BRUNNER BOROUGH

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 November 1926, Page 3

BRUNNER BOROUGH

PETITION TO JOIN COUNTY. The Commission to hear the petition relating to the Brunner Borough i merging into the Grey County was continued yesterday afternoon. The personnel of the Commission was as follows: —Messrs W. Meldrum, S.M. (Chairman), W. T. Morpeth, Commissioner of Crown Lands at Hokitika, and L. J. Carmichael, Nelson, Government Valuator for the West Coast. Sidney Fry, of Wallsend, a member of the Borough Council, said he was in favour of the Borough merging with the Grey County, on broad lines. Proceeding to compare conditions hs they existed at Blackball, which was under the Grey County, with Brunner, he said he appreciated the difficulties which faced the Brunner Borough, but thought the future prospects of the two coal mines, the Dobson and Wallsend, warranted the Borough continuing to run its own affairs. He was however, in favour of the poll being taken regarding the merging with the County. He said that the Brunner Borough had passed the slump period, and the position looked much brighter than when the mattei- of the merger was first proposed. >.s To Mr Boustridge: He considered the sanitation of Brunner superior to that of Blackball. ' Thomas Morgan, a member of the Borough Council, for twelve years, said he was in favour of the Brunner Borough continuing to function. He looked for the Borough to progress with the development of the two principal mines, the Dobson and Wallsend. He thought the prospective revenue would be sufficient to maintain the roads. To Mr Boustridge: During the 39 years the Brunner Borough had been in existence, he was not aware that anything had been done to provide sanitation, water supply, or nightsoil removal for the residents. Frederick Williams, Mayor of Brunner, said the "slump” position, which existed a few years ago, had been replaced by a period of distinct improvement. Though the old valuation was £24,000 as had been stated, the new valuation was £60,000. He expected it to be £15,000 more by next year. In former years the Brunner residents had been under the Grey County Council. They practically bought themselves out of the County. The Borough rating was quite fair and equitable, and caused no dissatisfaction. A total grant of £265 was made by the Highway Board to maintain about 4B miles of the Borough road, which he thought equal to what other bodies were receiving. If the Borough went over to the County it would be a retrograde step. They would lose representation on the Grey Power Board and on the Grey Hospital Board. They might not have any representation oik the Grey County Council. To Mr Boustridge: There were three mines working in Brunner in the “peak times” of thirty years ago. Considering the present prospects of the Dobson and Wallsend mines, the outlook was such that he looked for a return of those “palmy days.” It was impossible to make a definite pronouncement on the point. He did not know of any. two miles of unformed road at Dobson; if the roads were unformed, it was because no one wanted them. To Mr Joyce: The, rate struck for 1926-27 was at the rate of 3/- in the £ on the annual value. Mr AV. J. Joyce, speaking for the County Council, said it was remarkable that neither the petitioners nor the Borough Council representatives had produced any definite information regarding rates, values, mileages of road, and other matters, about which they should have come prepared with proper evidence. On the one hand a section of residents were tired of the Brunner Borough and now wished the County to “carry the baby.” On the other hand, there were others who wanted their little bit of “limelight,” and wanted the Borough Council to continue. Supposing the County Council agreed to take over the Borough Council’s property and debts, and set to work to make the road as good as the County roads, in addition to providing other advantages, what assurance would the County Council have that as soon as the residents in the populated portion of Brunner felt they had all they could get from the County, they would not want to secede and form a Town Board area which would include only the best parts of the present Borough, and leave the County the unproductive portion. He asked the Commission to keep the latter statement in mind when framing their recommendations. The Commissioners stated their duty was to report to the Government, not to dictate a condition such as Mr Joyce suggested. The evidence taken at the Commission would be forwarded to the Government who would duly advise the next step to be taken.