FIVE YEARS' PROGRESS

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 13

FIVE YEARS' PROGRESS

As to the value of small settlement in a country like New Zealand, no advertisement is necessary; but, if it ■was, such is to be found at Te Horo. Ta Horo's wonderful growth has been accomplished in about five years, and it is due, primarily, to the cutting up of the vast Gear Estate. As a settlement To Horo is now thriving to a degree not noticeable anywhere else along the line. Much has been written about the remarkable growth of American boom towns. Well, Te Horo has advanced along the same lines, only on a lesser scale, but with this big difference: It has not been boomed. Its growth is a natural growth—a growth only to be expected of a place so kindly served by Nature. THIRTY YEARS AGO. About thirty years ago, when the- ■ Manawatu Railway Company built its line from Wellington to Longburn, Te Horo did not present, a very inviting appearance. Few people thought that some day it would be a prosperous settlement. To the west of the railway there were only sandhills and, swamp, while the .other side, running right up the-ranges, was covered with fairly heavy bush. The land on each side —a large block of between 5000 and 6000 acres—was all owned by the late Mr. James Gear, founder of the Gear Meat Company. For a long time Mr. Gear retained a jealous hold of this property, and refused to cut it up. But all the time he improved, and each year he spent thousands of pounds in draining the swamps and removing the bush. It is said by those who knew him that he stopped at no expense in order to better his property, and he was certainly well repaid by results. The high flax and raupo soon disappeared, and the big lagoons were turned into valuable, dry, rich land, on which bullocks were fattened to a nicety. VALUABLE COUNTRY. The land north and south of the Gear Estate was sold to the public _by the ; Manawatu Company, and as it is cleared, and drained on the lines followed by Mr. -Gear, the valuable nature of' the country is revealed. The soil is of the richest" quality, and- the climate is remarkably mild and extremely favourable for vegetation. ■ In the winter time few districts send more milk to 'Wellington than Te Horo. Under the circumstan...ces it is not surprising that Te Horo began to attract a great deal of attention for the land-seeker, but Mr. Gear for many years refused to sell or lease an acre. So, of course, Te Horo stood still. A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. ■ Eventually Mr. Gear changed his mind, and something like ten years ago he disposed of a portion of' his estate. One thousand acres, were secured by Mr. Hall, who used to manage the old horse tram system in Wellington, and a like amount by Mr. Kilsby, Mr. Tolhurst, and others. Nearly five years ago Mr. E. J. Gear, to whom the larger portion of. the estate passed on the death of his father, sold out his interests to a syndicate, which cut the property into small sections of one, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and up to sixty acres of good land, and from 100 to 200 acres of swamp and sandhills. Great interest was taken in the auction sale, and big prices were realised. Now more than half the milk supplied to the i co-operative dairy factory come 3 from farms which have been established on the Gear Estate. A TRANSFORMATION. So there has been a remarkable transformation, and ' those who knew' the country as it was when the railway was first put' through, and for many years after that, would hardly recognise it now. Tho bush has been practically wiped out right back to the ranges. At the time t)°o railway line was made there was not one- mile of formed road in the district. There were bush tracks to the south ■ towards Waikanae, and bush tracks to