Prosperous and Happy Levin

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 24, 29 January 1924, Page 14

Prosperous and Happy Levin

Centre of Wonderful Manawatu.

- ; 'Conspicuously happy,. centred in plenteous peace,and surroundedby.a region 'tif liveliness, Levin, with its population 'of over two thousand, contented people, the even, tenor of its way along Ijthe road of progress. Surprising as huß , been its progress to date, its i achievement is but a stage in its eteady onward'march. Levin has many .advantages which tend to make it the most important centre between Welling- . ton and Palmerston North. Who, sur- *■• .veying the five towns of to-day, and ' 'drawing a picture of the few poor huts ihat marked its foundation as a bory ough some sixteen years ago, can doubt its destiny? Come and see Levin now. 'A marvellous 'transformation^, has been wrought. Its magnificent main street -^Oxford street—is lined with splendid chops, and public buildings. Miles of other streets, beautifully laid.^out, con- , tain many artistic and costly homes, the equal of any in the Dominion, and it is hard to realise that only 16 years ago this was a struggling settlement. The population of Levin Borough is a little more than two thousand. The ,town possesses up-to-date municipal gas 'works, arid one of the best high pressure water services in the Dominion. The district is mainly given over to,.dairying and fattening, and consequently it is a market centre for fat stock. It also has'a notable reputation for the manu-' iacture. by the Levin Dairy Co., Ltd., . of the highest grade export butter made Sn New Zealand. Levin is the business centre for the 'Manawatu district, and much1 in the public eye at times as the location of \ the central development farm, and th? ' Boys' Training Farm. The small farm system of settlement has proved a boon to Levin. The district is the home of several notable Jersey and Holstein breeders. Poultry farming is also carried on extensively, and with considerable.' success. . The climate is splendid and: even, and adds to the many advantages of Levin as a residential centre. Levin is fortunate in havin? many real live public bodies and institution's *• to cater forits needs. There is, the A. "and P. Society, whose 'two days show, under the presidency of Mr. G. H. Krhgsdon, commences to-morrow. The {Hprowhenua facing Club (W. Bull, secretary), is another of Levin's fine' h> jstitutions. TJien there is the Ho'rticnltural Society, and a real business-like 'Chamber of Commerce, which is-'pre-eided over by Mr. K.;Aitken. ■■'"'.. Ample natural resources; have been developed sby- the various 'local bodies, towards ,scehic, and recreation;reserves'.-.;'* There, is ;a splendid beach six mijes from' ihe Post Office.-and within a few rnintites' ridel of the .town .the..two beautiful; lakes R'orowhenua and Paipatonga. On : the former-many, of- the residents 'have rowing arid, motor1!, boats. , Ih the immediate neighbourhood of the town there are bowling and: croquet greens; tennis courts','■football,:'golf,- and cricket grounds, and a .splendid.;asphalt cycling track. Further improvements are contemplated shortly. : ... : ". ... Two loans, -totalling £50,000, were eubmitted to the Levin ratepayers recently, and were carried by large majorities. -. One is for 'erecting a municipal theatre; office's,^ and'shops, and the . other for the remaking, and bitumenisIng of 12i miles of streets and paths.

A Fertile and Expanding District.

Considerable interest is taken in the electric lighting and power which will shortly be forthcoming from Mangahao. The controlling body for the1 whole of yie Horowhenua County, a portion of the, southern part of the Manawatu County, the Weraroa Riding of the Hutt County, and the four boroughs of Foxton, Levin, Shannon, and Otaki, is the Horowhenua Electric Power Board, with offices and power station at Weraroa, Levin. The district thus covered includes Paekakariki in the south, and Tokomaru in the north, and consequently the Mangahao generating station lies within its boundaries. , The capital value of the district is in the vicinity of ££,000,000, and the population approximately 12,000.' The board will cater for the lighting and heating in the houses of the boroughs and townships, power for milking plants and factories, and, last but not least, for the very important flaxmilling industry established in several parts of the district. Mr. G.. A. Monk, chairman of the board, has been chairman of the Horowhenua County Council for .a number of years,' a member of the Palmerston North Hospital Board, and a member of the executive of the newly-formed'High-. ways Board for the district. The other* members of the boaTd are Messrs. W. H: Gunning, merchant, .Shannon, and member of the Shannon Borough Council; D.' W. Matheson, ex-Mayor of Levin ; W. E. Barber, farmer, and mem r ber of the Manawatu County Council; A. Seifert, flaxmiller, Palmerston North,, C. Kilsby (Otaki), member of the Otaki Borough Council; Alexander Ross (Foxton) member of Foxton Borough Covfhcil; A. J. Mackay, farmer, Paekakariki, and a member of the Hutt "County Council ; and A. A. Brown, flaxmiller, Waikanae. The engineer to the board is Mr. T. R. Overton, M.1.E.E., who has had a long_experience in all branches of his profession, and who recently carried through very successfully the reticulation of the central power district of Hamilton. The board has obtained permission to borrow £260,000. It is not anticipated, however, that all of this will be required for some years. The first instalment of the loan was raised in December, 1922, the amount being £80.000 at 5i per cent, interest with a sinking fund of 1 per cent. A further instalment to be obtained shortly may be at a higher rate of interest. . :The point of supply from Mangahao will be at Shannon', where a sub-station and"attendant's cottage are in course of erection. The district is served with primary lines' of ,11,000 volts,'with secondary lines whe|re necessary. The poles for the. primary lines in_the northern' part.of the district are already erected and the southern portion of the work is being pushed ahead now. Two group contracts have been let for house-wiring and motor installations, and this work is already in hand, so that the moment current is ', available the board will be ready to supply. It is anticipated that will be at least one thousand consumers linked up^ready for the power when Mangahao gives' the signal "go ahead." The board very wisely have adopted a policy of assistance to those settlers who desire it for financing the cost of installation, and it is expected that the board will most probably be able to carry out its undertaking without the collection of. a. rate. -When it is. in full swing Levin and district is bound to make further progress. \