A FAST-GROWING CENTRE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 71, 17 December 1935, Page 5

A FAST-GROWING CENTRE

Levin’s Many Attractions

RICH IN AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES

Though it was constituted a borough only in 1906, Levin has almost trebled its population, until at the present time it is recognised as the centre of a rich and extensive dairying district and one of the most important provincial towns of the lower Manawatu. To-day its population is approximately 2800, but the town continues to expand rapidly, and this is reflected in the greatly-increased volume of business passing through the town, and the substantial improvements made to many premises during recent years.

The town of Levin is attractively laid out and is becoming increasingly popular as a holiday resort. It has much to commend it in this respect us it s fishing and shooting are famous well beyond the borders of the province.

From the scenic viewpoint, Lake Horowhenua and Lake Papaitonga must make an instant appeal even to the most exacting, and three miles from the town’and close to the Tararuas is a beautiful scenic reserve comprising 22 acres of virgin native bush. It has been said that in many parts of New Zealand the native birds are rapidly dying out, due to the ravages of stoats, wild cats and weasels. In this fine bush reserve, however, birds have always been numerous, and their songs alone would well repay a visit. On the shores of Lake Horowhenua an area of 40 acres has been set aside as a general recreation ground, a golf course and a motorists’ camping site. The town is well served from the sporting point of view, followers of cricket, tennis, bowling and croquet being provided for during the summer months, and Rugby, hockey and basketball in the winter. The swimming baths are also a popular attraction. The citizens of Levin are much indebted to the far-sightedness and sane outlook of the pioneers who founded it and to the municipal offi-

cers who guided its destinies in earlier years. When it was constituted a borough in 1906, Mr. B. R. Gardiner became the town’s first mayor, a position which he held for nine years. His record of service for the growing town was an outstanding one and has served as an inspiration for the men who succeeded him in office.

Those who saw the town when it first came into being during the construction by the Jlanawatu Railway Company of the Main Trunk railway would hardly recognise it now. With the development of the districts on the west coast and the introduction of a fast means of, communication with Wellington and Palmerston North, the village (named after one of the company’s directors) became a township, and continuing to flourish, in due course attained the dignity of its present status.

Levin's wide tar-sealed main street is set off by modern shops of attractive appearance and design, reflecting the prosperity of the district which they serve. The majority of the streets leading from the business to the residential area have been tar-sealed, and the footpaths treated in a similar manner. For a town of its size, Levin is extremely well lighted, there being more than one hundred conveniently-placed street lamps. Credit is due to the authorities for the clean appearance of the streets and for the fact that running water flows through the water-tables in tlie main thoroughfares.

The holiday season is always a busy one, as Levin shopkeepers, having a large district to serve, are naturally anxious to please as many people as possible. This year they seem to have gone to even greater trouble with their Christmas arrangements, and the windows, particularly in the bigger shops, are featuring displays which much larger centres might well envy. Their enterprise is not unnaturally based on an expectation of more business, and with increased pay-outs in the dairy factories and the promise of a Christmas bonus for the unemployed, money should certainly be flowing more freely than for several years past.

Levin owes its present solidarity to a great extent to the dairy industry, the district combining all the essentials of climate and pasture for successful dairy farming. The fertility of the land also is exemplified in the quality of its produce. Levin is fortunate in being able to send to Wellington and to neighbouring towns large quantities of high-quality produce. With a return of better prices for dairy produce in domestic and overseas markets, the progress of the towh will become even more rapid.

An industry which is becoming increasingly successful throughout the lower Manawatu is poultryfarming, and for its size Levin is

undoubtedly the most intenselyfarmed poultry district in the North Island. Its temperate climate and ample sunshine make it ideal. The number of birds run on the commercial farms in the district vary from 500 to 3000. The greater proportion of the eggs find their way to the Wellington market for consumption in the city, and during the peak season a certain number are exported. The sale of young chickens is another profitable side-line, and the stock bred in and around Levin has achieved well-merited recognition for sturdiness and virility. Year by year more people are going camping at Christmas, and Levin is never without its quota of cars with trailer attachments. Not everyone can afford the luxury of a motorcaravan, but Levin’s two camping grounds are ideally sheltered, and a week under canvas there is a bracing holiday, as the Tasman Sea is not far distant. At the camp close to the shores of Lake Horowhenua, water is available, and there is an abundance of firewood nearby. Cooking and other conveniences have been erected, and the native bush provides ample shelter. Golf links are conveniently situated, and the post office is only a mile distant. The Levin Park Domain, adjacent to the centre of the town, has also been fitted up as a motor camping ground. Water is laid on and gas cooking appliances and other conveniences have been provided. The Domain is only 200 yards from the post office, and is ideally situated as a base for motor excursions into tlie surrounding district.