NEW BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 18, 12 June 1880, Page 2

NEW BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

Taking a lookTound Hawera the other day, to note what progress had been made iv the building line, we walked into the store of Mr. Davidson, in order that we might. note the progress made by what has been advertised as " the oldest store in the district." Seven years ago, " the oldest store " was certainly a small place, but additions were made from time to time, as the progress of the place warranted the proprietor in doing so ; but just recently the building has been enlarged to double the size that it stood for the past few years, so that a large store* room is now at the backhand there is a place upstairs which woiildlloadmirablry for a show-room. Going into Mr. King's, we found that the dimensions of his shop, five years ago^were only 15 xl 4 feet. A year and a half ago, 10 feet more were added, and six or seven weeks ago there was a still further addition of 20 x 24 feet, which enables the proprietor to set apart a very respectable show-room. Mr. Armstrong has also added to his premises ; whilst Mr. Pulford's store ("the second oldest in the district") has been much unproved by the coat of paint which it received since the present proprietor took possession. In addition to the temporary stabling which Mr. Owen ppt up after the fire, a large 12-stall stable was completed last week at the rear of the Egrnont Hotel, which qnght to afford sufficient accommoI dation to the travelling public and Cobb's coaches for some years to come. We believe that the stabling has been leased by Mr. Tom Walker, who was in the employ of Cobb and Co. as groom for some years, and report speaks favorably of his skill in horse-flesh. Several cottages have been built in all directions, Bamford's paddock, however, being most conspicuous in that way.

THE INSTITUTE has just been lined with kauri timber, the contractors being Messrs. Sanders and Broderick. The reading-room, which is 32 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 14 feet high, is now very comfortable indeed, provision >beiug made against the cold, weather by having a large fire-place, and against the hot weather by means of a perforated zinc ventilator in the roof. The library is 15 x 12 feet, and there is an office of similar dimensions on the opposite side, occupied by Mr. W. M. Thomson, auctioneer, to "whom the custody of the building has been entrusted by the committee. In the reading-room, there is a large and varied assortment of home and colonial papers, and all that is wanted to make it thoroughly comfortable is about two dozen chairs, in place of the cumbersome forms which now stand there. A few shelves round the room would also be the means of keeping the papers in much better order than at present. In the library there are over 200 volumes ,of new. hooks, and these can be taken out on payment of a small annual subscription of 10s. It is contemplated to make further additions as the funds will permit : the more subscribers, of course, the greater will be the addition to the library. To enable the committee, however, to do all this, it will be necessary for the public to come forward and . assist them. .They hove wctf-ketl very hard hi the past, and the comfortable avid commodious building which they have. . erected will always be an ample testimony of the zeal which they have, one and all, brought into their work. The committee are still bent upon clearing off the remainder of the debt— some £40 or £50 — and they purpose giving monthly entertainments during the winter months, so as to be able to* show a clear balance-sheet at. next yearly meeting. The public, for whose benefit all this work is being done, should come forward in no niggardly manner to the aid of the committeee, and we trust, therefore, that when the first entertainment comes off, in about a fortnight hence, there will be as large an attendance hi the Town Hall as has ever been J sje>en within that building. , The first rehearsal was held last Wednesday evening, and report speaks very favorably of it ; so that those who patronise the entertainment will, independent of the cause for which it is to be given, receive full value for whatever they are likely to pay for then* tickets.

THE NEW FLOUR MILL. The building commenced some months ago, on the bank of the Te Whiti stream, , by Messrs. Webster and McKellar, of New Plymouth,is just now receiving the finishing touches from the contractors, Messrs. Mackintosh and Co., of Stratford. , About 15,000 feet of timber have been . used in the framing, and 5000 in the , flooring of the building, which stands three stories high. The'lnmber principally used is matai, and was* .cut by hand on . Mr. Gilroy's land, close to the mill ; but the foundation blocks are of maire. Fully . 300 sheets of corrugated iron have been used in the sides and roofing of the building. The machinery, stones, and silkdressers will be on the ground floor, which is 38 x 30 x 10 feet, and there is a lean-to attached, where carts can draw up and load and unload, right into the building. On one side there is an office, 10 x 10 feet, and on the other the miller's room, which is of similar dimensions, is situated. On each of the top stories there is a trapdoor, and by means of a lift, goods can be brought to the top of the building in a minute or so. The second storey is 9 feet high, and the third 7 feet, over which there will be a large loft, which can be [ used for storing grass-seed, or anything of that description. There are no less than twenty-five windows in the building, so that plenty of light has been secured. The machinery has been ordered from both Great Britain and America, and will arrive here shortly. All the work will be done by water-power, and for this purpose it will be necessary to carry a water-race from what are known as " Mason's Palls," situated over a quarter of a mile from where the mill has been erected. This will be a rather expensive undertaking, as there will be some rough country to traverse. Outside the building there will be a large turbine, which, communicating with the driving shaft insidei by means of a belt, will set all the machinery in motion, and the proprietors will be able to save some hundreds a year, once the necessary works for the water-power are completed, as compared with what they would have to expend if steam-power were used. When a good many of our farmers have been asked why they do not grow wheat, the invariable answer has been that it would not pay, as there was no local consumption, and it would not pay to ship it. Messrs. Webster and McKellar have now provided a local, ma.ket, and it will

certainly be a strange thing if there is not enough wheat grown to keep their mill going both day and night. They have to import largely from Cantei-bury and Otago to keep their flour-mill at New Plymouth at work, but with the prospect of railway communication being opened up, the farmers of this district ought to be able to supply enough,' not alone for Messrs. Webster and McKellar, but for all tiie other Taranaki flour-mills also. It has been asserted very frequently that the land in this -district will not grow wheat ; yet 50 and 60 bushels to the acre have been got by some of those who have tried the experiment. Our farmers, however, have not had such a good opportunity of testing the capabilities of their soil previously, but through the enterprise of Messrs. Webster and McKellar, they will now be in as good a position to do so as the farmers of RaLgitikei or other places. Next autumn we hope to be able to chronicle some large wheat yields in this district.

NORMANBY.

In Normanby a large number of cottages have been erected during the last twelve months, and the progress which the place has made can only be realised by those who have been away from the district for about that space of time. Conspicuous amongst the additions stands the new police quarters, which form, certainly, a pleasant contrast when compared with the tumble-down shanties Bet apart for the sergeant of the district and his assistant in Hawera. Messrs. Brett and Johnston have put up extensive stabling at the rear of the Imperial Hotel, in consequence of a promise made to them that the coaches would stop at Normanby during the winter months. Mr. Lockington has erected a shop fronting the main load, which will be suitable for his own trade or for any other kind of business. Altogether, considering the monetary depression which has prevailed for some time, but which is now, happily, showing «igns of improvement, the progress made in Normanby and Hawera has not been inconsiderable, and with the return of spring, the carpenter's saw and hammer will be kept busily employed,' in all probability.