RECOVERY OF HASTINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20842, 8 April 1931, Page 10

RECOVERY OF HASTINGS.

TOWN'S EXCELLENT SPIRIT.

NEARLY BACK TO NORMAL. FEW INHABITANTS ABSENT. 4 * Earthquake refugees who have nofc yet returned to Hawke's Bay do not include many Hastings people, in the opinion of Mr. Selwyn Averill, until recently registration officer for that town, who is spending a well-earned holiday in Auckland with his parents, Archbishop and Mrs. Averill. n

"Hastings is very nearly back to normal," said Mr. Averill yesterday. "Last Monday week we took a census of rebuilt chimneys and found that out of 2450 houses, only 350 appeared to be unoccupied. At tho rate people have been returning, I expect that number is down to 150 or even 100 by now." Tho latest return showed that 1650 houses had boon provided with one chimney each and 450 had still to be dealt with. Some of the work had been carried out by tho Public Works Department and the rest by privato contractors, and it was expected that the cost would be met, after all, out of the relief fund. "When I left," he said, "we understood that the central relief committee had abandoned the idea that the fund would be only sufficient for personal relief. Waste Exaggerated. "When I was last in Wellington I gathered that the Mayor's committee there had kept most of its £IOO,OOO fund intact, although Wellington had over 5000 refugees billeted there at one time. For another thin;?, wo found in Hastings that we had no); spent nearly so much on supplies iri the early days as people wero saying. On the whole, it will not be surprising if there is some relief money for repairs to homes." About 700 local men were working in Hastings at present under the Unemployment Board's Np. 5 scheme, continued Mr. Averill. The Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. G. Smith, had given this a good start with a grant of £SOOO for clearing up the to\Vn. The money had been spent at the rate of about £I3OO a week and as a result practically all debris had been removed, leaving the way clear for rebuilding. The temporary shops erected so far were of a good type, attractive in appearance and not by any means "tin lean-tos." In fact, it would probably be difficult to get the owners to demolish them a few years hence, if that were required. Retail trade in the town was now as good as, or better than, before the earthquake. The hotels were doing probably twice their former business —hundreds of men shifting bricks naturally became thirsty. Good Work of the Men. Arrangements had been made to widen the main street, Heretaunga Street, by 10ft., but this could not be done at once, because some buildings had withstood the earthquake quite well and could not be cut back unless the owners were compensated in some way. So far as restoring the town was concerned, an estimate had been made, and.it showed that the earlier figure of £1,000,000 as the probable cost was altogether excessive. The registration of inhabitants after the earthquake had been of very great help in controlling, the distribution of relief and also in repatriating refugees. One of the first effects had been to clear the town of hundreds of men who had como there simply in search of free food. These men had been barred from registering, and, being unregistered, had been unable to get ration cards. On the first day of rationing, expenditure dropped more than 50 per cent. Another result had been to encourage able-bodied men to return. Such men knew that whatever work was available had been secured to them in advance and they quickly came back to take advantage of it. Mr. Averill warmly praised the spirit of the qien who worked for the first fortnight entirely without pay and afterwards for relief rates of wages. He said he had never had the least trouble at the weekly pay-outs and there had been very little friction at any time. The spirit of the town all through had been excellent and ho had not the slightest doubt that it would more than recover the lost ground within a very short time.