MINISTERIAL VISIT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 141, 31 May 1912, Page 3

MINISTERIAL VISIT.

HON. A. M-. MYERS AT

HASTINGS

RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS

URGED

The Minister for Railways, Hon. A. M. Myers, arrived at Hasting: per motor from Napier about 3 p.m yesterday, accompanied by the mem ber for Napier, Mr. J. Vigor Brown and Mr. T. Ronayn®; 'Spheral Man ager of N-.Z, Railways, and pro cecded to the Borough Counci Chambers where he received a deputation consisting of the Mayor, Bor ough Councillors, and members oi the Hastings Chamber Of Commerce, who desired to bring a number o! matters under his notice.

Mr, H. M. Campbell, M.P., intro duced the deputation, whom he sail desired to impress on Mr. Myers tht necessity of • providing Hasting; with an. up-to-date railway station. The present building was too small und in wet weather the lack of shel

ter was severely felt. Workers’ trains between Hastings and Napier were also a necessity and he desired t< point out the danger of the St. Aubyn street railway crossing, whicl sooner or later would result in loss of life. Mr. Campbell also intro duced Mr. 'George Elliott, who wa: present on behalf of he Longland: settlers to ask that arrangement I should be made whereby the trains which stopped at the Longland: ! siding to take up or unload sheep, could also pick up passengers when necessary. Mr. Campbell explainec that the settlement was originallj i a block of 9000 acres, but it was now subdivided into small holdings anc carried a large number of settlers. OFFICIAL WELCOME TO THE TOWN. His Worship the Mayor (Mr. J. Garnett) was the first speaker, anc prefaced his remarks by welcoming Mr. Myers on his first official visit to Hastings, and congratulating hin on his appointment to the respon sible position of Minister - for Rail ways, which was now so important to the Dominion. He was satisfied that the appointment was a good one, and that Mr. Myers would oc-, cupy the position with credit to him self and the Dominion. A NEW RAILWAY STATION. The Mayor said the present railway station was totally inadequate. He had been told and was undei the impression that the Department had promised a new one, but where the promise came from he could not say. When the agitation commenced some years ago it was stated by one of the Department’s officers that a site had been purchased for a new station and a deputation had been shown plans for the ground work some three years ago. It was recognised that without money the Government could not give them an elaborate building, but they did not want that. If the Department intended to move the station or build a new one, he hoped the work would be pushed on with, but if it was not their intention £>f erecting a new building the present one should be added to. The tpwn had made great progress since the present station was erected 20 years ago, and the population had increased from a few; hundred people to six thousand. In the way of extra accommodation what was wanted was provision so that one train could empty at one end of thjs platform and another at the opposite end. As the result of the present system of both trains in the morning coming in together and one Ring on t|ie outside track, a ser-‘ ious accident was nearly occasioned ! a little over a week ago. Besides this, passengers by the 9.30 train to Napier in the morning and the 6.50 train/from Napier in the evening had to walk the length of five or six carriages to get on to the platform. I This was not only very dangerous, but a great inconvenience, and if the could see his way to have it altered he would be conferring a great benefit on the public. PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Mr. E. H. Williams, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said in the first place he wished to join with the Mayor in congratulating Mr. Myers on the responsible position he now held and said the public quite appreciated the fact that a business man of his standing w - as a valuable acquisition to the public life of the Dominion. THE NAPIER EXPRESS. Continuing, Mr. Williams said he understood that the Minister’s reply to a deputation that had waited on him in N apier that morning was that there was no truth in the statement that the Napier-Wellington express was to run via the Wairarapa: Mr. Myers: That is so. Mr. Williams, in support of w'hat the Mayor had said, saia me Minister would see in the records of his Department that the Government had intended moving the railw’ay station same one hundred yards towards Napier, and if the work was not going to be put in hand in the immediate future, the Chamber of Commerce respectfully requested that certain improvements should be made to the present station. The Minister as a business man knew that the railways were not run for profit only but also for the convenience of those who used them. The present station was inadequate for the purposes it was cubed upon to serve, and if the Department was not in a position to commence a new’ building immediately, the present structure should be enlarged to provide shelter in wet weather. ANOTHER TICKET OFFICE WANTED. At present there was only one office for the issue of tickets, and on many occasions the traffic was so heavy that a blockage occurred in [ the vestibule and many persons had i to board the trains without their i tickets. To overcome this difficulty he suggested another ticket office should be provided. A DEATH TRAP. i Considerable danger was caused I when the 9.2.5 a.m. train from the j country came in at the same time 1

) is tht express because passengers by the country train had to get out on the metals, This could be avoided if there was some means whereby the trams could both draw up t*i the platform-.

PUBLIC ON THE PLATFORM. It had been sugested as there was usually a large crowd of people on the Hastings platform on the ariival □f the express train in the evening, many of whom were there for curios--ty only, that the department should adopt the same means as obtained at other centres and charge a nominal fee for adftdsSidri-. Under present conditions, persons who went to meet friends arriving by the express were unable to find them owing to the crowd on the platform. REVENUE SHOULD BE SPENT ON LOCAL REQUIREMENTS: Mr. Williams reminded the Minister that from the railway reserves facing Station street, the Government was at present drawing an annual rental of £983 with two of the premises unlet and the rental from these two premises would bring the amount up to £l2OO, and the Chamber of Commerce felt that they were entitled to have that money spent on local requirements. SPEEDING UiC Mr. Williaiils said the present rate af travelling was good enough when New Zealand was a colony, but present requirements called for an improvement, and the time occupied in the journey from Napieu to Wellington should b'e shorter. He recognised that the Department had difficulties to Contend with in the matter jf feeding the mail train by picking up passengers, at way side stations, but he would like to suggest that the jrain which left Hastings early in the morning should take these passengers to Waipukurau, whole they could join, the express. The same thing could be done in regard to the evening express. WORKERS’ TRAINS. If the Department could not see its way to provide workers’ trains between Napier and Hastings and vice versa he suggested that a special carriage reserved for workers should be put on the train to and from Napier in the itiorning and evening, in which they (the workers) could travel at reduced fares. EARLY TRAIN TO NAPIER.

A present there was no train to Napier before 8 a.m., but there was one from Napier to Hastings. He recognised that it was too much to ask that a special train should be put on to arrive at Napier before 8 a.m., but he asked, in the event of the Department deciding to introduce a motor train service .that such a service would be put on between Hastings and Napier to enable workers to arrive in Napier before 8 a.m. LONGLANDS SIDING.

The estates in the Longlands district had been cut up and a large number of people were now living there. At present four our of the five trains stopped at the siding to either pick up or unload stock or goods, and he asked that some arrangements should be made whereby the trains could also pick up passengers when required. ME Myers : The express train included. Mr. Williams: No, only the o dm ary trains . PUKETITIRI TRAMLINE The speaker said that recently the Hastings Chamber of Commut ti gether with the Hawke’s Bay Count v Council, had taken steps to secure ■ a survey of a proposed tramline between Hastings and Pufcetilm He understood that the District Engineer had been authorised on the previous day to make the suitev and he (Mr. Williams) did not desire to go further than mentioning the matter. In conclusion, Mr. Williams said the deputation did not ask for a large expenditure, but he suggested that with the revenue that was accruing and remembering that the requests made were matter of administration the demands were reasonable. MR. A. L. D. FRASER. Mr. A. L. D. Fraser reiterated what had been said bv Mr. Williams and congratulated Mr. Mvers on the responsible position he now held. As a public mm Mi Vtei of recent years had beer li geit n the public eye throughout the Dominion, and his vain bl" e uu s Mayor of the City of Auckland and on other public bodies w is to in ing proof that his appointment as head of the Department of Railways, which was the most important in the Dominion, was a good one. Mr. Fraser asked the Minister when considering the necessity for further expenditure in Hastings to remember that Hastings was not, like other small towns, in a stationary position, it had not yet reached the apex of its importance, and not many towns in New Zealand would grow as Hastings must grow. It was an einbyro city, and that fact must, carry weight. Possibly no other railway station of the importance of Hastings had been treated like Hast ings. It was almost a crime to see men, women and children who arrived in Hastings by the morning trair from the country walking across the metals as the express was approaching, and without casting any reflection on the previous administrator of Mr. Myers’ department, he considered the first consideration of the department should be the comfort of the travelling public and not profit-making. From a business point of view it was obvious that the present station would have to be shifted. Shunting operations on many- occasions blocked traffic ii. the main street for from seven to i?r minutes, apart from the danger that was created. Assuming that the station was to be removed nothing ■ in the way of extraordinary expendii turn on the present building was ■ desired, but matters of deta.l i equired attention at once. Mith regard to the ticket offices, Mr. Fraser said that the mail train to Hcllingi ton and a train to Napier left Hast- > ings almost simultaneously. Passen- • gers for both trains congregated at j the ticket office, and being tii’alde u. 1 obtain their tickets before the de-

parture of the trains, many boa-til-ed the trains without them. This should be remedied. Another point was that, fit Cording to the icgulations, no tickets were allowed to be sold after the time the trains wire scheduled to leave and only on the previous day he had seen am instance of the trouble this caused. The Palmerston N’lvfli irrtin arrived up to time at 1.30 p.m., but was about, six minutes late in leaving. However, the ticket office winnow was closed down at the time the tram was scheduled to leave, and the consequence was that a number oi hockey players boarded the train without tickets and subsequently had to pay a fine of 6d in addition to the fare.

Mr. Myers : Did that happen yesterday.

Mr-. Er:lse' ! : Ves. as late aS tefterday, and it has occurred on other occasions. Continuing, Mr. Fraser said the matters referred to wcr? business matters ami should be attended to. Carelessness was displayed in shunting at Hastings are horse-owners suffered by it, but at the same tune he wished to say that not one of those horse-owners who petitioned the previous Minister, had any intention of reflecting on the local officials, who weie at al! t mes courteous, and assisted as far as possible. But the tumble v. as that the Hastings railway station was undermanned, and porters were compelled* to do shunters’ work. More racehorses were railed from Hastings than from any other place tn th° Dominion, and y nt thru c was I never any’ of the railway officials to assist in trucking or taking delivery. I Mr. Fraser concluded bv remaik.ng I that he hoped the minister would j not think that too many nplaints I were btmjg made to him on this Us first visit to Hastings. LONGLANDS SIDING. Speaking on behalf of the Longlands settlers, Mr. G. Elliott said the Longhmds siding to pick up or that three or four trains stopped at unload sheep and stock, and the settlers deired to be allowed to board those trains. They’ did not want the Department to go to the expenditure of providing a station, but requested that a landing platform should be constructed. The nearest school was at Pukahu, and if the request was acceded to many children who l could not go to school at Pukahu could go to the Hastings schools. At this stage Mr. E. H. Williams said he had been informed that there were two ticket offices at the Hastings station, but 0.-ly one was used. THE MINISTER’S REPLY. Replying to the deputation, Mr. Myers said he heartily appreciated the kind remarks which had been made in regard to his elevation to the Ministry, and the welcome he Aiad received on his first official visit to the town. He also desired to acknowledge their congratulations on his appointment, and he assured them that it would be his endeavour to prove worthy of it. In reference to the various matters which had [been brought under his notice, his i reply’ must more or less be akin to that made to deputations he had received on similar matters, and that was that on going through the Dominion similar demands were made everywhere he went. It was quite clear that during the past decade the Do--Imi lion bad n •’de fi( at piogi ess nd I the Railway' Department had to face 11 { o isibi u s ind co ie i iti tli jgiowne tinfiii it s patent t> ikhein. as business men. that eifeet ! could not be given to ail reauests at | o ici "d f ciint’ ullat w I icd tor W’as granted, irrespective of i circumstances, the confidence which : had been extended to mm would i very soon, .and justifiably so. be i taken awav. The demands made in I connect ion with improvements to existing railways would run into £1,500,000. and to., make further extensions required to develop various portions of the Dominion where transport was not provided would cost considerably more. One of the objects of his visit wtis to view the country’ personally and come into contact with representative men like themselves and ascertain their requirements at first hand. Mr. Ronayne, the General Manager, was present with him, and two traffic superintendents, Messrs. Whitcombe and Piper, were to arrive later on. The two latter had recently been appointed 'to responsible positions as j traffic superintendents in the North and South Islands. The traffic in the North Island had increased very rapidly, and it was desirable to place a superintendent to take charge of this part of the Dominion whose business it would be to ascertain the requirements of the different portions of the province and submit propositions to the Minister. Mt. Piper, who had been appointed for this district, -was one of the most experienced men of the Department, and he would visit Hawke’s Bay from time to time to ascertain what was necessary.

Dealing seriatim with the requests tliat bad been made, the Minister said that a sight for the new railwaystation had been selected towards Napier, and although he was rot prepared to .make a definite statement- regarding the new building, tliat fact demonstrated that the Government recognised the growing requirements of Hastings, and as soon as circumstances would permit, the question of a new station would be considered. In the meantime Messrs. Ronayne and Piner would make a special report. With regard to there being ro platform aeeommodaiion for two trains at the same time and the danger caused thereby, the present arrangemen.s would have to be reviewed. lie agreed with what had been said that the safety of the public and not profit-making should be the first consideration, and l.e bad that ei d in view. But that they should not be altogether oblivious to the fact that profit-making wjis an important item, and he wanted to <lisj,]ay sufficient commercial ability to justify the confidence which had been placed in him in his administration. Th? railwavs had to be run on business lines, but not inhni«- il to the general public. Large sums liaifbe.-ii l,oi rotted for railways nrd £32.01’0,0ti0 was invested in that direction. and il required the best

I talent available to do justice to the position. He intended to si’.b”ni propositions Hi (he ('abinet to mt ' the best brains and thus aeliio -I .C tin : desired end. In reference to work- [ ers’ trains, lie had informed a Na pier deputation that morning tliat i such would lie issued from the Na nier end. and tliat would got ovei I the difficulty'. (Anplausf). Mr. Williams : Not this end.

The Mii'ister; The traffic would i not justify It. Continuing, Mr. Myers said he had a report which : showed that during the lat ter six i months of last year there was a falling-off in the issue of twelie trip tickets to J3I as against HP foi the corresponding six months of th” ; previous year. Investigations hao been made regarding motor trains I and one car was now being built nt Petone. If the experiment proved : a success and the traffic warranted ! it, the question of having a motor > service between Hastings and Na- ! pier would be considered. * In- reply to Mr. Myers, Mr. Ron--1 a-yne said the car being built at r’etone was nearly finished. Continuing, the Munster in speaking of the Heretaunga street crossi nig, said he had been held, up there ; Hinself that afternoon. He would i ask Ail. Piper to give instrucions .that shunting across this street i should be minimised as iar as posi stble anti he anticipated little diffiI eulty in that direction. What was I wanted was a more scientific hand- | ling ot the traffic as demanded by i the progress of the Dominion, anil i i.l. Piper would report at the first ! opportunity. Trouble with regard jto ticket offices had been brought up elsev.here and he would instruct , tne General Manager to see that an ! extra clerk was available for the i issue of tickets at Hastings, and so 1 ipminnse the delay that had been j spoken of. ±le would also obtain a I report in reference to'Air. Williams' , suggestion that a small charge | should be made for admission to the platform. It was necessary that the | usual facilities should be . extended !to those using the trains. Regard- ■ mg the Longlands siding, he under- : stood that population in this local- ■ ity was growing, and if it was pos- ! sible to meet the desires of the settlers by allowing the trains to stop, he would be pleased to do so. On the question of the speeding up cl trains, Mr. Myers said that on the one hand the deputation .asked for a speeding-up and on the other, for iyn increase in stopping places. Both could not be agreed to, but having ’ in view the necessity of speeding-up J the express trains, the department ! would accept the responsibility of i dciding where the trains were to stop, so that travellers would have the fullest advantage of the express trains. There were difficulties in the way of curves and branch lines, but there would be a general improvement in regard to rolling stock and new engines. He quite recognised the necessity' of speeding-up the trains, but could not promise, anything definite. As far as the survey of the proposed Puketitiri tram line was concerned, that matter was in the hands of the Public "Works Department. He regretted to hear that the horse-owners had complaints in regard to shunting, but he understood no complaints had been received by the department. Mr. Fraser said he had received a replv from the department. I Mr Mvers: To what effect. I Mi Im c i 'km i > ‘jr'c hi ! cases.

\ir Aivers sa:d he womd 0b.«..n i inoit ns to tie ali m n th it th.-' railway station Mo ui.-lci manned., and if it was found that, the traffic warranted it, he v.oulo have no hesitation in iiio. i .ic. mg tl < g n< il min ig< i pit in it i ha lie x o ild get tl i pent I e fore he left for Inc soutn «.,d gin. instructions immediately it necessary. One sneaker had pointed out that the railway' sen ice belonged to the public and that was a fact that should not be lost sight of, yet whils provision would be made for all reasonable improvements, the sendee had to be run on business lines. In conclusion the Minister said he hoped that when he had the pleasure of making another visit to Hastings, he would be able to say that his present visit had not been in vain. (Applause.) The Mayor thanked Mr. Myers for receiving the deputation, and said he hoped it would not be long before he made another visit, when he would be shown their beautiful district and realise that the icquests they made now were only reasonable. . Mr. Williams said he felt confident that the Minister would look into the requests and decide them on their merits.

Mr. Myers then left on his return to Napier.