IN THE WAIRARAPA. A VISIT TO GREYTOWN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 83, 8 April 1911, Page 9

IN THE WAIRARAPA. A VISIT TO GREYTOWN.

THE MAYOR INTERVIEWED. (From Our Special Reporter.) Those who have travelled in foreign countries or are familiar with England will no doubt have been struck by the want of foresight which has characterised the lay-out of so many New Zealand towns. Christchurch is one of the lew notable exceptions. There those who planned the city foresaw what it could be made, even if. they did not then realise what it has now become. Similarly well laid-out cities and towns there are in various parts of the Dominion, but they are not nearly so numerous as those which seem to have been laid" out anyhow, with no other thought than the profit and convenience of the present. Auckland is a ease in pomt — its original High-street being but a narrow lane, while Queen-street, its most important thoroughfare, has been built in a creek bed. In Wellington a very loiig price in the aggregate has had to be paid in street" widening, and the general rectification of the blunders of the past. Some of the country towns, however, are conspicuous for the foresight of their founders, who seem to have been animated by a love of home, a desire to avoid Wae mistakes made in townplanning in the Old Land, and above afl to provide plenty of elbow room. New Plymouth, according to the original plan in the Dominion Musuem, was liberally laid out. Invercargill is conspicuous at least for its broad streets; but with these exceptions and, of course, the city of Christchurch, the best-planned towns and cities have not all become conspicuous for their growth and progress. NEVER BOOMED, NEVER "BUST." , Take Greytown, in the South Waira- ' rapa, as it is I "off the line," m that ib is at the pendant of a branch section, progress seems to have passed it b,\, and no doubt, some people have dubbed it a slow place. Greytown has never "boomed," but, tnen, it has* never "bust.'* In common with many similar towns in New Zealand, it is a conspicuously country town, with a stable, comfcrtably-off population, and just enough progress to keep it from becoming absolucely torpid. Such towns suggest a ship with a steady breeze abaft the beam — and all the way. , A circumstance preferable, aftei all, to a succession of squalls and calms. Greytown is conspicuous for the amptitude of its streets and roads, and the wealth of tree* along them. Orchardists, from utilitarian rather than aesthetic reasons, have planted belt* of poplars, pines, planes, and other trees, but the result 'is the same. Beautiful avenues formed of pines, eucalyptus, and poplars and elms suggest the subject for Alfred East, the painter of tall and biatelj trees. At the end of these avenues one v catches glimpses of the distant blue "hills. The effect is very beautiful. But few who < have not seen the town could credit it with such a beautiful sylvan setting. Greytown once went vigorously into tree-planting. It was many years and the main road to Featherston was planted with pinus msignis. They look very shabby today, and /Certainly not nearly so beautiful as eucalyptus would be,' judging by the fine examples of this graceful tree elsewhere , in the district. For most of the length of the railway line to Featherston oaks have been, planted, and they have done remarkably well. This was intelligent tree-planting, but the full effects of the prospective beauty will not be so' welL seen on the railway as they would have been on. the main road. BELOW THE SURFACE. In the course- of an interview with the Mayor (Mr. D. P. Loasby) a representative of The Evening Post learned some details of the borough, which go to show that if Greytown seems to be a slow little town appearances are deceiving. The Mayor- did not like to commit himself as to the number of motor-cars owned in and passing through Greytown, but it was relatively very large. The Railway Department, on the whole, treated the borough fairly well, and the local officials handled the business ro a praiseworthy manner. Bub stockyards --we-re sorely needed to save stock travelling all the way to Featherston, some nine miles off. There was no reason, he said, why these yards could not be near the station. "But,'' he added, "that is an old grievance of ours." The new municipal gasworks were to be opened shortly. Electric light would no doubt have been a good thing, but said the Mayor, " we cannot afford to employ a wagon and team of four horses to do the work which a wheelbarrow can easily accomplish That is the position with regard to electric light. The business would not warrant the expenditure. We look to make two million feet of gas a year. Already forty applications for private lighting and cooking purposes have been received. We expect fully sixty. Then we shall have thirty steel gaslights in the borough. The works should be open by the end of June or beginning of July. By having the gasworks near the station we shall handle the coal direct from the trucks." A MATTER OF FINANCE. Speaking of "the finances of the borough, the Mayor said that four years ago there was a bank overdraft of over £1200 and £350 debts. To-day the overdraft had been reduced to £120. Last year the general rate was reduced to 3d in the £, and the Town Hall to 2d in the £. This hall had paid from its inception. The estimated revenue 7 was £130 per annum. It had been £176 last year. Several improvements had been effected, and it had been reseated. It was suggested that in view ol criticisms as to the structure of the hall from a " quick clearance " point of view the Mayor might care to say something under that, head. "We have had the hall cleared twice," he said, "in order to ascertain how quickly we could do jt. The audience were unconscious of the test at the time. The house was quite full on both occasions. There were two timekeepers at one performance, and three at another. % We twice cleared the hall in three minutes. lam entirely satisfied as to its safety." Greytown's new hospital has just been completed, and has only to be furnished and equipped. It is a plainly designed but well constructed brick building, and a strong feature is made of light and air. Dr. Bey, who is the medical officer in charge, informed The Post representative that he was a strong believei in the curative properties of fresh air. In proof of this he showed the patients all out in broad verandahs. Two of them, were typhoid cases. Dr. Bey is delighted with the new hospital and the amptitude of the wards. A GENEROUS GIFT. The Mayor then referred to the new hospital which is to be built on the site of the present fever hospital. The new building and its furnishing are the free gift of Mr. W. C. Buchanan, M.P., and will cost some £6000. The condition attached to the munificent gift is that the new hospital shall be for incurables. The chronic cases never fail to arouse pity in the, breasts of the sympathetic, because of "their hopelessness and b& cause they axe "incurable."

The Mayor spoke rather forcibly about j the tardiness of the Government in the matter of the new hospital and of its seeming to look the gift horse in the mouth rather too long. " The plans," he said, "have been with the Government now two months, and we have not heard of_ them yet. It's too bad, this delay." The fever hospital is to be removed from its present site. " Our district," the Mayor explained, "takes in Cross Creek in one direction, and goes beyond Carterton in another. Out of 100 notifiable cases Greytown has but seven, so you can see we, as a borough, are singularly free from zymotic diseases." THE TOWN LANDS. When the founders of Greytown were laying out the town they set apart; certain lands, the revenue from which was to be for educational purposes. The body administering these funds is the Town Lands Trust. This wise provision gives th© trustees to-day £260 per annum, and as most of the leases will run out in eighteen months' time, a revaluation will probably show that the town will benefit still further from the unearned increment. The schools have materially benefited by the revenue from the town lands. Greytown's fruit industry has already been referred to at length. But it is also an important dairying centre. The Greytown factory made 390 tons of cheese last year, and the output -will probably be increased this year. The Mayor is the authority for the fact that there are constant . enquiries for small dairy farms in the district, and several large properties could be judiciously subdivided for that purpose. Olers had been received at from £45 to £50 an acre for dairying land within a mile radius of the post office. The borough is one with a solid future before it as the centre of a rich agricultural, pastoral, dairying, and Jruit growing district, and its prospects of steady and sound development seem to be assured.