WESTPORT'S FUTURE

Grey River Argus, 29 November 1920, Page 4

WESTPORT'S FUTURE

. A FIFTY YEARS FORECAST. WESTPORT IN 1970. (By F.J.M.) That' anti-age glaudular treatment. spoi-en of in the "Argus" a day or T.-WO ago has given an idea to at least one individual. Fifty years from now "i. not such a very long time, bni a whole lot of: most le.uiarkablc events may be crowded into the half -century, including a terrible industrial upheaval j a. trig banking smash, aud almost a com- j plete change. in our system of government. During, the period _of the com-! _g industrial and economic crisis. three or four governments will be knocked over like so many falling nine-pins, and by the end of the time now under the whip, there will have been some what firmly established a social-demo cratic house of government which will every two years elect its own Cabinet and appoint the private secretaries There will bo no Governor with the long train of show and extravagance, ■ but there will be only a resident commissioner to attend to purely forma! matters on behalf of the head of the Empire. — Westport will have been one of the rft&m storm centres in tho industrial crisis, and 'it will be one of the places to recover earliest from the effects of what' might ' be termed a revolution; but, by the end of tho term, the port will be purely a naval base. A wa> will have caused the necessity for a rb.g of magnificent fortifications 7-oinid here, although this will only have been achieved after mighty big opposition from the .anti-militarist section of 'the public and that desirable set of folk." who are against all forms of war! The 3020-21 period saw the end of I the lethargic spirit which had for the past quarter century hung _as a dark cloud over the town. In the period from January, 1920, to December, 102 L there was a general rooting and hunting out of human and material elements whose tentacles were as* sue-' lion valves, pulling back any mortal or, .••et of mortals who would endeavour to push the town aud district ahead. But whilst, there were some d— n bad men about, there were also some good ones, for, behold, were there not several wh-i tried to foster and expand the con! trade by opening new fields, but whe got bumped by the old-established "ring" and other paltiy money -grab hers whose claim- to citizenship ennu through no effort of their own bir by the will of the devil? However, the attempt to float these new mine> bore good fruit in the long run, and the promoters, although they may no' have made a pocketful of money oiv. of the transactions, at least they wen' honoured as citizens worthy of! th' name. Contrast this with the misor able being in Westport who ccau - e« : a, telegram to be sent to Christchuri'V when Sid Monro was fighting thePtoekton, to the following effect: "Munro a man of no worth." BnMunro floated the Stockton all tin sumo, and became the pride and de sight cf townspeople, leaving his tra Anccr to be treated with contempt a> h, menace to the progress of the towr and district, a despicable unit of the gang whose greed knc»v uo bound?. The visit of Admiral .Te.hcoo. and f.i< tv a rah ip Chatham sealed the fate owhat this place was eventually to he and so let us take a jump along (c 15.70, 40 years after the Buller Goi_railway had been completed, and the co;i.l measures and timber reserves ;ic> iacer.t thereto were 'pretty well thing.--of the past, But enormous deposm •if coal had been located in the lovlevels of the surrounding district Westport developed info an Admrra.n base of immense importance to B:i jca'ii's interests south of the line. It [ whsi epecially noted for its modwr. standard as regards aero matters Landing grounds, hangars, aerodrome? and workshops took up a portion of the ••oace now lying idle aa a floatinc basin, and continued some distance tc wards the Orawniti. Seaplanes swish ecs down on the Buller River just a; common as seagulls did in 1920. fbrunch line of railway was construct co. from Sergeant's Hill, round flu-Oi.-waiti, and TSJbrth Beach, to the vie. ui*y of tho crane wharf, and by thi 5 ruv.ee coal from Waimangaroa and Fair down Flats was transferred to t'v. sp. eially-bui-t 20.1100-ton cargo carrier which traded to Die port. Cape Foui wind being the first sight of New Zealand en the journey from Australia, thi? vi.-inity was used as fhe larding fc air vehicles from that continent, and Wr-ritport was made the first and las) pore of call for the New Zeuland-Aus )f.r:.:iai. -mail steamer and aero rotvico The 'plane traffiic was so perfect thai th-- better oft" portion of the community, spent the week-ends at the widely advcriiscd pleasure resorts both in Australia and "God's Own." One moreword, and we finish with the air. Owing- to its distinctiveness, tho "Argus'" will be the only daity newspaper on the West Coast 50 yeaTs from now. 11 .will remain to nobly continue its cam paigu on behalf of the long-suffcrinj. under-dog — what is left of him. Thr other dallies, which even now art -merely photographs of the Wellington and Christchurch papers and othe; sheets, will have gone into oblivion! The evening Wellington "Post,'' will be distribtued here at' 4 p.m. each day per medium <_ the aeroplane, anc our morning wantK will be supplied by rags from either Christchurch or' the Empire . City. It is hoped these tp marks will not get the wind up some of those contemporaries who are most ly noted for their swagger gas and hot air eccentricities We all wish them a long and contemptuous farewell. City improvements will not go ahead to any extensive degree, but there wil! be a bridge built across the BulleT River at the end of Wakefield Street, which event will be the signal for the 'erection of dwellings out towards the