PROGRESSIVE PUTARURU.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18059, 6 April 1922, Page 10

PROGRESSIVE PUTARURU.

TOWN OF GBEAT PKOMISE UPPER WAIKATO'S CENTRE. 'ADVANCE IN FEW YEARS. SETTLEMENT PROSPECTS. PROXIMITY TO ARAPUNI. Practically a score of yearn ago now an entprprising business concern, the Taupo Totara Timber Company, Ltd., bavin;; acquired milling hashes fit Mokai. near the south-western shows of Taupo, constructed b lic^t railway from Putanmi—or rather Le'lilidd—t,o Molt a i ;is a first step toward millinar and marketing their timber, and thereby incidentally, though perhaps the members of ♦'>€ company had but little thought in such a direction, thev laid the foundations of a town that is now considered likely to be even as ]ar<„'e as Hamilton in the near future. This town is Put an; ni. aiwl it owes its original status rs b oont.ro to this very fact that it is ♦■he junction of the timber company's riilw „y with the Government's Rotorua railway. Trite it is, as indicated, the company did not construct the whole of 60 miles of railway t.o Mokai. the first fun mi'es-I'utaniru to Lichfield— hivirr; been constructed by the Oovernir.ent as part- of its railway to Rotoriia, Ivit abandoned later in favour of the altomtivo rouUt over the Maninku bill. It was the company's con tin nation, howcrer, tliat then prevented the Lichfield length becoming a "dead end" railway. The company then but t timber vauls and a planing mil' at. Pntnnuu. which xneant a permanent population there of about 100. This number v.i« auemenWd b;. Pevera! families of railway employees and, of course, several tradesmen, 'vhile throughout the district were a few more rvr lcfs mattered .settlors. Thus was Put-artm founded 'and thus it remained until practically three or- four years Agriculturally, >t was baldly on the map. The Thames Valley Land Company had fai'ed many years before while bringing land at Lichfield into cultivation, and in consequence the country had more or less a bad name. But the pioneer settlers were true pioneers, and ry their jiersistenco they ultimately

pterin! that Ptitarurj land was quite profitable icr dairying in areas of 100 acres upwards if developed in a right rotation, a standard for which tn;s clover firs;., then a root crop such as BweHcs, then temporary pasture, and finally permanent pasture. In fact, it vras proved that the land had particular advantages of its own in that it was easy to work, had a natural propensity for growing heavy crops of clover and gwedes, and kept its moisture well des- ] ite prolonged dry weather. Of course, a vital essential was the manuring and top-dressing which practically all Waikato land requires. Gradually the truth as to this value of the land as thus indicated prevailed, and a new order quickly made itself apparent Firstly, the land round the tovn, which had been held in large blocks, vas cut up by the original holders into dairying areas of 100 to 200 acres or so, and sold to new settlers —many of them returned soldiers— at prices which meant that the newcomers could not leave the land lying idle or partially idle as the former owners had done. Consequently, development proceeded apace. Three years ago, one had only to travel a mile or;, two out of Putarnru in any direction to comi upon largo areas of country in the ratis;hj now one could travel practically 10 miles oh any of tie half-dozen roads radiating from the town without passing any considerable area of virgin country. This development quickly reflected iteelf in tho town, which commenced to expand rapidly, a much wider range of businesses and commercial facilities being established, and a compact business area developed. The streets were metalled :ind footpaths formed. Old Putarnru had provided a splendid public hall and had obtained a commodious school, and to these new Putaruru is adding an ornamental park, as a wpr memorial, with grounds for tennis. croquet, and bowls, and also a lnr£o domain, while local itaWwds were erected ; by the settlers of the distrk-i. As regards population, the increase in the town ha* been from about 100 to approximately 500 However, thl? development covers but a small inner circle of the vast aiea for ■wh>ch Putaruru is the railway centre. First and for-roost in this connection, is the land tapped by the umber company's railway, which, roughly-speaking, for its full length of approximately 50 miles, is a territory 50 miles in length and 20 milt* wide, or, in other words, an area of 1000 square miles. Much of this land is fertile bush country—initially rich in its timber yield, while most of the remainder is open land covered by fern, tea-tree, or tussock, and ploughablo with little or no expense for clearing. As ye't, with the exception of one or two pioneering ventures, settlement in the area served by tho line has extended not further than Toberoa, 13 mi'es from Pntaruru. but all that is awaited is the right sob of conditions, viz., a certainty that the timber ccmpßnv's line will he a "ermanen't railv av available for the transport of the settlers' r'anure and goods generally at reasonable rati"!, and. secondly, of course, the disappearance of tho present financial Btrinirenrv. Then Putaruru has fur " back country " another lar.-o. ;-.r?a lying along the Hotorua railway toward the Mamaku hills, the development of which territory has been commenced by the k'lwyn Land and Timber Company and by Ciown settlors, while the authorisation of I he Arupuni scheme invfi'vcs the construction of a bridge over the Wmkafo River at Ara- , ptini. which should make Putaruru the outlet for the settlement of Pukeatua and | the adjoining 60,000 awes of first-class land comprising the Wharepubanga block, I which the ("rovernment is at present opening for settlement. j Moreover, the authorisation of the Ai'a- I puni hydro-electric scheme promises an , immediate fillip to the progress of the town, irrespective of settlement, prog- I pects- :\rapuni is on the Waikato River i about nine miles front Putaruru, which | i? the nearest shopping and railway ; certre. Thus, the employment of a large Timber of men on the installation of the Kcheme should incidentally mean in- j creased trad© for Putaruru. | a local railways board has been I formed to construct a standard railway jfroo Te Awanmta to Puiareni, which 'j

would then make the latter town a triple Ntfhvay junction. The preliminary work baa been done, but the Government lias declined to at present give ft* necessary assent to the construction of the Jtne. However, it is hoped that for tiie conveyance of the materia! to Arapuni at least the Putaruvu-Avapuni length of the linn will now be constructed. Putaroru is fortunate in having energetic and publiO'Spirited vesidenta and settlers. These have organised thomselvas into a progress league, which in t«r« has appointed as an executive the Put* rum I/istrict Development Board of li> members. Three of the board's Achievements may be noted, its activities in connection with the Arapuni scheme, its insistence upon the rights of the settlor* under the Totara Timber Company's Order.in-Couneil and the obtaining of fc promise from the Thames Valley Power Board that it will reticulata the settled areas of the Putaruru district with electric power this wintct. The prospects of Putaruru and its district have ltfen strikimzly expressed 'u figures by one of its leading men. "There are in the district," he said, "a total of approximately a million acres of upland, practically all suitable for dairying. Each 100 acres of thus will support one family, making a total of 10,000 dauy farms and 10,000 families. Inch family would average five persons, say, making a grand total of 600.000 souls. That then is the number of additional people—half-a-million—for which oiir town is destined to become the commercial centre. Is it any wonder then, that we, expect great 'things of the future?" And, indeed, here is a land of great promise and great opportunity.

PICTURESQUE TIRAU,

AGRICULTURAL PROSPERITY. J In contrast to the Putaruru district ] with its prevailing " newness " and pro- 11 press in nutters agricultural and vastness j in settlement prospects is the adjoining ' | district of Tirau, which is au almost j fully-developed, compart, and substantial | farming district, presenting a picturesque [ old-world appearance. In fact whereas I Putarum belong to the Upper Waikato, | Tirau belongs to the Central Waikato. TJio I land here, which varies in contour from [ flat to hilly, is recognised as being some of the best in the Waikata " 1j It is almost 40 rears since the settle- | i ment of this country wa s first begun. The | * Auckland Agricultural Company is stated I; to have undertaken the pioneering work ', at a time when die railway from Auckland | had been constructed only as far as Mercer, I and communication thence was by boat;! up the Waikato River to, Cambridge and j j nest by coach through Tirau, Lichfield, I and Atiamun to Taupo, Tirau at that j j time comprising a butcher's shop and an j J hotel and being a coaching stage. 11 Subsequently 'the land fell into the pos- H session of the. Assets Realisation Board, ' and was subdivided into smaller holdings |

'. i and settled m that way as an out-settle- > ment of Cambridge, in time, tho Roto- ; > rua railway was constructed, giving the ; j locality a railway service. Tho township j I expanded with the settlement of tfie dis--11 trice, which, however, is closely confined •< by the Waikato River and tho Kaimni • Hills on two sides and tho Putarnru s and Matamata district* on the other two. ' Thus, it is in the subdivision of the ! present holdings into smaller on; a— which • the fertility of the soil well warrants— , that the district expects the future in- ; crease in it« population and farther- dei velopment of the township. Meanwhile, i such modern acquisitions as electric power • 'for general use, 'the installation of a • water-supply scheme for the township, and the formation of a domain are the public i matters engaging the attention of the , people. The reticulation of the township : with electrio power is now almost comi pleted, but the water-supply scheme is as yet in its initial stages. Another attraction at Tirau is its golf links, which ; were formed last year and proved a de- ■ cided success; Trout-fishing in the local , (streams is also a popular sport. It is in this district, too. that tho famous Okoroire Hotel and hot springs are located. Altogether, Tirau is an i ideal agricultural district, its fertility of i soil, quiet heauty. compactness, ami modern facilities being such as few other i farming districts in the Dominion enjoy.

MAKE MONEJ.

INVEST £10. IN PUTABUfIU NOW. Even the small investor has a safe epportunity now to make money at Putaruru by securing a town section on a 1 very small deposit before the rise in- prices j which will inevitably take place in the j near future, as a result of the rapid development of the district now proceeding in I every direction. As little as £10 deposit J will today secure a section with big pros-! pective value in this thriving centre, where the demand for town sections is bound to be ke<m as soon as the great Arapuni works, which ara only 9 miles out of the town, are pushed ahead on a large scale. Mr. Massey recently announced that this is to be dune forthwith. The expenditure involved will run into millions, as thin will be the second largest hydro-electric power scheme in the world, being second only to Niagara. Something like 600 men will be employed [ on this work for the next six years and I about 22,000 tons of cement apart from the quantities of machinery required, will be conveyed to Arapuni from Putaruru, which is the nearest railway centro to tho works. Putaruru will receive a great and sudden impetus to its growth as a result of this enormous undertaking which will be not only fully sustained, but further augmented as time goes on by the development of vast areas of dairying country for which 't is the natural and in fact only railway centre. This country surwunditfg Putaruru is now > being steadily developed and already has I the advantage of _ those essential facili- j tics, roads and railways, which feed into I Putaruru. j In New Zealand the country makes the | town. The geograpliical position of I'uta- i ruru, situated as it is in the midst of | these vast areas of country now being j brought into cultivation, secures its future! j rjs a big and busy town. Fortunately I recent subdivisions make it possible to, ! secure town sites at prices as low as from j £2 to £3 per foot for quarter-acre sections I with 66ft. frontages, the deposits required I | k'ing only £10 per section, with a further I I £10 in 12 months and tho balance of tho j I pin chase money remaining for five years at i I 6 per cent, per annum. By investing in I one of these sections now, you can share in tbe progress, prosperity, and profits of ! Putaruru. It is certainly worth while | to write without delay to" B. Alcorn, tLo i authorised agent Putaruru, for the fullest particulars and authoritative advice. Address your enquiry to It. Alcorn, Kenj singtou Street, Putarnru. A postcard I will bring you the jullcst information and I particulars by return. Also a copy of one _of our booklets just published, entitled '>" Progressive Putaruru." 1