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Grey River Argus and Blackball news

MONDAY, JULY 3, 1922. WHERE DO THE PLUMS GO?

Delivered every mo. ning in Gr juUi H -i,. Hekit:!:a Dobson. Wallsend, Taylu. ,’ille, Crouu.ciun, Ngahere Blackball. Nelson Creek, Brunner, Te Kiugha Rutonianu. Poeroa, Inchbonnie, Patara, Ruru, Kaunata, Kotuku- Moana, Aratika, Bunanga, Dunollie, Cobden, Baxter’s, Kokiri, Ahaura, Ikamatua, Stulwater, Waiuta, Reefton, Ross. Ruatapua, Mananui, Hari Hari. Waiho Gorge, Weheka, Rewanui, Otira, Itu-ngahua Junction, Westport, Wainiangaroa, Denniston, Granity, Millerton. Ngakawau. Hectot, Cape Foulwind, and Karam*?

1 It was an obviously unwelcome sugj gestion when we advised our evening i cuiivemponiry that the member for the • district should be the one to whom .it should address its lamentations • about any neglect of Greymouth needs I by the Government. There was some I question about a railway station and • other tiling's, and i.he Chamber of ComI mercc was admonished. Well, the 1 Chamber has returned to the subject, I and its members seeiji to have arrived , at a conclusion which our contemporary , will pardon us for making explicit. It is simply that Hokitika appears to have j got in well ahead of this town in en- • listing the good offices of the member 1 for the district. We can only say we I did our humble best to give the hint j locally against getting “left” as opportunely as our contemporary’s re- ‘ marks permitted! We never meant, of course, to suggest that Greymouth’s , right should be Hokitika’s wrong, or anything of that sort. It was less a matter of taking away something from one place to another, than of providing for , both in an adequate way. ‘While it j cannot be denied that in point of size, i situation, and commerce, Greymouth is j the veritable capital of the West Coast ■ to-day, there are both the past and ■ the future to consider. The Chamber of Commerce apparently feels the ani cicnt capital of Westland is being in | some respects spoon-fed. But its title : of capital has a real significance, for [ the time was when it was a town of • such consequence that no room existed ! for the present-day suspicion that the I tail is wagging the dog. Twas then that departmental headquarters were there established ,which, even if it can be shown would now be more centrally situated hero, do in fact remain there, still and possession is surely something. The absorption of this locality into the Westland electorate is certainly a proof that population at this end has increased far more rapidly than at the other, but the Otira Tunnel’s completion is expected in Westland to ad- • vance Hokitika whose gain need not • —and undoubtedly will not, be our loss. : Meantime, the Greymouth Chamber of •> Commerce is justified in looking at existing conditions, and seeking such facilities as are demanded by local public needs. We trust they will be able to enlist the influence of the member for the District when their deputation proceeds to Wellington. Better late than never! So far as hospitals are - concerned, it will be all to the good

if Hokitika has an up-to-date one as well as Greymouth, and likewise a good railway station at Hokitika will be better for Greymouth visitors there than a bad on 1 . Yet ’tis certainly right to say Greymouth needs an improved station more than Hokitika, no matter how the eases are compared, ami it is not a question of “all the plums” going one way, but of bare justice to all concerned. If, as members of the Chamber seem to fear, there are influences at work to favour Hokitika at the expense of Greymouth, they should certainly get busy without delay, but it is not much use to talk vaguely of undercurrents. If tangible results are desired, public opinion must be arosed, and to be aroused, it must first be informed fully of the facts. The member for the district should be asked to state his position in the matter, and the public can then judge. His position obviously renders his knowledge of the whole question the most intimate one, whilst his own attitude towards the older and newer portions of his electorate, if clearly stated, would doubtless afford guidance to this end of it in shaping its own attitude.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19220703.2.26

Bibliographic details

Grey River Argus, 3 July 1922, Page 4

Word Count
705

Grey River Argus and Blackball news MONDAY, JULY 3, 1922. WHERE DO THE PLUMS GO? Grey River Argus, 3 July 1922, Page 4

Grey River Argus and Blackball news MONDAY, JULY 3, 1922. WHERE DO THE PLUMS GO? Grey River Argus, 3 July 1922, Page 4