COMPLIMENTARY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 28 October 1915, Page 5

COMPLIMENTARY.

PRESENTATION TO MR B AVHLTTINGTON7

many citizens. assembledf o ?t£ 8 «* pose of paying tribute 2, +1? Ihe u~ faithful service rendered t g ougli by Mr H K wu-'+J? *he -WMayor Ld councillor and x? X" wera's best known and m ? De °f **" citizens. Apologii *v7re J^? •resj)«st^ Messrs H. Caole? and ne T '^ their unavoidable absence J°neS for The Mayor (Mr E DixnrA »i. sided, extended a warn! wSme Whittmgtoa. He M M weicome tolfr councillors and the burL th6 present the valuable Mayors and. past coundll ors *£* *£ this connection they hadl _fi* ?„ j? 1 honor to Mr Whitt^on who hS given a Jong and faithful ae_^i2^to t£* town which he loved !f?ii S» Whittington's posiSwas unhL **• asmuch as he had given 25 Tear^" vice to the borough. He di/JXFi-f B*'8*' of any other gentleman w £?w k?Mnr so much timeto the Lwnt M? $£f tmgton had done, andThAiinT very fitting that tn e counciTlori* 3 past councillors of the Won Jfe\ "S w ith the Council, and during __TS_m. of office as Mayor. The boron^K uZ benefited considerably by _3T_S_^ wer; Vjeh d e Seber d for so many years, buJg^Wshown their appreciation of IT WhaT S^^r^^^l^Ma^^ S"si Ceof h T n M? dJ}t «S»SSS giess of the town, and all hoped that he would be spared to see Hawera g7ow S»- % °',Vn °f even more imported than it was now. Those presentw^ sorry to hear that Mrs WhittinS the wish of all that she would soon K res*? redJ° gcpd health again ** The Mayor, on behalf of the b_rgesses said it was his privilege to present Mr Wlnttington with a? inn-Jut tmgton would have many years'spared to him to remind him of the work ho lad earned out during his long £j ]oum in Hawera. (Applause). The address was as follows:— "To Mr Hugh Knight Whritington, wt~v o- Hawera. Dear Sir, Th© Hawera Borough Council unanimously resolved that it could not allow the occasion of your retirement from municipal affairs to pass without expressing its appreciation of the services rendered by you to the borough, and after careful consideration it was thought, that an address, signed by the present Council and officers, an£ also by all past Mayors and Councillors whose signatures were readily obtainable, would be the most acceptable to you. *

\v ci therefore now, on behalf of onrselves and tne ratepayers of Hawera aesire to place oa record our fctne6r£ appreciation of and BTigtZ ff^ , -«7 mnny years Of fwfyl &neT vahi.able services rendered by you whilst, you occupied the office 'of" councillorand chnn-man of the Works Committed col a ]teK r- thno^° f Mayo1 ' V* Period co\ ered being 25 years. | ''Duriiigyour term all the perman- ! enfc works such as water, drainage, " etc., have been carried out/and in th£ promotion, and execution of these undertakings you havt, spent much .time endeavoring, m conjunction with your fellow councillors, to obtain the Very best results and to safeguard the ratepayers interests in every possible way Also, we wish to express our inpreciattoa of the fact that as a citizen you ha^ always had the best interest ot the town at heart and that every worthy object has had your sympathetic and earnest support. . 'we- trust that you may long ha spared, and with heartfelt good wishes for yourself and family." A??£ a l cl dres&; vras signed by the Mayor ? Ii;?-. DIXD A n) Mess** B. C. Bobbins, C. f Major, A. W. Gillies, J. W. Hirst. ii Da\ lds2, n > and G. V. Bate (exMayors), Crs, J. G. Osborne, J. W I w m§; L< A- Bone > E- c- H»yton f a S"£ teve,\ ls ' A" Reid ' C- E- Hollard. A. B, Burrell, and D. J. Goodwin, and by ex-Councillors G. Syme, G. Easton, il. Caplen, C. ±t. Stannard, W A yum, J. Henderson, W. Adamson, E. Mornssey, L. S. Bavradough, S. Adamson, C. Goodson, C. Jones, F. W. Brunette, J. Foy, C. R, K. Cumming^ J. Imlay, J. p. Keen, E. A. PaceyT U . J. Mc-Niven, and W. Sargecon, ancf by Mr H. S. Elliott (Town Clerk), and Mr J. Sturrock (Borough Engineer). * f Gl P v- Bate > one of the early Mayors of the town, said that he had never had the privilege of sitting with Air TVhittington, but he knew something of Mr Whittington's sterling worth, and he had much pleasure ii giving expression to this at the public gathering that night. Mr G. Syme, an ex-councillor, said he was indeed very pleased to be ablo to take part in the presentation to Mr Whittington, more so because ha thought that he (the speaker) was one? of the oldest settlers left in Hawera, and because he did not think there was anyone in Hawera who had known Mr Whittington longer than he had. Therefore it gave him great pleasure to b* present that night. It wjas just over 40 years since he arrived in Hawera, and they could imagine what travelling; was like in those days when he told them that it took the coach 17J hours to do the journey from Wanganui to Hawera. There were no gravelled roads then, and he did not think therowas 10 chains of fencing between the Tongahoe river and Hawera. Therewas no Town Board in Hawera at that time, and the roads in the township were in a fearful state. Hawera had" one lake to-day, but in those very early times the town boasted of two* lakes —one opposite the Egmont Hotel,, and the other opposite the Dominion. Hotel. Flocks of gatese used to disport ; themselves in the lake opposite the Egmont Hotel, and it was found necessary to exit a drain np High street ta vtake the water away. This drain wa* four feet deep* and three feet wide at the top, and it was very awkward on sv dark night when settlers wished to crop the street. The next thing taken in. hand was the formation of . a Town;. Board, an-.? settlors 2;ot on a little better then. Afterwords steps were taken to form a borough, and it was just 33 years ago since the first Council was elected. The first Council was termed "The Borrowing Council"—in fact it was so much so* that it was christened •The Vogel Ministry." (Laughter). Thia Council had to borrow £5000 to put th<* streets in order, and he thought that

"% f*s 5L OU? cil WVi}^ lay <da™ to having! laid the toundatibna of the fine streets now to be seen in Hawera. Perhaps citizens would be interested to know the pen-tonnel of the first Council; the |Po*TO6mbeTs were Mr F. McGuire (Mayor), Crs. G. Syme, Max, D. King, Horace B. Baker, D. MoL'Dowie, A. S. Hobbs, John Partridge, AY. Murray Thomson,. Fred Riddiford, and L. E...Pritchard. As he had said, this Council borrowed £5000, which was a iot of money iv those days~ atid.the first-.streets to tel made were High street and Princes tstreet. The people of Sawera t"b-day ■were to be congratulated upon the fine ■ town they possessed, and for a country i ' town he believed it was second to none in New Zealand. (Hear, hear). Hawera "was right up-to-date in everything except trams, and probably these -would come later. Although Mr Whittington was away from the Council he was sure that before long he (Mr wnittington) would be back again, because lie was not only a useful councillor, hut a good citizen, and whatever Mr Whittington took in hand he did it right well. (Applause). * Mr E. Morrissey said •he was also pleased to be present aVtne gathering. He had sat for a great many years with Mr Whittington, and he could speak appreciatively of fhelr guest 8-J^ 0! 1 work as a councillor and Mayor. Whatever Mr Whifctington took in hand, he made a good job of it. "Mr Morrusey eulogised the services rendered the town by the early councillors, and ne said he was afraid the ratepayers did not always realise the amount of work that was put in by members of the Counoil, past and present. He thought members of Borough Councils ought to bo reimbursed for their time and service, as members of boards of directors were. ... Cr L. A. Bone said that'he would rke -to add his small tribute to the service rendered the town by Mr Whittington. The present Council had come i"to a very fine heritage handed down by n.en ■«rf Mr Whittington's stamp—the old pioneers ,of the borough, who had worked so hard towards making Hawera what it was to-day—a progressive, Up-to-date borough. The town wculd liave to go a long way to find a bettor man than Mr Whittington .r;s a cevncillor. and he hoped it would not be lon^ before they 'had Mr Whittington back in the Council, to give them something of his valuable advice *vn<l Prac" tical h"elt>. Cr. T?. Stevens expressed nis appreciation of Mr Whittington's services while on the Council, and said that Mr Whittington was a great helper to young members of the Council. Mr Wlnttington bad always discharged'his duty impartially and faithfully. Cr J. W. Harding endorsed the remarks of the previous sneakers. He said that as he was probably the youngest councillor that had sat at -the table, he could appreciate what iiad been said by Cr. Stevens, and of the example set by the Mayor to young councillors. Borough Council work. with experience, grew upon one, and ne hoped to keep going for many years. Cr Reid said that he had sat with Mr Whittington at the Council table for five years, and also, having .known him for many years as a personal friend, ho knew that he always'did his very best for the community as; a whole. He also spoke of the valuable work carried out by Mrs Whittington in j connection with tlie relief for the Belgians during the time she.was.Mayoress of the town, and he thought the Council should show their appreciation of Mrs! Whittington's services. Mr J. Finlay, of Tokaora, and one of ..the old stagers, as.the speaker humor-j ously named himself, added :his appreciation of Mr Whittington/s work as a councillor, Mayoi- and 'private! -citizen, and expressed the hone that.he nould some day be .back .again in thej Council. In passing, Mr Uinlay re-i marked that many of the old. settlers! were to-day enjoying the privileges of j good streets., the foundations of .which i were laid by old councillors such as Mr Syme and Air Whittington. - - ■ Mr R. D. Welsh, borough solicitor, said that on behalf of the officers of the Council, he desired to say that they deemed it to be a privilege to be present that night, and to be associated in this function of the municipality in its recognition of the worthy service Tendered for so long by the gentleman whom they were honoring that evening. During the whole of its municipal career Hawara had been particularly fortunate and happy in its public men —in the men who had, without boast and without ostentation, rendered, and were still rendering in the town they loved so muck, loyal and 'faithful service. He was sure that of these men no one had rendored larger or more loyal "and faithful service than that given by Mr Whittington. Fine as that service bad been as -a councillor and as a private citizen, Mr 'Whittington had even rendered better service to his country., (Applause.) On behalf of the officers, ne-wished'Mr"Whitting-ton a long )j,fe, a prosperous 'lift, and all happiness. (Applause.) • I Cr D. J. Goodwin added his appreci-:1 ation of Mr Whitifington's work as a Councillor, Mayor and private citizen, and said that Mr 'Whittington must feel proud at the splendid "gathering which had met to do him honor, fie' contrasted the reading problem* to-day with those of the times mentioned by Mr Syme, and considered the tarvia was going to assist councilhirs to solve the trouble. He wished Mr Whittington long life and happiness. Mr J. P. Keen also spoke appreciatively of Mr Whittington's ,kmg and faithful service to the borough, and - said that there were many of the -newer residents who did not know what splendid work Mr Whittington had done for the town, particularly when he acted as foreman about twenty years ago, in addition to carrying on his ordnary busness, when he must have saved the borough many pounds. He hoped Mr Whittington would be spared for many years to enjoy the fruits of his iabors.

Mr Whittington, on lising to reply, was received with hearty applause. He desired to thank the Borough Council for the beautiful address, and the speakers for their kind remarks. He was very pleased to see many of the old councillors present, and also the mein"bers of the present Council, and many! of the citizens, to do honor to him, and he did appreciate the honor conferred upon him. When lie arrived in Hawera on Eastfr Monday in 1882, Hawera was a very different place to what it was to-day. He came up from Wanganui and took the coach as far as Manivtahi, and footed the rest of the way to Hawera. When he came to Hawera he decided to make it his home, and he had been here ever since. Whatever he had done he had simply done as his duty, as any good citizen would do, and he had endeavored to <k> his best for all. All the Councils iiad been good Councils, and all had plenty of work to do, and no doubt the present Council would find plenty to do also; and so far as borrowing -was concerned, it did not matter so I louy as the Council got 20s worth foii every 20s spent. He was not much of I .a speaker, so ho would conclude byj a gam thanking them all for the ap-! pre<-iation shown him. (Applause.) ! The Mayor moved a resolution ex-j pressing the Council's appreciation and " fiood work done by Mrs Wluttingtori when Mayoress, and that the Town Clerk convey the resolu+ion to Mrs* "Whittington." with the wish fliui; gW,1 ivould soon bo restored to health,

This was seconded by Cr Stevens and carried unanimously1. Mr Whittington: Mr 'Mi&yur, *on 'behalf of Mrs Whittington, I thank you. The singing of "For h»'s a jolly good fellow," and cheers for Mr Whittington, concluded a .pleasant and memorable gathering.