EXTENSION OF THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND TO NGARUAWAHIA.

New Zealand Herald, Issue 160, 18 May 1864, Page 3

EXTENSION OF THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND TO NGARUAWAHIA.

\\ 110 Would have thought months ago. when the lands beyond the Maungatawbiri wri.' almost a trrrn iiici:i/xiln lo Kuro- j peans, except perhaps to a few Pakeha- : Mauris, that at the present time a branch of i tin.' New Zealand Bank should have been ! established in tiie heart of Maori Kingism, i in tin- roval village of I'otatuu himself, the j luture eapital of W'aikato, Ngaruawahia. i And yet such is the ease. Towards tiie end of last week an officer ' of the liank of New Zealand, proceeded to -\garii:iwa!ii:i, taking with him all that was necessary to establish a branch bank in connection with lhe parent establishment in -Auckland. Hefore li:is is even written the branch will have been opened, and business commenced. 1 he I Sank of New Zealand lias been one of tne most successful of our local institutions, and in its present exhibition of energy and .-pirit we wish it the success which it justly deserves. 'Tiie very act of sending an amount ol coin and notes into the heart of the Uaikalo district is one which tells well ior tiie slate of the country, and for the con-)i(le;i)-e o! .Auckland men themselves in the liability ot tin. present order which prevails m the iate rebel territory. Another year, and who can say what furl her changes will not have taken place. The future city is already laid out, and, it may be, that while we now write, stout hearts in the mother country are beating with the hope ol carving out for themselves a heritage in return lbr the i-ecuritv which I heir presence will give

to the country when the troops which now | garrison the conquered rebel territory shall j have been withdrawn. j Xgaruawaliia, from its commanding nosijlion, cannot hut bccome the convcrtjiiii; ! cent re ot the tratlic of the count rv wliicli we , have at present overrun. Jt is situated on the "\\ aikato at the junction of 1 lit; two forks ot that stream, the iloratiu and the AVaipa. ; is the centre of a fertile district second : only to t hat of which lies higher up the V. aipa : and not onlv iloes it ])osscss .the natural advantage of water carriage to the West Coast, but a road, \vliich at an early date will bo traiisl'onncd into a railway, is already commenced by the Colonial (Invernuieut at the Queen's redoubt, and is carried onto Ngaruawahia. The railway from Auckland to Drury is shortly to be commenced, so that in a little time we may expect to see INijaruawahia, the late centre of kingism and head quarters of the rebel army, brought directly within a few hours distance of A uckland. As it is, before two months are past, as soon as the road between Maungatawhiri and Isgaruawahia is completed, we inay expect to see the mail cart travel the distance iu a single day.