Waking Up

NZ Truth, Issue 943, 22 December 1923, Page 6

Waking Up

RIP VAN WINKLE WESTLAND.

A generation ago Westland lifted £13.500,000 worth of gold out of the earth, that being the return for 186=4---1576. Every fortnight to-day the American dredge at Rimu Flat, near Hokitika, pockets 900 ounces of gold. The future of Westland as a gold producer is as promising under expert management as m the past it has been romantic. Those who rushed to the Golden West m the 'sixties braved starvation, floods, and rough life to share m the rich harvest, and there is erected to their memory a tribute few stop to appreciate. It is a monument, not of granite, but of a highly "prosperous people.

The idea m promoting a South Seas Exhibition at Hokitika, which opened there on Saturday last and runs for at least six weeks, is highly commendable. and deserves to be a huge success. It will be visited by, crowds from Australia and all parts of New Zealand, some to renew acquaintance with the scenes of an, heroic age, others to explore tlie possibilities of Westland.

To those may v be left the duty of informing their friends of the wonders they will see. But to others not fortunate enough to be able to travel It may be of interest to trace briefly the prospects of this almost virgin territory. Timber milling produces millions of feet weekly, and almost every day at Greymouth ships are loading considerable cargoes for Australia or the north. There are 600 MILLS AT PRESENT m operation, the trade being one of the few that has not fallen entirely into the hands of l r '"?»ely capitalised concerns. Totara, i, white pine, and red pine are y ■* had m vast areas. Of minerals, coal and gold offer an immensely attractive future for capital. Marble is abundant, and of excellent quality, that from Caswell I Sound competing against Italy and other marble- producing countries, taking first prize at the Sydney and Christchurch Exhibitions. Copper, Iron, and antimony ore 3 are abundant. It only wants enterprise to establish vast industries to work them. Water power for electric energy Is on every hand. As a dairying country Westland is already rapidly becoming the Denmark of the South' Island. Land is ridiculously cheap, ranging from £S to £30 for the best dairying land. The cheese from one factory has for three successive years taken tho" highest price m the London market. Factories are springing up everywhere from Greymouth to Okura — 150 to the south. The climate is warm and rather like that of Taranaki, being warmed by the ocean current that comes from the Queensland coast. The farthest south pomt — Okura — is no further south than Timaru. And here, let it be known, that the impressions of Westland taken from a ride m the train are wholly, false and misleading, like most of tho notions about the West Coast. The railway runs through rough mountain passes and swamps. It does not touch i the rich plains at Kokatahi, Kanlerl, Wataroa, Hari Hnri, Bruce Bay. Okura, or the scores' of other settle- ! ments where settlers HAVE GROWN WEALTHY. The beef produced m Westland is considered by experts to be the most perfect to be found m New Zealand, excelling m flavor and texture the best that the Wairarapa or Southland can produce. For enterprising' young men no cheaper land nor more promising prospects can be found throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand i than m Westland. and this is the considered opinion of one who from an intimate knowledge "has no hesitation ' m making the recommendation. As for the wider outlook, the West Coast is suffering from a want of the courage that characterised Its founders, and their lack of vision is equally unfortunate. It does not require much imagination to see a large city at Greymouth or Hokitika — whichever gets m first with . its harbor. Many will remember the late C. Y. O'Connor,

who went from the West Coast and m three years changed tho twelveInch bar at Fremantle Into a thirtysix feet harbor. Greymouth even now has twenty-six feet of water on the bar. but its capabilities for harbormaking have not yet been dreamed of. With its mineral wealth, and offering as lt now does a western door for Canterbury and Otago, there Is nothing unlikely m Its becoming the busiest harbor In the South Island, and transacting all the Australian trade. Wake up, Westland! Get busy ajad ADVERTISE TOUR ADVANTAGES. The. past history of Westland is vastly interesting and romantic, but its future is moro promising, more assured, and more remarkable than even its own inhabitants realise. To the business man who will go there to sco for himself it will make an Instant appeal. To tho settler who avoids it because ho is afraid of Isolation, wetness, bad communication, blackberry, and prejudice, let It be said that he is missing: the best opportunity offorinc m New Zealand. If the Hokitika Exhibition does nothing else, it will teach thousands something about Westland they did not know before.