NEGLECTED HANMER.

Evening Star, Issue 12871, 21 July 1906, Page 2

NEGLECTED HANMER.

Tire residents of Hannex held an indignation meeting on Monday evening, when fitanc plain homo-truths about Ministerial broaches of faith were uttered- We do not marvel at the Hanmerites refusing and further to believe in Ministerial promises, with which they have been put off too long. The tnne for resolute action has arrived, and it is to be hoped that the representative Committee who have bmi appointed to bring the necessities of the district under the notice of the Premier at the first opportunity will, when the occasion presents itself, make it abundantly dear that “bluffing” will not be tolerated any longer. With an intimate knowledge of Hammer's requirements, we ray advisedly that the place has been shamefully neglected for a long time past. What has Hammer got during the last three years in the shape of substantial and long-promised improvements? A swimming bath, at a cost of over £I,OOO, which is a veritable white elephant, and which was built in opposition to the wishes of the “locals.” A new teahouse, which certainly supplied a much-needed want, and is much appreciated by tho -visitors. A path to the summit of ; Conical Hill, which was actually constructed by private enterprise, and concerning which the 'Government did nob show to advantage. A new gate at the cemetery and a respectable ensign at tho Spa represent the total expenditure on the district during the past year. Contrast these trifles with the lavish expenditure that goes on at Rotorua, and trill bo continued unless the people oi the South laland shako off their lethargy, arid through their periiaanentaty representatives insist on justice being done to the Southern sanatorium. The truth is that, the Tourist Department has little or no time for Hanmer for the simple reason that Rotorua is the Ministerial milch cow, eo fox as thermal resorts are concerned. Little wonder, then, that official neglect is reflected Jn depart.menial... iadiSereooe. which oa the

district, for it is an open secret that the past season has been one of the very worst experienced for a dozen years. The place is in danger of stagnating. What lias become of the wafer and lighting scheme, which fn December last we wore assured uras all but j ready for inauguration? Over two years ago, when the Minister of Railways visited Hanmer, he tickled the ears of the folk with a foreshadowing of early railway communication; bat we said at the timo (and our view has been greatly strengthened in the interval) that the project was chimerical. Then, a little more than a year ago, the. Minister of Works was induced to pay a flying visit to the place. Ho was also banqueted, and under the cheering influences of an abundant repast he pictured possibilities in the way of a motor service. Mr Hall-Jonee even went so far, at an earlier stage of iris trip, to favor the immediate construction of a railway from Oulverden in the direction of the Waian, which, if the project had been encouraged (as well it might have been), would have brought Hanmer at all events three miles nearer to the existing railway system. But oil there pleasant prospects are apparently jis far off as ever. Meanwhile HarwnOr languishes, and is in danger of retrograding to an extent that will seriously affect, the positions of those who were induced to build homes in the township or to extend their investments jn tho district. At Monday’s meeting Mr Duncan Rutherford thus voiced the anxieties of the local residents:

Hamner’s drawback had been its means of communication. Over three years ago Mr Seddon had promised to push Hanmer, but, leaving out a certain amount of tree-planting aid repairs to the school, Ids visit had been useless. Little had been got out of Mr Hall-Jones, and when the Hon. T. Y. Duncan had visited Haumer all it got from him was £7 to repair the cemetery fence. Beyond a survey and a promise of a light brae, Sir Joseph Ward had done nothing for the place, and tho Hon. A. Pitt’s promised water supply had come to nothing. Hanmer was the most expensive tourist place to get to in New Zealand, and did hot go ahead because it did not agitate, and Christchurch did not help it.

What is needed to bring Hanmer prominently before the thousands who are expected to visit Christchurch during the currency of the International Exhibition is to accelerate and cheapen the means of communication between Christchurch and 'the Plain. The "locals” favor the inauguration of a motor service between Culvetden and tho Ferry, and as a railway appears to bo a very negligible quantity’ the experiment ought to be tried next season. Wc see no reason why the train service should not only, fit in with tho innovation, but why week-end trips should not be experimented with on the Christchurch-Culveiden section. We are not much concerned about the relative properties, from a curative standpoint, of the waters of Rotorua and Hanmer, but we do know from personal experience that the first-mentioned sana torium is, on tho score of expense alone, beyond the means of the bulk of the people in this part of tho Colony. It therefore behoves the Government to see to the pressing wants of Hammer without further delay; and we trust that the member for Humnui will be so persistent in his inquiries and demands that the neglect of the past couple of years will have no chance of being repeated.