NOLANTOWN COMMISSION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 29 November 1924, Page 4

NOLANTOWN COMMISSION.

FURTHER. EVIDENCE. THE. PETITIONERS’ CASE. The sitting of the commission enquiring into the position with regard to the proposal to mea'ge Nolantown in the Borough of Hawesra was continued yesterday afternoon and today. . When the commission resumed alter the luncheon adjournment Francis Coleman, district health- inspector, continued his evidence. Under cross-examination by Mr o’Dm, witness admitted that pumping stations would have to be emptoyed in a drainage scheme for Nolantown. If Nolantown came into the borough, then Ramanui and Turftown should also follow suit. Nurse Dix, Plunket nurse for this district, said that when an epidemic was being experienced Nolantown was always the first to suffer and the last to get x rid of the trouble. In , visiting homes in Nolant-own she had noticed a shortage of water, which constituted a danger to health. The health of the infants there was certainly much worse than in the borough. Nurse Gomer, who conducted a maternity home in Nolantown, said she was strongly in favour cf the merger. The people of Nolantown had no sewerage or drainage, and numbers of them had been hoping to get into the borough for years past. She had been a resident in Nolantown for 37 years, and to get the conveniences of the borough she would not mind 1 if her rates went up from £3 (their present amount) to £2O. Witness instanced the case of a cottage with one 400-gallon tank.

The Rev. H. W. Monaghan, a resident in the Nolantown area, said Ins vestry were unanimously in favour of the merger, and this despite the fact that both the church properries in Nolantown had the borough water 'aid on. He was in favour of the petition because the conditions -in Nolantown did not tend to the best human living. The impression that he had got- was that it was the mothers with the young families who were tlie strongest in favour of merging. In his parish visiting he treated Nolantown as a town area, but he had not struck such roads within five minutes’ walk of the Post Office since he left the lackblocks. The whole condition of things in Nolantown was inconsistent with an area so close to the centre cf a town.

Dr. W. M. Thomson, superintendent of the Hawera Hospital, in reply to Mr Spratt’s question as to what he thought about Nolantown’s sanitary arrangements, said that he did not know that Nolantown had any. From a hygienic point of view arrangements in Nolantown were not satisfactory. H. L. Chadwick, chairman of tlie Tawhiti School Committee, said he moved out of the Nolantown area four years ago. He found the water supply short and not very wholesome. _L. A. Bone, Mayor of Hawera, said that as a private individual he was in favour of the merger, although he did not. reside in the borough. Wrapped up in the question of the merger was the question of the duplication of the borough water main. , In reply to Mr Barton, witness said that in the event of Nolantown coming into the borough before the duplication of the main was decided upon the cost of the same would be spread over the whole of the borough, including Nolantown. •

In reply to Mr O’Dea, witness'said he wished Ramanui would come into the borough. Personally, .he was in favour of it. He was in favour of a Greater Hawera, and the piecemeal method was one way of getting this. '"William C. Gilbert, chairman of the Hawera Retailers’ Association, said that as far as the rates on hi 6 residential section were concerned he would be pleased to pay the whole amount for tho sake of water alone. The association felt that Nolantown was a drag on the progress of Hawera. People coming into Hawera regarded Nolantown as the slum area of the town. . The commission then adjoiirn,ed until 9 o’clock this morning.

When the commission resumed this morning the chairman (Mr J. S. Barton* S.M.) said that since last night’s adjournment the commission had inspected the Nolqntown area and had perused several reports submitted by Mr Houston. .

The Rev. H. Curran, a medical Maori missionary, said he had lived tor. over four years in Douglas street, Nolantown, in which street in the winter time people frequently measured their length in the mud. In wet weather motor cars could not traverse this road, and invalids had to be carried ™ * louse on . stretchers. He said that the only thing that saved Nolantown and Hawera from pollution was Nolan town’s porous soil and the fact that it fell away on three sides into a valley. Nolantown would be a beautiplace if it had prooer sanitary arrangements.

Harry S. Elliott, town clerk of Haft era, said that the present county rate of IJd on the Nolantown area brought m rates totalling £337 3s 7d. It Nolantown came into the borough the rates collected from Nolantown by the borough would be £215 at 2£d on the unimproved value, £67 hospital rates, £59 special county loans, and til in connection with the- Bowen making an annual total of tooo. 1 here would be no question of any additional rates on the Nolantown area for any improvements in that area unless the residents of Nolantown voted for them. There would he nothing done in Nolantown without a poll °t the ratepayers in that area. Air Barton said that in the event ot the merger being recommended the commission felt that if there were anv objectors holding areas on the outside boundary it would he an injustice to bring them in.

In reply to Mr O’Dea, witness said he was not prepared to say that Nolantown would receive no * benefits bv merging unless they raised special loans themselves. It was conceivable that the outskirts of the town be cut off from the existing water supPy « they came into the borough. Mr O Dea asked witness if he could say that ratepayers at the southern end of Nolantown would not receive benefits as soon as others closer to the borough boundary, that was. providing the area was brought into the borough. Witness replied that he could not say that, as any loan for improvements would result in those improvements being spread over the whole area. Mr Gardner asked what objection there was to a poll. ]\lr O’Dea said he would like to know what objection there was too. Mr Smart said that the objectors had offered to abide by the result of a bare majority poll with the voting on the county basis. ' Mr Spratt replied that the objectors had made an- offer of a poll, the voting to lie on the county basis, that was according to the prooerty held by the individual, but the 'chairman of the County Council said that unless the poll resulted in a three-fourths majority for the merger he would not recognise it. In reply to Mr Spratt, witness said he could not say how a vote on the

duplication of the main question would go, but he could say that the town’s water supply was short, and he did not know of any other water sunply for Nolantown than the Kapuni~ which stream supplied the borough. John G. Gsborne, chairman cf the Hawera, Fire Board, said the Board derived no revenue from the Nolan cown area, and Nolantown had no fire service. H© knew that "the board’s solicitor had advised that on any area merging ‘in the borough, that area automatically came into the Fire Board’s area. He would like to see a well-populated area like Nolantown have a fire service. If he were a resident of Nolantown he would not be anxious to merge, as he considered he would have to pay through the nose for any facilities.