“CINDERELLA” COAST

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 August 1935, Page 12

“CINDERELLA” COAST

AND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

Matters discussed at the monthly meeting of the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce late yesterday afternoon were chiefly a catalogue of things Jeft undone that, in the opinion of those present, were urgent needs of the town and district. There was criticism of Government and Government departments on some questions, especially in regard to the shelving of the Kumara Junction-Flowery Creek road, tho making of which the Chamber has advocated for the past six years. Discussion also took place on radio station 3ZR, the marketing of honey, and a stock route through Greymouth. Present were Mr P. J. McLean, president; Mr W. Meldrum, Messrs J. W. Caldwell, A. M. Robertson, W. Norton. F. A. Kitchingham, F. W. Shallcrass, and J. W. Greenslade.

Mr E. C. Hands, general manager of the Broadcasting Board,. notified the Chamber that its representations re-. garding further facilities for Station 3ZR would be placed before the next meeting of the Board, and if necessary, the Chamber would be communicated with further. The Chairman took strong exception to the-tenor-of this -lette.r. He said he had taken - a copy Of’the Chamber’s request to the Christchurch member of the Board and had discussed it with him. The Chamber had mentioned that West Coast listeners tuned in half the time to 3ZR, because of the peculiar atmospheric conditions of the area, and that as the Board drew a sum calculated at £2OOO yearly from the district in license fees, it was entitled to some further consideration. Mr Livingstone, w-ho was just then proceeding to a Board meeting, had shown his anxiety to improve the service in country districts. He said he would do his utmost in the matter brought to his notice, but said he was in a most difficult position, owing to various complications in Wellington. Mr McLean took especial exception to the phrase “if necessary,” from a paid official. Mr Shallcrass: We haven’t had any communication, so may assume the thing’s finished. The Chairman .observed that he understood Mr Hands had a deal of authority. It was necessary to follow up the request. It was moved 1 by Mr Kitchingham, seconded by Mr Shallcrass and carried, that a reply be sent to the Board, asking it for something definite, Messrs Harker and Shallcrass being deputed to associate themselves with the secretary in drafting a reply. FLOWERY CREEK ROAD.

Mr J. O’Brien, M.P., forwarded a reply from the Hon. S. G. Smith concerning the completion of the Kumara Junction-Flowery Creek road, which would be undertaken when funds were available. Other correspondence on the subject was also read. Further shelving of this question, said Mr McLean, was scandalous. They had been hammering away at it since 1929 and had got no satisfaction from the Ministers, although those who had been over the ground had agreed the work was essential. An earlier objection had been that the sector ran parallel with the railroad, but the Railway Department had admitted that that was not a valid objection. The speaker instanced the Christchurch-Timaru road, on which the Geraldine deviation was being cut out, as a similar case, yet a paltry four miles stretch between Greymouth and Hokitika was shelved. The Government was looking for jobs for the unemployed, who, according to the authorities, could inot be used for this undertaking, yet it would he one of national benefit. It was time they asserted themselves, as the Automobile Association had already done.

“Ministers of the Crown come here occasionally when they want rest cures, oi’ some other little affair,” said Mr McLean, warmly. “From an economic standpoint, the present road is costing the district £5O a day.”.. “If we don’t get it done this year—election year,” declared Mr Norton, “we have little hope of its being attended to at any other time.” The Chairman described the situation as comic opera. “I think you should call it tragedy, Mr Chairman,” interposed Mr Greenslade, who continued that Mr McLean had enumerated a few of the cases in which the district had been badly treated, but what was the cause of it, he could not say. The Government had treated the Harbour Board badly and had side-stepped the issue on practically all Coast matten-s placed before it. It had been said the unemployed funds could not be used for the project under review, but what about trumpery other schemes? What about the 30/- subsidy for gold prospectors? They must present a united front in presenting their case. He did not suggest tho member for the district was not doing his duty, but whether the Coast was consistently, neglected because they were not represented by the same political colour, he did not know. The Government would have to be made to realise that they would fight it until some satisfaction was secured. Many other requests had received' scant consideration. In speaking in the room, they perhaps did not get very far; they would have to go further than that. They felt they had been made use of on various occasions, and when the time was past they were forgotten; thev had Labour representatives in Parliament and were off the beaten track. All they coqld do was to protest strongly.

Mr Shallcrass said tho Automobile Association had estimated the wastage to jnotorists in extra mileage was £15,000 a year. The stretch was only one link of the main scheme of the Highways Board to link up the Haast Pass. if sufficient pressure were brought to bear, he believed something would be achieved.

One statement in Mr Smith’s letter, observed Air Kitchingham, was that the road would detrimentally affect the Railways, but that Department had admitted it would have practically no effect on rail trafllc. Most of the people travelled after the trains had stopped running for the day, and those people would travel by road, whether it were long or short. Thev had the spectacle of the Scenic Preservation Forestry and Lands Departments all trying to push the responsibility on to one another; the Highways Board, Public Works and Unemployment Board, all trying to avoid the institution of the work. The local bodies had to got together to make the authorities realise that the job had to be done and to see how it could be done. It was decided to seek the cooperation of the C.A.A., the Progress League, and West Coast bodies in forwarding the case, at the same time re-

plying that Mr Smith’s letter < ; was thought to be unsatisfactory.

HONEY-CONTROL.

The West Coast Beekeepers’ Association wrote requesting the Chamber’s support in the matter of the abolition of tho Honey Export Control Board, .which subject had already been taken up by the Christchurch Chamber.

At the Chairman’s request, Mr Shallcrass reviewed the circumstances leading up to this move. The original body was the Honey Producers’ Association of New Zealand, which had marketed the product overseas for £135,000. Of that, the producer had received £35,000. Then, the Honey Control Board had taken over, but it was composed of the same men who had charge of the other body, and those outside of it were anxious to get control of the marketing of their own honey. There was a proposal to tax all honey, whether intended for oversea or home consumption, one farthing a pound, and the West Coast producers were up against it. They wanted a free market. Old shareholders in the Honey Producers’ Association had been overpaid £15,000 by the English agents, and now a Colonel Buckley had come to try to collect it. Mr Greenslade: Rather a stink in the whole thing! “They want the ■ Honey Control Board and the Honey Producers’ Association inquired into, and they want to know where the £lOO,OOO went to.”

Appreciation of the work of the Associated Chambers of Commerce, whose president, Mr A. H. Allen, and secretary,’ Mr A. 0. ileany, had recently visited Greymouth, was expressed by members present. Messrs McLean and Kitchingham spoke of its valuable work in checking up hastilydrafted legislation, which in many cases was most imperfect. Mr Meldrum said Mr Heany's address had opened his eyes to the work the Associated Chambers were doing, and particularly, the headquarters in Wellington. Members of Parliament were tired out by the time the Wash-ing-Up Bill went, through, but an alert Chamber of Commerce could do good work in that regard. The general public must appreciate that a strong Chamber of Commerce was necessary if they were to have progress in the district, continually and forcibly to

advance its requirements, in conjunction with the Member. However, a great deal could not be done without the sinews of war, not only should it be strong in argument, but it should have a certain amount of financial backing behind it. Tho mapping out of a stock route

through the town was mentioned by Mr Norton, and the Mayor said the subject Juul been referred to the Works Committee of the Borough Council the previous evening. That, said Mr Nortoan, was satisfactory. Some men said they had had to truck stock to get it though the town. Mr McLean thought there should be provision for a silling at the Abattoirs.

in Mr Greenslade’s opinion, a siding at Karoro was preferable to a stock route. The former would entail some expenditure by the Railways, which would be for its' own benefit, but to term a stock route, the borough would have to find several thousands sterling, probably by a loan, that it could not afford, and it would receive nothing in return. The meeting decided to ask the

Railways to construct a siding at the Abattoirs.

It was decided, at the Chairman’s instance, to draw the attention again of tlie Railways Department to the necessity for a wig-wag signal at the Herbert Street crossing. Mr Shallcrass said that if a bicycle were left unclaimed on railway premises, it was put on the next train to Christchurch. He thought the machine should be handed to the police. Recently, a bicycle was sent to Christchurch, and was claimed on arrival there.

The Chamber agreed to put the case to the Department. That the Chamber express its pleasure at the success of local bodies in expediting the work of the aerodrome, with the hope that it be brought into being as early as possible, was moved by Mr McLean, also that the Chamber offered any assistance in endeavouring to get a Government grpnt to forward the work.— Carried.