A PROGRESSIVE TOWN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18346, 12 March 1923, Page 10

A PROGRESSIVE TOWN.

GREAT MARKETING CENTRE.

PUBLIC UTILITIES.

ELECTRICITY AND DRAINAGE

Many travellers know of Morrinsville only as a station on the Rotorua line, a place where a long train journey is pleasantly broken by a cup of tea and welcome refreshments. But there is much more to Morrinsville than that, and as time goes on, and dairying prospects become more and more advanced, the fame of this delightful country town cannot fail to spread from one end of the Dominion to another.

Morrinsville has made remarkable progross in recent years. Situated in the heart of the Waikato, 102 miles by rail south-east of Auckland, it is the centre of pome of tho finest dairying land to be found anywhere in the Dominion. Favoured with a warm salubrious climate, with a bountiful rainfall, Morrinsville has com* into considerable prominence as a town that owes its success largely to the enterprise and-ability of the farming community. It is the junction of the Auckland-Rotorua and Auckland-Thames railway lines, and it lies within easy distance of Hamilton, Thames, Rotorua, Te Aroha and Cambridge. The town is well served with roads, which are gradually being improved. Morrinsville is the marketing centre of a very wide area, which extends to Motumaoho and Eureka on the west, to Patetonga and Miranda on the north, to Waitoa on the west, and to Walton on the south. Tahuna. Piako, Tatuanuj, Springdale, Te Puninga, and Kiwitahi are included in this district. In the summer, travellers by road from Auckland to Rotorua may avoid the dangerous Eangiriri Hills by journeying via Pokeno, Waitakaruru, Tahuna, and Morrinsville, and can complete the journey by motor in four or five hours.

Morrinsville has a population of 1450, and the number of ratepayers on the roll just issued is 803. The ratable capital value of the town is £536,275. The unimproved value is £293,315, and the value of the improvements is £269,960. The rates total 4£d in the £, and these include maintenance and loan rates. Two years ago the town was constituted a borough, and the first borough council was elected. Mr. F. J, Marshall, one of the eldest residents of the town, was returned unopposed as the first Mayor. In the last three years great strides have been made in municipal and private enterprise in the town. A water reticulation scheme was inaugurated by the late town board. The Topahaehae .stream was tapped at a point 11£ miles from the town, and the water conducted in seven-inch spiral steel pipes to the town, (which had been reticulated with cast-iron and galvanised iron pipes. A bountiful supply of pure water, giving a very high pressure for fire-fighting purposes, is now available in all parts of the town, the original scheme having been extended to provide the service to every street in the town area. The cost of the completed water service was £57,000. Mr* Lockie Gannon prepared and supervised the scheme. As soon as the water was available, Mr. G. Y. Canton, a fire-brigadesman of 26 years' experience, organised a brigade. A motor reel was purchased and a station, with social room attached, has been provided. The need of a drainage scheme for Morrinsville has long been felt, and the matter has exercised the attention of the local authority ever since the water scheme was first mooted. Neany three years ago the ratepayers sanctioned the raising of £44,000 for a comprehensive sewerage scheme for the town, but the Borough Council, after debating the matter for nearly t,\*o years decided to abandon that scheme. A scheme for serving the inner area, estimated to cost £16,000, will be submitted to ratepayers on March 25. ™

With commendable foresight the town board purchased an area of 59 acres within the town district as a recreation ground.. The citizens have spent a considerable sum of money in making paths along the river bank and in planting trees in the area, while the Borough Council has had a playing area of 12 acres levelled for recreation purposes. Mr. G. Howie, a resident of 15 years* standing and deputy-mayor, recently presented the Borough Council with five acres of park land in the centre of the town. On an eminence in the park the townspeople have erected a handsome granite obelisk in memory of the many Morrinsville soldiers who gave their lives in the war. This area, which is known as Howie Park, has also been well laid out in paths and many trees and shrubs have been planted^ The advent of electricity has meant a great deal to Morrinsville, and when the Thames Valley. Electric Power Board turned on the current on March 10 last year, many people felt that a new era in the town's history would be ushered in. From an ill-lighted gloomy place, Morrinsville at night has been transferred into a bright cheerful town.