N.Z. CENTENNIAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 July 1939, Page 10

N.Z. CENTENNIAL

WESTLAND COUNCIL MEETS

A meeting of tlje Westland Provin- ' ci’a'l Council of the New Zealand Centennial, Organisation was held in the Greymoutli Boroiigh Council chambers, last evening. Mr. G. Perry(Mayor of Hokitika), presided, and there were also present Messrs. . J, flyalj. and J. Mulcare (Grey County Council), W. Clayton (Inangahua County Council)- 1 , J. B. Kent and A. 11. McKane (Grey Power Board), J. Smeaton arid AV. Barber (Brunner Borough Council),. F. A. Kitchingham and ( H. Herring (Greymouth Borough Council), P. ,J. McLean and' J. A. Murdoch (Westlana County Council), W. B. Gilbert (Greymoutli. ~ Board), and Mr. D. J. Evans (honorary 'secretary).. Apologies for.absence were received from Mr. J. Unwin and Dr; W. McKay. Mr. Evans reported on the recent meeting of provincial representatives held in Wellington. He said that it had been decided to allocate to each i province a sum of £BO towards the cost of furnishing its reception room , 'at the exhibition. A province could get its furniture made locally, if it so desired, but it had been suggested that it would be if, all tlie, furniture were made by. one firm in Wellington. Eleven models of the larger towns in New Zealand were being prepared for the Dominion' Court at the exhibition, but, with regard to the smaller towns, it had been suggested, that transparencies of them should be prepared. They had been, shown a transparency of Gisborne, and it was certainly very effective. It had been suggested that transparencies of Hokitika and Reefton should be made. A booklet dealing with the Dominion Court was to. be issued, and all contributing local bodies were to be given free space in this publication. He had accordingly written to local bodies in the Westland province asking for details regarding their local industries, scenic ' attractions and so forth. Westland had still £3OO to pay of its quota for the Dominion Court, but, in this respect, Westland had done the best of any province. The only provinces that were somewhat backward in their payments were Taranaki, Nelson and Buller, and Southland. Disappointment nad been expressed with the number of applications received

from N.Z. manufacturers for space at the exhibition. The explanation was that they were so busy that it would be useless for them to go after more orders, which they would not be able to fulfil. However, it ( was hoped that more,manufacturers would be induced to take space.

Mr. Murdoch, who also attended the meeting in Wellington, said that there were 22 delegates present from all parts of N.Z. and he had. been greatly impressed by the enthusiasm displayed by .all of them. The exhibition was. a national undertaking, and it was to be hoped that the same enthusiasm to make it a success would be shown generally throughout, the country. He had been immediately struck by the size of the undertaking. It was much larger than any previous exhibition he had seen in New Zealand. The replica of the Waitomo Caves was simply marvellous, and he did not see how 'it could possibly be improved. He had also been impressed by the transparency of Gisborne, and he thought this was a good way of showing I he smaller towns. A transparency was much better than a second rate model. It was prepared from photographs and showed the town exactly as it was. Besides, each town could secure its transparency after the exhibition and keep it as a memento for al) lime. The. araounr of space allotted to Westland seemed Io

be quite adequate. , The people o£ Wellington were. working hard for the exhibition, and lie all the other parts of the Dominion should combine to help them, to make the exhitjition a succ.ess arid one worthy of a great occasion. In moving a vote of thanks to Messrs. Evans and Murdoch for attending the conference and for their reports on. its proceedings, Mr. Perry said that, so far as Westland was concerned, the efforts of the Provincial Council were meeting with success, and he was sure that the Westland portion of the exhibition would be worthy of the province. Mr.. McLean seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. With' regard to the furniture for the Westland reception room, Mr. Me-. Leah said that, while he believed in encouraging local industry,,he thought ip this case, in order to avoid unnecessary expense, the furniture should be made in Wellington. It was, decided to leave the matter in the hands of the secretary. Mr. Evans said that the timber used would be West Coast rimu.

It was- decicled to apply for four free adjnission. passes to the exhibition,' one for, tlie provincial chairman and, three-, for, attendants. Mir. McLean said that, in arranging the display for the Westland section at. the exhibition,, the wonderful'work done by the< children at Jack’s Mill school in building a house and, furnishing it should not be forgotten. There should be something to show what the children had done. He had never seen anything like it anywhere. It was decided to communicate with the headmaster of the school in regard to the matter. Mr. A. W. Mulligan, secretary of the Centennial Branch, Dept, of Internal Affairs, wrote stating that, the Branch had received the journal of Mrs. Nicholas Chevalier, the first woman to make the trip overland from Christchurch to the West Coast, in 1866. The disposal of this journal would await the decision about the provision of a safe depository for such documents at Greymouth. Mr. Kitchinghani said that probably there would be a decision made about a depository, shortly.

j CENTENNIAL MEMORIALS. J Mr. Mulligan also wrote with re- . gard to various Centennial memorials [ that it is proposed to erect on the West Coast. With regard to Hokitika’s proposal to alter the swimming bath, this would not be regarded as acceptable unless the alterations were very extensive. The rest room at Ross was approved, subject to the building being vested in the Borough, Council. The band stand at Reefton, and the women’s rest room and Plan-1 ket rooms at Greymouth were approved on general grounds, but final approval could not be given until the plans had been considered. Mr. Evans said that, with regard to the Hokitika swimming bath, it was * decided to reriiodel the whole building, and a ske’en plan showing the extent of the work would be sent to Wellington. With regard to the rest room at Ross, the Mayor oE Ross had advised that it was to be erected on Council property and would be vested in the Council. The Conservator of Forests wrote stating that he was prepared to recommend the site approved by the Lands Department for the proposed memorial on Trig Hill, Okarito. Mr. Evans said that the site chosen on Trig nil) was an excellent one. and the monument would be visible for miles around. Mr. W. J. Bolitho, Director of the ( School of Mines, Reefton, wrote with regard to the mineral exhibits he was preparing, for the exhibition. He also J gave details of the space that would I be required for the exhibits.

It was decided that Mr. L. A. Inkster should be appointed as judge in connection with the photographic competition.

A letter was received regarding samples of needlework that, had been made on the West Coast in the early days. It was stated that these were available for display at the exhibition, aiid would make wonderful backgrounds for other exhibits.

Mr. Perry said that they were being offered a large number of rare, and interesting objects for display in the Westland section at the exhibition. The trouble was that they might not have room for them all.

It was agreed that it should be left to the secretaiy to decide whether the samples of needlework offered should be accepted or not. It was decided that Mr. McLean should communicate with Messrs. Stewart and White, Auckland, with regard. to taking photographs of Grey.mouth for photographic murals for the exhibition.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND. Mr. Evans reported that he had received the i’ollpwing contributions to the Scholarship Fund: — Grey Harbour Board, (final) £66 13/4; Inangahua County Council (part) £l2; Kumara Borough Council (final) £5; Ross Borough Council (final) £4; Runanga Borough, Council (part) £2; F. 'A. Kitchinghani, donation, £2/2/-; Stuart and Chapman, Ltd., donation, £5/5/-; Butler Bros., Ltd. £5/5/-. This, with the amount previously acknowledged (£245/2/2), made’a total of £347 7/6. To this had to be added mcney promised and still outstanding, and the Government subsidy, and, with these tw r o items, the total amount of (he Scholarship Fund was £863. It was hoped that the first scholarship v-ould be awarded early next year.i The Council would have to decide the amount of the first year’s scholarship. Some of it. would have to come out of capital, if it was to be a suitable amount.

Mr. McLean said lie understood that the aim was to get £lOOO for the Scholarship Fund. Mr. Evans; And as much more as we can get.

Mr. Perry said he thought the money should be invested in Government bonds. The amount of the scholarship would not be large, probably £3O to , £-10 a year, but such a sum might well prove invaluable to a young fellow who was struggling to get on in the world.

Mr. Evans said that a capital sum of £lOOO would probably yield £45 a year.

It was decided, on the motion of Mr. Perry, seconded bv Mr. Clayton, that the amount of the scholarship for the first year should be £5O. It was also decided that the capital for the scholarship should be invested in Government bonds.

Air. Herring asked if it would be possible to have sufficient space available in the Westland section of the exhibition f< r a display of a number et young trees showing the different species of timber grown on the West coast, with samples of timber in tne rough and polished state behind them. Mr. Evans said he though there would be space for such a display, and that it would be welcomed.

WEST COAST PRODUCTION Interesting figures with rei>urd io gold. coal, and limber production of the West Coast were presented by Mr. Evans, who said they had been obtained from official sources. Mr. Murdoch suggested that fhe chief totals should be printed on a large placard and displayed in the Westland section at the exhibition, ami Mr. Perry said that this would probably be done. The information collected bv Mr.

Evans showed that, prior to 187-7 gold

exported from the West Coast amounted to- 2,135,7100zs valued at £8,450,095. These figures included the; big

gold rushes in the Grey and Westland districts. To 1937 production was valued at £26,941,735 comprising

6,644,6010zs the average, value being £359,223 per annum. These figures

were based 'on prevailing gold values varying from £3/16/- per oz. to £8 15/- per oz. . * Coal produced to date amounted to 17,566,823 tons, comprising Gr.ey district: —16,554,417 tons; and Reefton 1,012,406. To December 3R 1883, production amounted to . 422,233 tons. At present there were 1,870 provisional State Forests, 9,71.5 permanent State forests. The total area was 1,727,902. acres or 45 per cent, of the total area reserved in New Zealand. Production for the West Coast was as follows: 1934, 42,316,000 sup. ft. or 21.4 per cent, of the Dominoin total; 1935, 57,543,000 suji. ft. or. 23.6 per cent, of the total; 1936, 73,921,000 sup. ft. or 25.2-per cent, of the total. In the dairying and pastoral Indusin the past five years. 28,885 cattle and 279,560 sheep ()f a value of £450,000 were sent through the Otira Tunnel. The district figures were: Westland 21,573 cattle, 207,1.30 sheep; Grey 3,817 cattle, 44,084 sheep; Inangahua 1,495 cattle, 28,346 sheep. These figures are apart from the supplies for the 29,704 people in the combined districts.

CENTENNIAL ASSEMBLIES.

MANY FIXTURES ARRANGED

-Already many organisations have fixed dates for assemblies during the period of the Centennial Celebrations,

particularly in Wellington, and others

are contemplating, such assemblies. .The following list for Wellington has been compiled from various sources, mainly- newspapers,, by the Centennial Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs. Organisations which intend meeting in Wellington or in other centres during the celebration period are requested to advise the General Secretary, Centennial Branch. Department of Internal Affairs, as soon as possible. Such fixtures rank in importance with Centennial celebrations, and a reminder has been given by Mr. Parry, Minister of Internal Affairs, that this matter is of some urgency because the information is required by trans-1 port and accommodation interests, and because of the necessity of the National Centennial Council compiling as soon as possible for distribution abroad an official programme of national, provincial and district Centennial celebrations. The known fixtures for Wellington in sequence of dales, arc as follow: Associated Chambers of Commerce, November 15 to 18. N.Z. Grain, .Seed and Produce Merchants’ Federation, November 28 to 29.

International Boy Scouts' Jamboree, from December 27. Pan-Pacilic Women's Conference, January 13 to 26. 1940. N.Z. Bowling Championship, January S to 22. N.Z. Piping and Dancing Championships (tentatively), January 23, 24 and 25. N.Z. Pip/ Band Contest. January 26 and 27. National Eucharistic Congress. February .[ to I. N.Z. Dental A, sociaiion, from Jami- 1 ary 5. N.Z. Institute of l-lorlmulture am! National Flower Show, February 6 to 8. N.Z. [legistered Nurses’ Association. February 1.3 to 16. Ancient Order of Forresters Friendly Society, February 15 to .17. N.Z. Institute of Engineers’ Con:I ess, r ebruary 18 to

N.Z. Institute of Opticians, February 19 to 24. ± .. N.Z. Institute of Architects Conteicnce. February 21) to 23. N.Z. Master Builders’ Federation, February 21 to 23. N.Z, Society of Accountants’ Convention, February 27 to March 1. N.Z. Labour Party Conference. Easter. N.Z. Master Bakers' federation, March 5 to 7. Municipal Conference, March 5 to 9. N.Z. Town-Planning Institute Con-

fe-r-ence (tentative). March 7 to. 10. N.Z. Law Society Conference, March 27 to 29. Australian Anzac Contingent (two or three ships), about 2,000 men, April •21) • * N.Z. Educational Institute Conference, May 13 to 17. Secondary School Teachers’ Conference. May 13 to 17. Technical School Teachers’ Conference. May 13 to 17. It is expected that there will be a Science Congress, during May.