ONEHUNGA FIRE STATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19509, 13 December 1926, Page 12

ONEHUNGA FIRE STATION.

OPENING OF NEW BUILDING. UP-TO-DATE EQUIPMENT. The official"' opening of the new fire station at Onehunga took place on Saturday afternoon, in the presence of a large assembly of residents and visitors from, the -city, as well as representatives of other fire brigades. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. R. F. Bollard, performed the actual ceremony of opening, which consisted of pressing a button to release the siren, and to this accompaniment of the weird sound proceeding from the top of a 50ft. watch-tower the newly-imported fire engine passed out into the street and "did the block." ' The chairman of the Fire Board, Mr. W. C. Kemble, invited the architect, Mr. John Park, to address the gathering and on behalf of himself and the contractors, Messrs.. Methven and Foster, he presented the Minister With a silver trowel. , It was too late to ask him to lay the foundation stone, but if he would pass the trowel over it he would be able to assure everybody that the stone was "well and truly laid." Mr. Kemble welcomed the Hon. G. J. Garland, M.L.C., and Sir Frederic Lang, M.L.C., Mr. W. J, Jordan, M.P.,, Mr. T. JL Millar, chairman of the Auckland Underwriters' Association, Captain Hugo, Government inspector of fire brigades, Captain Watts, superintendent of the Newmarket Fire Brigade, and -Superintendent Wilson, of the Auckland brigade. The board, he said,. had spent £7750, but he was sure this was justified, as the building and equipment were in the hands of a particularly efficient brigade. Mr. Kemble paid a high tribute to the faithful work of Captain O'Hara, who took charge when the brigade was first formed in 1885, to Captain Ba,ll who succeeded in 1888, Captain Pat. Sutherland in 1889, and Captain Hill, in 1902. The latter was in charge for 20 years, giving altogether a service of nearly 25 years, and he was succeeded in 1922 by Captain T. R. Gilbert, the present officer, Superintendent C, E. Gilbert, replacing him two years ago. He also paid a tribute to the work of firemen, especially the volunteer brigade..

The Mayor of Onehunga, Mr 1 . J. E. Covvell, briefly reviewed the record of the brigade, particularly dealing with their repeated success in competitions, for they had won .all the principal events in the Dominion. This was largely due to the great efforts of Captain Hill, and they showed the same zeal in their ordinary duties, always turning out ? to fires promptly. Although the present service was going to cost the borough £BOO a year, instead of £SOO to £6OO as formerly, he thought it was fully justified, for the latest valuation of the borough was £2,541,000, against £1,071,000 in 1918.

Sir Frederic Lang, M.L.C., and Mr. W. J. Jordan, M.P., also briefly addressed the gathering. Captain Hugo assured the residents that -they had-good value in their new station. He appealed for due recognition of ■ the great savings effected by the brigades m frequently reaching fires in sufficient time to extinguish them. This, he said, would faj outweigh the annual cost, if a true balance was struck. Mr. Bollard said he was afraid that the volunteer spirit generally was dying out, but fortunately this was not the case in respect to fire brigades. He traced the history of the formation of the Fire Board since it was authorised by a poll of ratepayers last year.- Ha. was sure that the residents would enjov amore comfortable ieeling when they knew that they had in such a, central position an up-to-date* service.' '

The brigade's annual social was held in the evening when there was a large at' tendance.