HELENSVILLE.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 25 October 1911, Page 3

HELENSVILLE.

TOPICAL OF NORTH AUCK-

LAND PROGRESS

WHAT BUTTER HAS DONE,

Thirty years ago the Babylon Flats ■were offered to the late Judge Fenton for 2s 6d per acre. To-day they are bringing anything from £30 to £40. Exactly why the old hands attached a Bibical title to this streatch of country it would be hard to say, but a probable explanation is that, like cerlain other people, the first-comers "sat down by the rivers of Babylon,' and wept." In those days there was plenty of water about Babylon, and the price at which the late Judge refused to tecorno an owner shows the popular estimate of its quality, so it is small wonder if the immigrants were depressed 1 The name has changed, and though the old-timers still speak of Babylon Flats, the post office and other officials only know Te Pua, Parakai, Parkhurst, and such like. And the place has changed, too. Now, folk no longer sit down, neither do they weep. They hustle round, and milk, and grow rich, frequently at the . rate of £90 a month. The li idle co\? lolling in the meadow, "is the fairy godmother who has waved the enchanted wand over the scene. They literally iive on cream at Babylon. This rich

bit of land lies right; alongside Helensville ~ a piece of news which, will come as a surprise to those whose knowledge of the district is limited to hearsay, or to a passing visit while en route to the Northern Wairoa, Many aeons ago the far-spreading Kaipara, vast iiiletof the Pacific Ocean must have covered a much larger area than it does now. As it receded, it left behind a deep rich de.posit, and the subsequent alluvium from shorewards combining with this has left in the valley lying between Helensville and the ridge of high land which borders the west coast, some thousands of acres, which for dairying purposes could not well be surpassed. Years ago, when settlement began to creep up north, this land Was covered with manuka scrub, and swamp-?. Nobody took much stock in it, and its real importance dates from very recent times. If you said that Helensviile must inevitably become one of the biggest dairying centre? in tho immediate vicinity of Auckland, there are still plenty of people who would smile politely. Things move rapidly when dairying starts. In the beginning of its history Helensville was synonymous with timber, aDcl thousan is of pounds' worth of magnificent kauri have been shipped away on its tidal stream. It has always been a sort of clearing house for the northern stretches of the many ramifications of that wondoi t'ul stretch of water, the Kaipara Harbour. The shortest way to the North was to take boat to Eiverhead on th« "Waitomata, train from there via Kumou, on to Helensville, and then catch the vessels plyiug on the eftuary. If the traveller wil look out of the railway carriage at Kumeu on the right hand sido going, up he will notice a long row of telegraph posts disappearing over the dismal grey brown riso. This was once the line twelve milos long, which ian from water to water—■ from tho Waiteinata to the Kaipara. It was not till some years after that tho loop round the base of the Waitakeris was built.

To those who used the towns nip of Helensville merely as a half-way hou^e it is pardonable it they misjudged it. For n long while the mud of its tidal creeks, its multitudinous mangroves, and tho unpromising hue of its hills, where the raius had loft the soil exposed, gave an impress that was far from inviting. After the timber -was cut out of the adjaceDt forests, tho mills shifted or closed down, and the men moved on This woij a trying pnriod in the history of tho " township. Dozens of houses were ernpiv. and times got so dull that some wore taken clown and packed off to Auckland. There are in Mount Roskill to-day houses that began hfe by tho shores iof the Kaipara, Gradually setHomeut 'got hack to its natural basis, and like duckling in the fairy story, Helensville •is just beginning to come into its own. The real progress of tho district dates from the time that " tho Babylonians " started dairy farming.

SIGNS OP PROGRESS

Since the depression -winch followed the closing down cf tho timber mills. Helensvillo. hns seen many ups and downs, but the tido has now set in, and there is an air of solidity that impresses even the casual visitor. The residents have tho fullest 3ontidenco in the place, and they have every reason. Ono of the latest proofs of tho advance of tho district is the erection of a new brick Post Oilice on the hill bptween the two ends cf the township, at a cost of the best part of £3000, and* is, from its commanding position, one oi the landmarks of the place, Among new buildings in the township and the vicinity, is the Masonic Hall, designed by Mr G\ Go'dsbro,' for Lodge Duke of Albany, and with its panelling o f oiled rimu it is certainly one of the handsomest lodge-rooms in ihe province.

A branch of tlie Union Brink of Australia has been opened some time and is now d^ing- the principal bonk ing- business of the district, under tho management of Mr Page. Then there is a Tcchnioal School nearing covupletioii, and Avhioh is to bo opened after the Xinas holidays, being- a pro-gre-sive move on tho part of the present chairman of the School Committee, Mr 11. 0, Hammond, and his conferers, who have also recently secured two acres adjoining- tho school property as additional plaj-groimr] : and we believe, have in v^f" the building of a High School for the district. A locnl hospital, under the

supervision of Dr Meinhold, has had an addition of about seven wards put up, making the building almost twice as large as it originally was. The Public Library Committee are also moving with the progress of the town, having secured the title to a large section, and are endeavouring to raise enough money so as to lift the £76 Coronation Grant for a suitable building. There are six new residences in course of construction, and rumour has it tnat tluire are a number to be commenced as soon as contractors can find time and workers to take them in hand. One of the latest additions to the town is the Kaipara Co-operative Dairy Factory, Ltd., which company purchased the old saw-mill site, in Helensville South, where they have built an up-to-date factory ' which started opeiations on the 4th September, la«t. Both Buckland and Sons, and the Auckland Farmers' Union hold monthly sale.«. and report a steady increase in stock coming forward. There are five churches in the town; three well conducted hotels ; four General Stores ; and the town is well supplied in most other trades by up-to-date business people.

Undoubtedly the most pronounced sign of the progress of Helensville .is the fact that the ratepayers have decided to borrow £10,000 for a drainage and water supply.

One thing Helensville wants is an adequate train service. At present it takes three hours to reach here from Auckland, the distance being only 38 miles ; and even the Department will admit that this is not furious travelling. The traffic would warrant at least one train a day being made express There are some 14 trains a day between Auckland and Hendei\son, end no hardship would be entailed on anyone if one of the three trains from Eeleusville were to run between Henderson and Newmarket without a stop.

MONEY IN BUTTER

But it is to dairying that Helensviile owes its emancipation. Dairying is general on the Flats, and some idea oi its extent may be gathered from the fact that last year over two hundred tons of butter was turned, out from here and the surrounding districts, and the output will be larger this year, The development of the place is still in its infancy. When the land is thoroughly irained, and the quality of the herds Teaches the maximum, this will be one of the famous dairying districts oi the North. There is not a picked henl on the Flats, still the cream percentages are exceptionally good, and the butter is making a name for itself second to none.

Messrs Stewart Brothers have a large butter factory in the town of ELelensville, where they put up the " Kaipara" braDd, and tu.n out about a ton and a half of butter a day in the flush of the season. They have clients all over tho district, their suppliers using homo separators. Considerable alteration h.i»e been made in the factory, and the refrigerating1 space has a capacity for over twelve tons. Mr Meredith is manager of tho factory and ho is turning out a first-grade article. Avhich will do much to advertise tho possibilities. Tho establishment of this butter factory has done much to advance tho interests of the settlers, and tho proprietors desorve all the success their enterprise com* rnands.

The JCaipara Dairy Factory Company has just been formed and commenced operations in their new factory, built on the old sawmill site, Hclensvillo south, on ">ept. 4tii last. This coei[ any is supplied by tho.-:e who have taken up sliaros, nnd expect to turn out over 100 tons this yeai ; while for next year their output is anticipated at 200 ton*. Their registpred brand is " Poplar." Air Garry, late of the Wayby fuutory. is manager, and iy turning our. a good ai tide.

The Auckland li:-m, Messrs Ambury and English who havo their largest, creameiy at Parakai, should g-reutly exceed previous outputs during the season which has just opened.

Tliero is a general ail <>f prosperity aud well-being about Dabylon Flats, which thows what is possible in a dairying country. The farmers'homes are of a superior clans, well cared for, and every tiling spooks of large and regular cheques. Talking- of tlio money in cream, horo aro some aciual figures. Ono mun with 1:3-5 oeres took .£7OO last year, anotlier witli IBS acres had a return of £750, and m third with 100 acres took £;3oU. The su:n of £o5 an acre waa recently paid for a hundred acres, and as an indication of the remarkable rise in values which the industry Las brought about, it may be mentioned that one landholder, when ho iirst went co tho district; pai.'l under ten shillings m vatos, while now the Dominion is enriulifd to the extent o£ £32 a year from his farm alone. Hel^nsville is not a paradise, and Us settlers have to work hard, but it has undoubted possibilities, nnd the people who have settled there are going thu right way about making the hist of them. Its progress is all the nioie a matier for congratulation becaupu tlsb district has for long been misjudged^ Thanks to dniryiug, the value ut liolensvillo is making itself lvi' wi), and in a lew years it will take its propor place uniong (he districts which iio to make up tho wonderful piosjjtri;y of tlie provinci\

TUN UOT SPI;INGS

Out at Parakai, a commodious now hall was opened some time ago, and tko present walUkept boardmghouses, by Mrs Goad and Mrs Edlington, which were put up to meet the traffic attracted by the baths, are al ways lull, and there is some talk of a third boardinghouse. The handi-. ness of the springs to the northern people, and their undoubted curative value —Dr Lewis, for instance, says the water is superior to those of To

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phrase heads and the ignori^Puritic who covl^^^Kee below the surface. Of courzefWm does not refer to Ministers of Railways, who prophesy that the North Trunk line will not pay,! one per cent, or the Jmere Southern politician, for as in love and war, so in politics; all is fair, and that is their justification for usuing this chipped and battered weapon to club the Northerner when he goes in search of votes for his roads and bridges. A few years baok this valley whs just the ÜBual grey-brown waste of the monotonous gum field, just a shade more cheerful than the slopes of Tarawera»*ftor the eruption. To-day it is a smiling valley clothed in a rich green swardj which shows up all the more vividly because some of the "brown bracken-covered slopes at the top have been left untouched, and are still in their pristine uriloveliness. The valley, most of which is owned by Mr JDan Stewart, has b!een drained worked and top-dressed, and is a remarkable evidence oE the capabilities of these lands. Back a few years the lands about Te Awamutu were regarded askance, and there were' many knowing ones who said they would never cany grass. To-day they make some of the finest grazing country in the Waikato. All they required was working. So it is with the Noith. It is not, however, a poor man's country. It must be made. ; AsMr Bayliss, of the Agricultural Department, once told the Auckland Agricultural Association on/this very matter of the dispised North: "You can make land, but you can't make climate." The North has the inestimable boon of an ideal climate for the rearing of stock. and with the aid of science' the rest ia only a question of time. The North lands must, be made, and ' this valley at the back 'of Helensvilie is a telling instance of what can be accomplished.. Nestling at the bottom of the valley ia the beginningm? oi what will eventually be one of Helensville's staple industries. Here Mi George Wharton, who came from the South, has fifty acres on which he haj started an orchard. Most of the treef ar9 in their fourth year, and the results have bfen highly satisfactory. Tlu apples are looking very well, and aboui five hundred peach trees which he pui in after some interesting experiment,* give promise of a first-class orchard Most or the apples are Stark's Delic^ ious, a variety which Mr Wharton h * satisfied is the best for the locality, There is ample land for fruit grow ing, the climate is perfect, and the handiness of the district to marvel seems to indicate that in the future Helensvilie will be one of the maiti sources of supply for this part of the Dominion. Not far from Mr "Wharton's property Messrs Bennett and Green, the well-known nurserymen oi Auckland, have a nursery well undei way, aud here agdn the soil has proved singularly adapted for the purpose. [We cull a portion ot the foregoing article from fhe " Star " of previous date.] ' In a criminal case tried in an Irish Court, the prisoner's counsel challenged juryman, and when at length the empanelling was completed thfi prisoner bent over the dock and whispered to his counsel : " The jury's all rigid now, I think, but ye must challenge the judge. I've been convicted undei him several toimes already and maybe he's beginning to have a [prejudice." If you want to cure your cough tak« Tonking's Linseed Emulsion. From al! chemists and stores. Is 6d, 2s 6d, 4s 6d