The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, February 1, 1946. BULLER ENTERPRISE.

Grey River Argus, 1 February 1946, Page 4

The Grey River Argus FRIDAY, February 1, 1946. BULLER ENTERPRISE.

"While the proposition is, from the viewpoint of the individual,.to he judged strictly as a business one, liable, as it must be, to the exigencies of competition, the idea of exploiting in Buller the resources for the manufacture of cement is one of general interest. In more than one part of the West Coast the raw material exists for the production of building materials in addition to.that oi the forests. But it is becoming yearly more obvious that the timber reserves of the Dominion as a whole are unequal to the building needs of the country. The State has now exceeded twenty thousand in the number of houses wluch it has erected, and the rate of construction on its part must presently accelerate, while private enterprise will as soon as materials arc available augment the consumption to a great extent. Exotic timber may increasingly be utilised, but it is certain that if the eventual demand for materials were sought to be supplied in timber, the remaining native stands would rapidly disappear. In rjany instances already builders have been combining with timber a good deal of concrete, but even so have been unable to carry on at anything like the rate that is desirable, because of an inadequate supply of cement. There hitherto has in many localities been such a marked preference for houses made of timber that alternative material has lacked a trial, one reason beiim that of expense, and another that of climate. It may nevertheless be anticipated that any • prejudice against concrete housing will vanish in the light of experience and in the face of the example •of satisfactory homes of this more durable material. For many years the deposits of marl clay and limestone at Cape Foulwind have been recognised as exceptionally good in quality, whilst their extent is such that a cement industry. successfully established, should be assured of a long life. The Government has presumably recognised the utility of an augmented cement supply, in licensing the new venture to import plant and to undertake manufacture. The first step is not, of course, the deciding factor in such a venture, as a very substantial capital is essential, and as to this the question is a matter for the ordinary investor. Should the project succeed in this respect, it is expected to mean the raising of,

something like half a million pounds- With such a start, the plant ' should be equal to a very substantial output, and be one the operation of which would afford a large amount of employment. The West Coast has somewhat lagged in the development of secondary industries, for one reason because capital has so largely been concentrated upon those in large urban areas, where, however, the supply of labour shows no longer the large margins that there used to be. Decentralisation of industry is in any case coming to be widely recognised as preferable to congestion, and this would bo an undertaking in the nature of decentralisation. However, main consideration is simply the fact that the required materials are available in the Buller district in quantities -as great as anywhere else in New Zealand. This should be a warranty of success if the project is carried to the stage of completion.