Concrete Village Unique Feature Of Northland

Northern Advocate, 18 July 1938, Page 4

Concrete Village Unique Feature Of Northland

Within a stone’s throw of Whangarei is one of the most unique towns in New Zealand.

Lying off the main road route, Portland sees little of thu outside world, practically its sole visitors being those who stop with the Northland express for a brief spell; . but even these know little of the unusual community life which characterises the ‘concrete village.”

With the exception of a few railway houses,. Portland’s.residences are the property of the Wilsons (Portland) Cement Works. The houses and cottages are not, as they commonly are in many industrial centres, mere hovels, but the very latest in modern conveniences and architecture. Sanitary facilities, electric light, and all the comforts of a city or suburban home are provided in the 100 homes owned by the company. Modem Comforts.

And the rental? asks the housewife, with her eyes to economy. The answer lies in Portland itself, where rentals are undoubtedly as low as any in the Dominion, ranging, of course, with the type of house or cottage occupied. With the employer-owned cottage scheme goes a co-operative civic welfare spirit. A free hall has been erected by the company, and in this the residents’ Welfare Club screens pictures and holds dances and other meetings. Next door is the library, also erected by the company for the benefit of employees. Not content with these provisions the directorate of the company has catered for the sporting instincts of its little colony of workers. Lying below the township is a seven-acre recreational ground, where croquet, bowls, cricket, tennis and football are played by the company’s employees. Hero again, the provision is a gratis consideration of the company. Impressive Appearance.

No one who sees Portland for the first time can help but be impressed with the cleanliness of the streets and the houses. Cars and vehicles in the streets are rarq;, and the quietness which pervades the residential area is a feature both striking and appreciated. Concrete is in evidence everywhere—in house construction, in footpaths, in garden walks. It is indeed one of those extremely rare townships where one can visit one’s neighbour without having to wear gumboots or goloshes,

Surrounding the township is the company's farm, one of the finest grazing areas in the North Island. Here can be soon some 2000 head of sheep, while 200 Hereford cattle make a picturesque setting to the green background. Nor are they mere ordinary rattle, but prize animals also, as the visitor is proudly told when inquiring into the origin of certain gold medals bedecking the walls of the office. Consideration Appreciated.

And do the employees appreciate the consideration of the directorate in j.roviding so generously for their welfare Listen to what the manager, Mr T. H. Wilson, says:

Ol course our employees appreciate v/nat we have done. Thcv realise that few people have such amenities provided for them as they have 1 ere, and they reveal this* apppreciation in their work. We have very lit lie labour strife in the works, and always encourage our workers to come to us and talk over matters with