NORMANBY FARM LANDS

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 6 November 1933, Page 7

NORMANBY FARM LANDS

COUNTY MERGER SUGGESTION TOWN DISTRICT’S HIGH RATE EVIDENCE BEFORE COMMISSION. * The sitting of a Royal Commission commenced at the Town Hall in Normanby this morning, when evidence for and against the proposed merger of a portion, of tlie Normanby town district with the suiTomiding Hawera County was heard. Petitioners for the merger are the owners of suburban farm lands' m the town district which, for this year, are subject to a rate of 4d in the £1 on the unimproved value* compared with a rate of Id in the £1 on the capital value in the adjoining county. The petitioners were Messrs D. J. Hughes. C. Coxhead, R. A. Anstis, ■ .J. Meuli, TV. B. I'ranlc. L. S. Jackson, C. J. Preston, J. €. Wright, J. Forbes, Renta; T'e Aro, TV. T. Hair. James Linn and H. TV. Glentworth, and those who are opposed to the _ merger and I have signed a counter-petition are the I majority of the occupiers of small sections in the “inner area.” The commissioners ,are Messrs F. TV. Waters .(New Plymouth), Commissioner of Crown Lands, as chairman, and 0. Gardner (TVanganui), District Land Valuer, and the counsel engaged inch’.de Mr J. L. Weir, of Eltham (for the petitioners) and Air R. J. O’Dea. of Hawera (for the counter-petitioners;. Normanby was surveyed between 60 -Ind 70 years ago by Captain Richard Blake, Government surveyor, who laic! out an area of approximately 640 acres in the form of a square with minor irregularities on the western boundary to conform with the general contour of the land. A residential area m oblong blocks from three to 11 acres was plotted towards the south-western corheV' with three large areas of approximately 15 acres each on the south-eastern boundary. Little more j than half the area of the square is today' suburban farm land.

Along the eastern boundary me Mountain Road, more famiJiairly known as the Ngaronga Road,'" was' expected to convey all north and south traffic and Captain Blake made no provision in his preliminary survey for a railway. Consequently when the surveyors for fhp line out almost diagonally across Captain' Blake’s proposed residential area, from north-west to south-east, the mountain Road followed the railway, thus completely _ -upsetting the uniformitv of his sections which today are shown abutting on to the railway reserve at angles of 45 degree^. When settlement became- general after the Maori unrest, speculators odtained most of the residential sections and refused to part with them unless at fabulous prices. < Intending residents moved away to Hawera, which, although not laid out on such pretentious lines, offered small areas which could be bought cheaply. By the time the Normanbv “squatters” realised then mistake, Hawera had become established as the greater centre of population. In 1914 dissatisfaction with the rates and with the town services led certain owners of land on the outskirts of the town to petition to be excluded from the Town Board district anu incorporated in the Hawera county, which extended on all sides. It was not until 1924, however, that a commission was set up bv Order-in-Counci! and in its findings the bommnssion re ported that the area of 386 acres then prayed to be excluded would, in its opinion, be used for ho other purpose* but farming and that the benefits provided bv tlie Town Board could'be provided effectively'and more economically bv the Hawera County Council. Thisapplied not merely to the area proposed to be excluded, but to tlie whole town district. The commission in 1924 saw no justification for the existence of Normanby a® a town district, but considering that the petitioners, by their exclusion, would make the burden on the remain ing area unduly heavy, it did not recommend that the Town Board he dis memibered.

The proclamation appointing tlic present commission was read by the chairman, whereupon Mr O’Dea raised objection to the inquiry being taker under Section II of the Commission o' Inquiries Act, 1908, remarking that the commission as appointed, had lie power to deal with the matter before it. The objection was noted.

In support of tlie petition Mr. Weil said that the land desired to be excluded was all suburban farm land and did not include any of the town sections mentioned in the previous petition before the commission in 1924. Referring to Mr. O’Dea’s objection, the speaker said that the purpose oi the commission was to supply the Governor-General with sufficient evidence to enable him to make a decision under section 7 of the Town Boards Act, 1908, which read: “The GovernorGeneral may, from time to time, alter, curtail, or enlarge within limits the boundaries of any town district.” From the Official Year Book AVeir quoted the Normanby Towi Board as. a “dependent” board forming part of the County of Hawera and unlike the Manaia Town Board, whicl was an entirely independent loca body. Normanby town district contained Goo acres and a population, a? at April 30, 1931, of 370 persons. 01 this number 38 were Maoris. The capital value of the rateable lands oj the district was £57,292, and the unimproved value £29,289, the last valua tioii having taken place in 1926. The rating was on the unimproved value and the Town Board’s only liabilit; was a sum of £652, which was no! now owing. The board now was en tirely without loans or other debts ex cept- its month to month payments. With the permission of the comniis sion Mr AVeir referred to the 192' report and, in dealing with it sectioi by section, pointed out that the aie« now proposed to be excluded was 354 acres 3 roods 19 perches having f capital value of £21,304 and an un improved value of £10,089, which would leave in the town district pi-o perty having a capital value of £3o 98c. and an unimproved value of £lo,6oi>. On its present system of rating tha! would leave the town board £228 ir revenue to carry out its yearly main tenanco programme. If the boarc rated on the capital value instead o’ the unimproved value, a rate of Id in the £1 in the “inner” area would pro duco £l5O, 2d would produce £3OO. am 3d would produce £450, or approximately £3O less than was at present being derived from the whole area rated at 4d in the £1 on the unimproved value. “The present systeir of rating on the unimproved value where £15,589 of the total £29,269 un improved value is composed of farir lands, is uneconomic and unfair and should not be permitted, said Mr AVeir “For instance, AV. Franks pay£2o for 30 acres, whereas if he was m the county lie would pay only £o lo: 5d ” Mr AVeir also quoted the amouin in rates paid by a number of business premises aiid house owner? The Commercial Hotel (capital % aim

£I6BO, unimproved value £80) paid £1 6s Bd, and the Normanby Hotel (capital value £1650, unimproved value £150) £2 10s. 1 ' Taking di' number of farm lands of similar capital Value, lie showed that in one case, that of D. J. Hughes (capital value £l7£>4),v£24 4s 3d was paid, and in another, that of G. J. Preston (capital value £1810),] £25 4s 8d was paid. In another instance TV. T. Hare, the capital value of whose property was half that of the hotels, paid £l2. “It is very evident,” Air TVeir continued, ‘.‘that the business and residential part of the towns leans heavily on the farming lands for its existence. This, surely, is wrong in principle.” The area retained by the Town Board under this petition would be 301 acres and the population would be practically 7 the same as in 1924. The length of highways at present in the totvii district was 225 chains, for the upkeep of which the' board' received 'a £3 for £1 subsidy from the Highways Board. If the petition was successful the board would be relieved of roads totalling 45 chains, and partially relieved of other roads totalling 16)- chains. In that 16)- chains would be a boundary road with the Hawera County 7 , so that the Town Board would get 50 per cent, of its upkeep charges from the county 7 and a subsidy 7 from the Highways Board on its own share of the expenditure. The pie sent length of boundary roads was 172 chains, for the upkeep of which the Town Board received 50 pel* cent, from the county. Air. TVeir proceeded to detail at some length his contentions that a reduction in the size of the town district would not greatly burden the “inner” area if rated in the proper manner.

EVIDENCE, of witnesses. Harry Daniel Hughes, Town ClerK, rave evidence that the aim proposed °o be excluded totalled 304 acies 3 roods 19 perches, with a total capital value of £19,485 and an unimproved value of £14,023. In the town board irea there were no water oi drainage systems and none were contemplated Apart from a small overdraft the ooard had no liability. J To Mr O’Dea witness said he tad listened carefully to what Mr Meir had stated and he substantiated those )emar£ In 1921 a»d1986 the board rated on the basis of 4d m the £1 on die unimproved value, an the 1926-31 54d, 1932 4*d, and m 1933-34 on the basis of 4d m the £1 on the unimproved value. Approximately 6o bo 70 per cent of the board’s revenue ,vas spent on roads, streets and f°°t paths and £59 per annum on street lighting. Only one light seived the suburban farm areas. Several of the petitioners had increased their hold mgs, one man by 30 acres, anothei by 35 acres, and two others by 16 acres and 30 acres respectively. new "arage and petrol station, a concrete storeroom, a blacksmith’s shop and a new police station were mclu - ed among the new erected n the inner area since the last commission. The board had improved the visibility at the railway level, crossing and new culverts had been installed. Since 1924 the board, had repaid the sum of £640 owing to the .Hawera County Council and £3OO which had Weir: Do you know which ndin<r the dismembered portions ot tne district would join if the petition was successful? Witness: No. _ . John W. Harding, Hawera County Clerk, stated in evidence that m tne event of the petition being successful the northern and north-eastern portions to be excluded would be merged in the Ararata- Riding, which paid 1 in the £1 on the capital value and the southern and western portions would be merged in the Hawera R - ins, which paid l£d in the £1 on the capital value. "Under an old agi'e - merit the county paid a special subsidv for the maintenance of arterial roads running through the town district, but he could not say whether, the event of the merger, such agreement would continue.