40 Apply For Four State Houses At Kaikohe

Northern Advocate, 16 May 1939, Page 12

40 Apply For Four State Houses At Kaikohe

As far as can be .ascertained, 40 applications have been made for the four State houses being erected in Kaikohe.

There are still a number of people who have not applied for the houses, and in .an endeavour to find out the approximate number of additional applicants, an *‘Advocate” reporter interviewed people in the town who are ‘•house-hunting.”

Of 17 people he interviewed during a recent afternoon, he found that 13 had not applied for a State house owing to the futility of doing so. From his inquiries, he realised, that “house-hunting” is now a very popular sport, in that it receives a large number of supporters and followers, but he also found that it was not a pleasure.

A young married couple, who are living in a single room, said thalf they had been after three or four houses which had been vacated since their arrival in Kaikohe, but on every occasion they were beaten by other people. They pointed out that the housing position in the town was in a terrible state, and it was only natural that the influenza epidemic would continue to increase so long as people were forced to live in cramped conditions.

Speaking of the State houses, they said that although the houses were in urgent demand, they would by no means solve the housing problem in Kaikohe.

They had placed an application for a State house with the authorities concerned, not because they expected to receive one of the dwellings at present being built, but in the hope that should the Government decide to erect additional houses in the town they would then be among the fortunate. Wife In Whangarei. “Married life is not what our parents used to enjoy,” humorously remarked a second married man, when interviewed. He stated that he was forced to leave his wife in Whangarei, where she was living in a fiat, which meant that he had two accounts to meet each week—one for his wife's flat and allowance, and a second for his own board and keep. When asked if he had made application’ for a State house, he replied that he had been among the crowd, but did not expect to hear anything about it. “There is no doubt whatsoever,” he said, “that the State should erect at least 30 houses in Kaikohe.” “No Home Life.” A man is a fool to leave the city to take up work in the country, according to the views of a third person interviewed. “My home is in Auckland, and I have been married fox' over 20 years. I was a fool to leave my wife at home to come up to Kaikohe to work.” he said,

“I have no complaints so far as treatment in the district is concerned, but my wife and I are now denied the home life which we should be enjoying,” he continued. He had not made application for a State house simply because of the fact that he was “going to get out of Kaikohe” as soon as he could, unless the Government decided to erect between 30 or 40 houses in the town.