THE ROYAL SHOW

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 108, 3 November 1937, Page 17

THE ROYAL SHOW

Palmerston North Celebrates Its Golden Jubilee

IRAF'PED up in the story of any New \.{J J Zealand town is the story of New Zealand itself. It lias become something of a commonplace, in relating the story of the development of lhe Dominion, to dwell on the hardihood of the pioneers who first blazed the trail and in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties laid the foundation of civilisation in this .remote corner of the world, but, commonplace or not, fads are facts and the story of those far-off days cannot be told too often. In these modern times, when the march of science has brought luxury and easy-living within the reach of all, people are inclined to forget that eighty or ninety years ago New Zealand was still waiting to be won from the'wilderness. It.is well, then, that events such as that to be celebrated in Palmerston North this month— the sixtieth anniversary of the proclamation of the toyvn as a borough—should be seized upon N las an opportunity of carrying the.minds of the present generation back to the days when life was a much more difficult business than it is today. ■ Present-day citizens of Palmerston North justly take pride in the flourishing city 'to- which they owe allegiance. Truly the. progress which the chief city of the Manawatu district has made since the days when the first settlers won a home for thpmselves from almost I .impenetrable bushland is. remarkable.' In' the ;pr«'sent, article an attempt ife made, to tell, something .of the story behind Palmerston North's rise to greatness. ■ Palmerston North has, had no ( ' mushroom growth." In order to tell the story of its birth it is necessary to'deal also with the history of die district of which it is the centre. Although Palmerston North has long since outstripped the towns which once ■ threatened its supremacy, it was not' the first settlement in the district. Those hardy spirits who first settled on the site of Palmerston North over eighty years ago found themselves up against a stern battle with Nature and the odds were definitely against them. It says much for their endurance, their optimism, arid their faith that they were able to win-out. Where Palmerston North now stands there was dense bush, and it was from this that they had to win a' home for themselves and "their families. Progress at first was slow, disappointingly slow for those who had toiled unceasingly and uncomplainingly, but it was progress all the" same. As time went on the pioneers found that they were being joined by others who had been attracted by tales of fertile land waiting to be developed. But if the population of the settle- • ment increased there was no wild rush, for although the land offered great possibilities for thef man who was prepared to face hard work

the live-wires of the little community, was responsible for the first crop of wheat. Fortune favoured the bravo, and the crop was a bounteous one. But all the wheat in the world was of little value unless there were means of grinding it into Hour. The settlets overcame this difficulty by obtaining from Wellington a mill, driven by hand-power, and this somewhat laborious means of manufacturing flour was used with satisfactory results until a larger and more modern mill was opened later by Messrs. Richter and Nannestad."

In common wilh settlers in other' parts of the North Island, the Manawatu pioneers had their share of troubles wilh the Maoris, and isolated as they were, they had to step very carefully for fear of rousing the Natives tb hostility. Fortunately, wise counsels prevailed on both sides and most of the difficulties were settled amicably. Only on one occasion was it necessary for the Provincial Government to make any sort of threat against the Maoris, and then it was not necessary to follow it up with aclion. THE FIRST CENSUS. The Mr. McEwen mentioned in connection with the milling enterprise was also responsible for the first census in Uie Manawatu. This was taken in 1868, and the list "of settlers in the district at

lack of communications was a serious problem, Tho. town.of Foxton, wilh its port,; was handy enough} but that did not help much when there were no roads worthy of the name and certainly no railway. Communication with Wellington, the seat of the Provincial Government, had not been established, and the early settlers round Palmerston North were left very much to their own resources.. They had few opportunities to trade, and that, of course, meant that cash returns wero practically negligible. Foxton was twenty-five miles away. To lhe present generation such a distance means nothing more than half an hour or so in motor-car or train, but to the'Manawatu settlers it meant an arduous journey, involving discomfort and even danger. During the winter months communication with Foxton was oflen out of the question altogcthcr. ''To get provisions from Foxton without having them datnaged very considerably was unique,".states one writer. "Under such conditlons 'the next meal was very often problematical. It was a case of hoping for the best and ftoing.hungry-if the hope was not fulfilled. These difficulties iii mainlaining a regular supply of food forced the settlers to rely on their own re'•ources, and Mr. D. McEwen, apparently one of-

that time is given in "Old Manawatu," by'- Ht. T. Lindsay Buick. It is as follows:— Manawatu.—D. Rowland, M. Hamilton, R. Reardon, E. Reardon, M. Cullin, G. Mends, L. G. West, H. West. D. Monrad, John Munro, J. Sly, P. Stewart, W. Watson, G. T. McEwen, A. McEwen, D. McEwen, H. McEwen, G. Brenner. J. Marshall, R. Stanley, Ngawhakarau.—H. Eastman. Awapuni.—P. Marshall, Fitzherbert.—ll. Engels, C. Shute, A. Coborough. Rangitikei Line.—R. Ross, Te Matai.—S. T. Dalrymple. Ruaukawa.—G.Richards (senior), W. Waugh, A. Grammer, and W. Cummings. It was a small community, widely scattered, but strong tics bound lhe-pioneers together, They had a common ideal and towards this llicy marched hand in hand, supremely confident, in their own ability to make good and in the belief that lhe land they had chosen would he.the foundation of iheir fortunes. All that confidence "was badly needed, for the settlers had to fight a lone hand. The Provincial Government was officially awaic that there was a band of men engaged'in farming somewhere

in the Manawatu bush,'but there it" lost interest, or so it seemed to the settlers. The Government carried out surveys and sold the land, at a substantial profit to itself, and then left the settlers to their own devices. No doubt, the farmers of those days were just as enthusiastic as they are today about blaming the Government, but they, did not let official indifference prevent them from making a success of the task to which they had set their hands. In this way the Manawatu district owed its foundation almost entirely to private enterprise,, and it certainly provides an excellent advertisement for that form of development; Farmers-in those days> had not learned to lean on the Government, and what progress they made was made entirely as a result pf their own efforts. There is some interest in the prices' that were paid for land in those days. The upset price placed on mral land was £1 per acre, with the exception of land on the Rangitikei line, which apparently was considered to be exceptional, and therefore worth £2 an acre. Prices of town land varied according to position. For a quarternciu section on a coiner of lhe Square the upfcet price was from £50 to £52. Olher sections ip the—Square couid be. .obtained for. £»?SJ. ,|2O

to £30, and the upset price of a .half-acre section in Main Street or Broadway was £10. A LINE TO FOXTON. ' " In'lß7o a most important event in the history of Palmerston North, took place—the belated decision of the Government to lay the tram- ' way lino to Foxton. • Ever since" there were settlers in Palmerston North there had been an agitation for improved means of communication with Foxton, for in those days Palmerston North was very dependent on the little seaside town. How things have changed! The suggestion that a tramway line should be laid was naturally taken up wilh enthusiasm by the settlers who were seriously hampered by their isolation. They fell that the lirie would be their salvation and.would enable them to realise• their'fondesl dreams. And so the case for the line was placed before the Provincial Government. The reply was awaited with optimism, for the settlers felt that they had a watertight case, but the optimism proved quite unfounded. Governments in those. days did not have very great financial resources, and the'estiftiated cost'of the line—£looo—was beyond the reach of the public purse. The reply

''■'•.■■■■■'■■/■■.■.. ■.-•-.■■...' probably, caused more dismay in the district than , any other happening. The settlers saw their chances of making good fading, and many no doubt began to wonder whether it was worth while carrying on. But their dismay was shortlived. In the following year the Government found that it was not in such sore straits as it had thought, and the announcement was made that it would go ahead with the line. That marked the turning point in the history of Palmerston North. In a short space of time the population doubled itself, and the appearance of one or two business places round the Square laid the foundation of the present town. The first store in Palmerston North was opened by Mr. G. M. Snelson, whose name is also identified, wilh Palmerston North as its first Mayor. The store, was built on the western side of, the Square, and it was followed by other stores and business premises, including the first butcher's shop, built of scrub and situated near the site of the present railway station. It.was about this time that the flax industry came into some prominence, and the opening of several mills near Foxton resulted in a further increase in the population of the district. About 1870 it was estimated that there were 800 people in the Manawatu district. Up till that time the district had had no direct representative in Parlia-

ment, but was part of the Wellington City electorate. No wonder the settlers found it'difficult ,lo get the ear of the Government. Am agitation was started for separate representation,-and for once lhe Government gave the people their wish. Mr. E. S. Thynne was successful in the contest for a scat in the Provincial Council, and Mr. Walter Johnson became the first M.H.R. for Manawatu. Historians do not record the political leanings of the successful candidates, but at any rate they were good Manawatu. men, and the claims of the settlers received the recognition of the Government. The completion of the military road between Wellington and Hawke's Bay was another important event in the history of Palmerston North. It meant.fhe startof a regular coach service with Wellington. This, together with the Foxton tramway, did • much to transform Palmerston North from a struggling, isolated settlement into, a prosperous inland town.

v LAND SETTLEMENT

As already indicated, 'the Government .had shown remarkably small interest, in a district which promised so well, but in 1871 there was

a change of heart, and the first.real attempt was made to settle the Manawatu. From the nature of the land to-be settled it was evident that those placed in the Manawatu district would have to be prepared to face many hardships and exercise considerably more than the normal degree of patience. So the Government decided that the new settlers should he Scandinavians, who, it was thought, as a result of the training they had received in their homeland, would bo well suited to the conditions. When lhe first party of Scandinavians arrived in Wellington they were received in anything but a friendly manner, popular opinion ever* in those days evidently being against immigration. However, the immigrants were safely transported to Palmerston North, and. undaunted by the hostility shown towards them, they were soon hard at work on 40-acre sections at Awapuni. It did not take the Scandinavians long to realise that they had landed in no bed of roses. Awapuni at that time was little better than a swamp, and floods were a frequent occurrence. The new settlers proved themselves to be made of the right stuff, however, and after many failures anil disappointments they began to make some progress in their battle against Nature. Some of the Scandinavians made a big success of their holdings, and their names are still known in '-the district. In 1872 the Government carried tho experiment further, and over a hundred Danes and Swedes were brought out under similar conditions and settled on small sections round Feilding. Again the scheme was a success. As new settlers weiV placed on the land the district began to mako1 steady progress, and gradually some of the amenities of civilisation wero introduced. A new road from Palmerston North to Bulls was opened up and the. Foxton tram line was completed. The latter event was probably the most important in the history of the town of Palmerston North up to that slage, for it meant that the settlers had means of regular communication witli a port. The running of the first tram to Foxton w^as made a gala occasion, but things did not go as smoothly as, they might have. An amusing story is told of that first run. Some hundreds of people set. out in the hope of enjoying a successful trip to. Foxton and back, but the engine had other ideas. Between Foxton and the old Oroua bridgo the engine decided that it-had done enough for one day, and for five and a half hours tho passengers, whose enthusiasm waned with every, hour,,were held.up while repairs.were effected. It was certainly unfortunate that die engine should behave so badly on the opening day, but it made amends by running a fairly regular service until 1876, when the tram was replaced by a train. The Maoris were puzzled by tho tram when it first started to operate, and a historian records that the Natives used to run alongside the track gesticulating wildly. When they discovered that th.c tram was pretty harmless, however, they.became over hold, and tho difficulty was to keep tli3 Natives out, of tho conveyance. The erection of the first school in Palmerston North in 1872 was another important event in lhe history of the town. Up till that time the only school in the district had been located at Foxton, so it can be imagined that there were many children in the district who had received little or no education. Palmerston North's first school was erected on tho site of the present Empire Hotel, and the first headmaster (the term is a complimentary one, for the occupant of the position was also the sole' teacher) was Mr. R. N.»Keeling, wholater games a further distinction by becoming the first town clerk. The school served other purposes than that of educating the children of the district. ■ It was the social centre of the town, and it was als» used as a church. The different'denominations in Palmerston North showed a refreshing tolerance, and they took turns in using the schoolhouse. Later the Ockenden Hall was built, and (Continued on Next Page)