09' 88,889 .' 70,088 8,811 1909.10 111,747 62,056 10,071 1910-11 -91.234 80,480 .9,03! The storage capacity of the works'h 25JG00 boxes of butter. In addition ti butter and cheese, the store is aceommo dating large consignments of pork for ex port to Great Britain. It is believed tha pork export is going to-grow into an im portant New Zealand .industry, and ex pcrimental shipments have already beei made- by-tho-Eltliam Bacon Company About 420 carcasses have already been for warded, and the store is now holding an other 1000 carcasses, which are to bo curce for bacon purposes. The business will hi worked in' conjunction with the dairying industry, the controlling authority in tin main being the National Dairy Assoeia Hon. Tho manager of the grading works which are owned by tho West .Coast Pe fri<'erating Company, Ltd., is Mr. P. W Grainger, while the grading experts an Messrs. W. Eight and P. Woods. FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE INDUSTRY, THE PATEA FREEZING COMPANY. The Patea Co-oporativo Preezing Company is a concern owned by tho farmer; of the district, and evolved in April. 1910, from n private company. .the cipit-il is £10,000 in .85 shares, and the lompnny has made a most satisfactory commencement. Sinco beginning operations the company has doubled tho size 'if-its freezing storage room space, the 'rapacity now being 20,000 carcasses, and in addition the freezing-room space has been increased. Tho, present freezing

capacity is 623 sixty-pound sheep per dav. It is intended to still further increase this capacity, owing to possible developments- in tho export trade of bacon. 1 The- company has already sent Home two bacon consignments, for which they received 51(1. per pound. There is a strongly-expressed opinion in many quarters that tho export bacon trade is going to become a most important industry to Taranaki. The company this season has put through 25,000 sheep and lambs, over 5000 head of cattle, 180 pigs, and 300 calves. \ new steamer is being procured by the company f*> r tll ° shipment of frozen produce- to Wellington, and working :.n conjunction with the I'atea Sliippmp:.Company. The company has also gone m for the tinned meat business, and in this connection is also of considerable; vnluo to farmers of the South Taranaki district. -V bi" manure business is another important adjunct. Tho factory works nearly all the year round, as many as 110 hands being employed daily in the busy «eason. The directors are Messrs. W IX I'owdrell (chairman), .H. H. Nolan, IV. Brewer, J. P. Williamson, and A. T. Wills, while Mr. W, A Thompson is manager.

.C .C X lluller 134,(198 1(11,712 59,7-U • C'liofsc 373.(it(i :l02.f?ir» l!).1ili) Heel' 17.1105 23,754 (J.OSSl Lamb -1,3(5 8,151 .1,10!) Mutton .VI7S 3,517 1,9.11 Preserved meats 2.322 3,35!) 1,037 OtlnTkinclsfvo7.cn -11 G2 21 I'liormium ... 74 71 Sheep 23 5G 33 Tallow 2.3fi:i 2,S(iS 505 Wuul 5.071 M.S0S 0,827 FuufUi 70 70 515,392 • 614,629 101,235.

mil). 1M1. eroase. .£ <C ' £ Now Plymouth 2or ); IIOO 270,000 21,000 Waitavn 1(10,000 110,000 .10,0(10 1'aIm 210,000 207,000 ,10,000