PROGRESSIVE PETONE

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12008, 10 December 1924, Page 8 (Supplement)

PROGRESSIVE PETONE

THRIVING INDUSTRIES, i WHERE MAORIS ONCE FREELY ROAMED. SUCCESSFUL MAYORALTIES. What a magnificent picture the Hutto Valley must have • presented to the early settlers When they sailed into Port Nicholson in .the late ’thirties and the early ’forties,'and it is no matter for wonderment that many of them .made their landing-place'" at' Petohe beach when ' such a vista of fertile valley land opened up before their eyes, rather than towards the Wellington of to-day, with' its steep backgrounds and beach at the foot of the hills. Petone is the door to the Valley, and, as its original name implies, it is the/end of the beach or sand. NATURAL ADVANTAGES. With such natural advantages .and a wide sweep of waterfront close to the. open sea, it was fitting that it should become the.main centre of industrial activity, and this'is emphasised to-day by. the prc- , sencp of four™of the largest works of their hind in the Dominion. , • . First and foremost. are the Railway. Workshops, which. opened in 1880 with a staff of 40, whereas-to-day the figure is about : 700. The value of the work turned out annually is now rapidly approaching the half-million mark;-the machinery. i«. worth'! about £BO,OOO. These, workshops have the care of ; nearly. 400 engines/ 1000. carriages and . brake-vans, 12,000 wagons, and; nearly, 10,000- tarpaulins. . With the advent of the deviation, which scheme, recently placed before the public, created such a sensation and a boom in land values in-,the valley, and which it is expected; to complete within ten years, the-pros-pects for the future are bright indeed, and the demands upon the workshops will be greater than ever.. , , . industrial' enterprise. Close by are the Petone .Woollen Mills, employing over 700 hand?, where woollen goods that compare favourably with the best the world » produces are made, Petone flannels" arid ' other ' materials, ' ruge, blankets, etc., are too well known to need description here. On the >. other side of the railway are the great "Gear meat "works, of the v most modern type in the world, where many thousands of ( catthe, sheep, and pigs are dealt with in the course of .tile: year.. There is storage capacity for about 40,000 sheep and lambs, arid the canning department. ' is conducted along lines which make the Gear brand one of the leading lines on the market- to-day. ; Last, but not least, is the great industrial . enterprise , of »Lever Bros. (N.Z.), Ltd.,, at the head • of which is Vißcount Leverhulme, and behind which is enormous-capital. Only in .1919, this miniature Port, Sunlight, is already an important factor, in the, industrial life of Petone. It is conducted along model'lines, and there is ample room for development as the business continues to .grow, as it is ; doing year by year. ' A number, of; furriers also carry on business in . , the borough, and contribute in no small measure to its prosperity, ~

No one can rriad without a thrill of hearty admiration of the wonderful endurance, of (those early settlers who landed on Petone > beach in‘lß4o, knowing not what ordeals they had to face, or what terrors the bush might hold for them. It was selected in 1839 by' Colonel Wakefield as the site, for the first settlement of the New Zealand Company, SERVICE OF CITIZENS. The formation of the Town Board in* 1880 marked the beginning ' of local government, and with such great leaders as Mr W. J. Kirk, the first chairman", who later was Mayor ; for ten years, Mr S. R. Johnson, - the first Mayor, Mr R. Mashes, Mr George London, and, finally, Mr J.' W. McEwan, the present Mayor, the borough has made splendid progress. The provision of the; stophanks, which saved the town - from the 'disastrous effects of Continued flooding, the' recreation ground and the gasworks, are mainly due to the efforts of Mr R. O. Kirk, .who saved'the borough many thousands of pounds. From those days onwards a progressive local body has followed the splendid example set' by tbs pioneers. Bad roads gave way; to good roads, and good roads to hotter roads, and to day the streetshof Petone will compare favourably with those of any other borough of its size. Mr J. W. McEwan’s Mayoralty, extending over & period of 17 years, has been fruitful of much good work, for it has seen the development of the gas undertaking, now a Petone and Lower Hutt joint concern; the addition of the new recreation ground, in which the present Mayor carried to a conclusion the initial work of Mr Kirk, giving the borough a splendid reserve of/30 acres; the improvement in water and drainage are to be considerably extended in the near future; and of the-beach and esplanade in order, making the sea-front, with its : safe' bathing provision, a valuable asset. There is ample accommodation for sports bodies of all kinds, municipal bowling, tennis and croquet; ground?, a private bowling green (Central), public library and Museum, etc.- Fire brigade matters are under the control of tKe Petone Fire Board. The station is in Buick street, the brigade numbers 19 in all, and has two fully-equipped motor fire-engines, ancHHe requisite appliances. IMPROVING THE BOROUGH. TKe ?ocial life of the borough is well catered for, as there are two bands, a Plunket Society, musical and dramatic societies, picture palaces, and the Empire Theatre. whicK is the borne of ' boxing in Petone, and where notable meetings are held from time to time. ’Amateur theatricals are conducted periodically, with ' great success. An important organisation is-tKe Beautifying and Foreshore Improvement Society, to whose efforts are due many of the improvements which 1 have been effected along the esplanade, and in bathing faeflities. An important fact contributing in no small measure to the wellbeing of the community is that the, relations existing between Petone and Wellington on the one band, and the adjoining boroughs of Eastbourne and(lower Hutt on the other, are of the most cordial character Any matters that arise from time to time, particularly in regard to the Hutt road extension work, electric lighting, etc., are discussed and settled in a harmonious manner, and while such a civic spirit pervades the municipal and social life of the borough, pros- ■ pects for-i the future are very Happy indeed. •