OPOTIKI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18017, 16 February 1922, Page 10

OPOTIKI.

SOUND FOUNDATIONS.

DEVELOPMENT 0F BOROUGH

CENTRE OF RICH DISTRICT.

SHEEP AXD DAIRY FARMING

After enjoying yr.rj of steady prosperity. the town of Opotiki is to-day in a quiet hut stable position, and is awaiting <->nl\ the roading of the coastal country be|i,:e 'tg commerce expands considerably. P,r.ry:ng is being taken up increasingly .vhcre the land is suitable, and. as coinpare J with other districts, Opotiki has suffered little by the inflation of land values air the ensuing slump. The luajonty of the land holders are longestablished and somewhat conservative in regard to the sentiment attaching to their family property, so that this factor has played an important part in discouraging land speculation.

Opotiki is more easily accessible than is generally known. The journey from Auckland may be accomplished by three direct routes. A steamer completes (he t':p in 24 hours; the trip via Tauranga and thence by train and motor-car takes, a similar time; 3nd by travelling to Rotorua by express, staying the night, and continuing the journey by service car Opotiki is reached inside two days. The latter motor tour ot 96 miles from Rotorua is accomplished in 7i hours, over good roads, by way of niosi beautiful lake and bush scenery The Opotiki Harbour is at times bar-bound, but steamers have then no difficulty m berthing at the wharf in the land locked Ohiwa Harbour, a few miles from the tuwn.

Old-established Settlement.

The history o! Opnhki dates back to the earliest davs ot Eim |>ean settlement, and there are many interesting relics and fortification* still to be seen. During the troublous days succeeding the Maori War t k 3 (o'ah was garrisoned, a'.d one of the be::ests which have accrued from military j occupation is a well-laid-out town. The j business portion of the town is built on level ground, close to the harbour, at the | junction of the Otara ar.d Waioeka rivers, | which meet, the sea about half a mi'o from the town. The level ground at the | harbour front stretches for some miles | 10 the southward, where there are many j residences and farm homesteads, although j the higher ground undulating to the west is now coming into favour as a residential i quarter owing to the magnificent view of the ocean sweeping east to Cape Run- | away, and north to the entrance to Whakatane Harbour. Since the- formation of a bc.rough in 1911, the district lias been supplied with a water service, brought by gravitation from falls six' miles away. This system is as good as any in the Dominion as regards purity < and pressure, which is maintained in the town at 13.51b. per square inch. Electric light, generated by a producr gas plant, has been made available by treaty with a private company, .and the' Borough Council receives £100 a year as royalty. The town has about 1200 inhabitants, the capital value of the property within the borough, of 770 acres, being £281,825, and the rates collected on the unimproved valus, £3563. At present a general rate of 2jd in tho pound is being collected,

with special rates totalling Owing | t-o a devastating fire in the business am; ! some years ago the shops are all com- j pajatively modern, many being two- i storeyed and eicellently fitted. There are two banks, two newspapers, a modern post office and telephone exchange, three ! hotels, and a picture theatre in the main , street. Facilities for pastime and sport ' are not wanting; there are two bowling clubs, public tennis courts, and a rowing club, while a beautifying society is doing much to improve the town. A memorial to the soldiers who fought in the late war has been erected by public subscription at a cost of £2000, the artistic column being built in a most effective place in the business portion of the town. The Opotiki Jockey Club's racecourse ip about two miles away. There are several local industries, including furniture factories, a joinery factory, and three timber yards. The wharves are worked at a profit by the Borough Council, which receive £1000 revenue and £400 net profit from them last year. There is a district high school in the town, and about seven schools in the district. A well-equipped cottage hospital has accommodation for about 16 patients. The Borough Council has authority to raise a loan in the near future of £2500 , in conjunction with a County Council loan for £2000 to erect joint municipal chambers. The whole of the borough has wide metalled roads, and a comprehensive street improvement scheme will shortly be put into operation to grade and drain all the roads. The energetic Agricultural and Pastoral Association, which has been established over 30 years, will hold its annual show on February 22, on its own convenient showground. Over £300 has been offered in prize money, in addition to valuable cups and handsome trophies for the winners in the various sections. Expansion ol Dairying. The county, extending over 1509 squaro miles, has an approximate population of 2000, exclusive of the borough. The capital value is £2,211,899, and the unimproved ratable value £1,147,739. General rates totalling £12,195, including £426 special rates, are being collected from the county. The principal industries of the district are maize growing, stock fattening, and dairying. The land lying near the sea coast is well suited to maize growing, and frosts are infrequent. Stock fattening is an important industry, the prolific growth on the rich land proving most nutritious. The dairying industry is of some magnitude, although there is room for a great many more herds than are grazing on the land. In wid:ti',n to the Opotiki Dairy Associations butter factorv, there arc two cheese factories, V> aiotahi and Toatoa, in the rountv, in addition to three dairy factories on the Whakatane border. All the Opotiki suppliers die members of the association, and over 1700 cows aro tested month.v by a resident Government official, who is of opinion that some of dm li J W 'J < V ° bef,n systematically allied and tested are a s good *s any in the Dominion, favourite breeds are Jersey Holstein, Ayrshire, and milking Shorthorn, and everything is being done t,o improve the standard of the stock. Previously some of the farmers did not ' carry many cows on their holdings but with 'falling prices for lother products they are noadvantageously turning their attention to the production of butter-fi.t. The ouality of the laj;d in the vicinitv gf Opotiki tmi£4 considerably. The fertife

Opotiki River flats, extending over about 10,000 acres, are as rich as any land in the Dominion. 11l is alluvial soil is excellent for dairying and maize-growing, the yields of the latter bring as much as 100 bushels an acre. Large quantities of pigs are also produced, and there is a tendency to intensive culture. In fact to-day the largest farm is little more than 400 acres. The last export figures availablo in totals afe those for 1920, those of last year boing very similar, except that values in some cases have fluctuated. The totals shipped away included 10,000 boxes of butter valued at £32,105; 1189 bales of wool, valued at £23,780; 10,959 sacks of maize, valued at £17,535; 1525 pigs, valued at £3,387 ; 40 tons of cheese, valued at £5600 ; 9070 sacks of chaff, valued at £3780; 1601 sheep, valued at £2402; 4447 skins, valued at £1111; and 674 hides, valued at £842. The land on the sloping hills is not so rich, but it makes goon dairying and sheep country, and produces fair crops of maize averaging about, w bushels to the acre. At the head of the Waioeka Valley commences a fine area of hill country, which has as its immediate centre Uponae, 2u miles from the town of Opotiki. bneep fanners are also breaking in now tracts in the Pakihi country, at the head of the Clara Valley. To the westward of Opotiki lie the easv hills of Paerata and Hiku taia, where mixed farming is car: Tied on. The Hikutaia Settlement of about <SUW acres, which was acquired by the' G ment for returned solmers, lies about fo miles to the west of OpoUki. About 400 lu d and 150 acres s'.opmc hihs. adoui 200 acrcs of bush, mostly punn, have been seL aside as a reserve.

Roads Needed to Develop Land. ! Hut it is upon the development of «h<j I oc.it tract of country known as th# Coast," rturning eastward to Cape Run awav. that the town of Opotiki mat J | depends for its future expansion Inttis ! country settlement has pieced dI 6 J Many thousands of acres have been ! cleared and grassed and are T v XSe ing large numbers of sheep. Th .. . of g business transacted between Opotdj town and the coast has increased b; leaps and bounds, but it « bo g onslv ham,«d b, th. W 1,-oad Apart from a few miles at W Opotiki end, the whole off the and fertile country extending about W miles eastward, or the distance separat ng Auckland from Hamilton, is ro.ad eg <*J land t rathe passing over rough tracksan throairh two dangerous rivers as an tu ternative to an intermittent launch and Cmer sen-ice. It will, therefore, be readilv understood that these settlers experience the meatest difficulty in obtainR. necessary material i m" disposing of their wool and surpiu. 'sheep. Recently the county ratepayers 1 authorised the raising of a loan °' if PCM) for the purpose of com l , M'"» the main road j*. the Motu River. VUien I tins piece of road is constructed and the river bridged the undeveloped coast lands ' will he comparatively easy of a<j« ss Oniil'ki and communication will Dnn » | to the settlor, and expat,s,on j''in'considering this portion of the dt* trie it is worth noting that one of he IflSt mountain drives in the, Dominion |is the road leading to the township o. Motu 45 miles along the main ro d I Gisborne. The road.rises 2000 ft. through | pleasant valleys and bush-dadl hill* to the pretty township, where excellent ac commodation may be bad. raL .; n^ , beinq 1500 ft. above the K i= bri^ in S and exhilarating, and increasing numbers of people are visiting this ideal Jiland holiday retort every year.

OPOTIKI DAIRY ASSOCIATION. The farmers on the rich pastoral land of the Opotiki district own their own butter factory at Opotiki, and the cream from the fine herds of the district is supplied daily to the Opotiki Dairy Association. The farmers are doing their best, in co-operation with the Government inspector, to improve the standard of their herds, and the result is a quality of butter which has won gold medals and

! highest prizes at the principal dairy ex- ! hibitions of the Dominion, and had the ! distinction of being the first New Zea- | land butter to obtain a certificate of merit in the London Dairy ! Show. Both near and far the j quality of Opotiki butter finds ; favour, for it is supplied to every third person in Auckland, and from as far as Liverpool, England, a letter was received i a week ago complimenting the association | on their produict, and ordering more as | soon as possible. This result has not been attained without the application of the most scientific methods in ,t.he manui fauture, handling, and packing p/ocesses, ! and attention to minute details in the I interests of perfection has resulted in the i building up of the Association's present i extensive business. The factory, a substantial concrete building lined with white ; 'i'es which aro kept spotlessly clean, has ■ the most up-to-date machinery installed , for the various processes, and from the ; time the cream artives to the time the ■ J butter is boxed, no effort is spared to ' make it what it now is—the best of Now Zealand's dairy products. The opening ■ up of the Woodlands Er.tate by a 6core of returned soldiers has been a contributing factor in increasing the yield of cream from the district, and the farmers 1, on the alluvial plains are cultivating their land more intensely, and thereby producing more butter-fatj Th# high grade of the herds and the richness of the feed is responsible for a gratifying yield of butter-fat, and the Association is benefiting accordingly. More than ever I before fanners of tbo district are turn- ' u g their attention to dairying, and year after year the supply to the facfory is increasing in quantity and improving in quality. The record of la£t' s<vison's output show;? that 383 tons of butter, valued at £101,422, were exported, and it is anticipated that a "i-eater quantity will be produced this season. The largo connection of the Opotiki Dairy Association in Auckland "has been built up by Messrs C. Aickin and Sons, 3, Tyrone Buildings, Customs Street, who. are the sole agents for tho Association's product.