TARANAKI NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2663, 29 March 1905, Page 80

TARANAKI NOTES.

33t Obsebveb.

March 18.— Visitors to Taranaki naturally go to New Plymouth as the principal town; and no small number of residents in Tara.naki spend a few weeks in New Plymouth to enjoy the sea air. It occurs to me that a few notoe on this singular place, by on<s v.he has lived there for a good many years, would be of interest to those who have not been there, and intend to visit there. My first impression of the town itself—: -And experience only stamped those impressions more deeply — was that I had gone baclk 30 or 40 years to Jie early Victorianperiod, and that the town was full of the> ghosts of men and women who belonged to the period of the Crimean war and the Indian Mutiny. Ihe exhibition of 1862 was a frequent topic of conversation, anci "Did you see- the Koh-i-noor?" was a question put as though it were the very lasfc and newest topio of conversation, while the more progressive, as they thought, discussed Sir Julius Vogel, his rise and fall", as men usually discuss yesterday's telegrams. "Various incidents in the war of 1864- were delicate subjects, because tha man next yott in the street had probably taken part in the storming of a pa with » nime unpronounceable by outsiders, or had performed 1 feats of valour at Sentry Hill l which are not written in history, but aro enshrined in the hero's memory as among England's feats of arms.

New Plymouth is a pretty town, with a succession of gentlo spurs running through it from the undulating tableland: above it, between Egmont and the sea ; but the hand of man has marred it to a degree which ought to b© punished criminally by the erection of the most wonderfully ugly buildings certainly in New Zealand, and probably in the world. It is only some six or seven years ago that ILordl Ranfurly laid ihe foundation stone of the "Whitely Memorial Church, put up by the-Joving admirers of that eminent missionary. Ifc stands -on the best site in the borough, an<B s visitor is compelled wherever he goes in th/> town to see this awful thing — a slabsided polecat of a building, alone among its srveeics, intended for the honour of God, £>ut a monument of dishonour to those who tcck part in its erection. In no other community in this colony would such * building be allowed! to exist — there ought to be municipal by-laws to prevent Nature' 3 handiwork being defaced' timely. Just as other hoardings ar© controlled and regulated, so should public buildings be passe cl by the citizens on plans showing the ultimate Jesuits. The several thousand pounds srent on the Whitely Memorial Churcbi have been worse than wasted, though it ist difficult to put into poundk, shillings, andi pence tKe loss that has accrued to a lovely little town by this monstrosity. A fira stick would be the only remedy. Second in ugliness comes the Roman Catholic Convent, four wooden storeys high, unrelieved by any attempt to break its plain, gruesome outline*. An inhabited monolitbi would be preferable. This building, too, «tands_ on an excellent and pre-eminent site in the view of the whole town.

It is not, however, the religious bodies that disgrace New Plymouth by their buildings. The theatre, inside and out, lately renewed and supposed to be improved, rears ifcj hideous corrugated-iron roof in the mains street with an impudent glare which is very offensive to the lovers of beauty. Insido it 's a marvel of discomfort, the only seat** being cane-bottom chairs ranged closely to--geiber, after the fashion of missionary meetings in the forties s. The dressing rooms, by tho way, are calculated to make actors realise that some, penalty should be exacted!! from the members of a naughty profession.

New Plymouth supposes itself to bo a; seaside resort, but takes very little advantage of its natural advantages. It mighfe nave rendered the beach attractive by the establishment of bathing machines and removing rock'?, but nothing has been done, and visitors are becoming increasingly rare.. Saltwater baths have been recently erected, but the sea water is actually pumped in, thoug-h gravitation might easily have dona the work. Moreover, the St. Clair baths, at Dunedin, show what could be done by a' little brains and forethought. While noting these undoubted stupidities, I ought to say that New Plymouth haa beaten the colony with its recreation grounds, which are unrivalled in either island. The natural advantages in creating these were nil. Without Government aid, the townspeople have, jear after year, lefts the control of these grounds to a commlttee> of men of culture and intelligence, who have made a hobby of the work with the* beautiful results now to be seen. Photographs give a very poor idea of these grounds, which are as alien to the some' what Philistine tone of the place as they arej oommensurate with the highest andl loftiest! ideals of modern culture.

The niunicipal government of New Plymouth is quaint and original. At 10 o'olook the town is in darknss, as all the g-as lampg are put out at that hour. Indeed, the beginning is made about a quarter of s.ni hour earlier, so that if possible the lampg may all really be out by 10. The effect is very funny to a stranger who has JearnedE to regard street lamps as a neorssa'y ajc]* jvnet to modern civilisation. __ You go bd a quiet whist party (bridge is now known to six or eight), and after sandwiches and coffee, go home to the domestic heartls about 10.30. There is not a vestige o5 light in the town of j?Tew Plymouth ; th«» sho.ps close at 6 ?harp (5.30 in winter), anci you have to trip and stumble along the main street even, while the suburbs m.us£ be left to fancy. I desire to, put ft ore record ihat in the year lsos there is end town in New Zealand where th© sirtefc' lamps are all put out by 10 every nighfc in thv> year. I need hardly add that smali thieving is very common.

Another notable feature is the street formation, and what is said of the sircets in New Plymouth is also true of roads in theL Clifton and Taranaki Counties. In these, interesting counties, when a road 1 is out c£ repair, working- into holes, J};e meilocladopted to repair is as follows: — A qv ant slyof rough, very rough, broken metal is cartecfc on to the road 1 and spread. The holes are not drained in any way, but the metal ia 3«st spread over the wex and quaky mutt i$ them, and then a quantity of clay, rests? soilings, tur£ 03? other material o? &&

kind is place -3 on the road close to either si l^ of the metal, and about six niches Ccv\>. Th's is done," it is "said, to j r-eve' id the metal from spreading and wasting, by tbos-e stones being thrown into the v,-a(.>r -.vr.js. It accomplishes this purpose, but it doos not seem to have occurred to tl~e Buioi'sh County officials that it also banks the vfcicr on to the metalled portion of the road. TJsuaUy it is the great desire of roadmakers to get the water off the metal by givingthe road a goo i crown, etc., etc. ; in TaranaM the great object seems to be to keep thft road wet. Many thousand i-onnds arc annually wasted in this way through sheer, "downright ignorance. If properly used, New Plymouth ha 3 all the natural facilities for an excellent harbour — the only harbour between Wellington and Auckland; but there have been internal dissensions which have rendered Ihe harbour of but little use. The farmers object to be lated, and 1 reproductive work is hindered year after year. Naturo has given every opportunity for a harbour, but the inhabitants of Taranaki will not avail themselves of their opportunities. Having regard to fhe wholesale waste of money on Jiarbour works in New Zealand, of whien *hat of Napier is the most disgraceful example, it is indeed remarkable that Nev Plymouth harbour is still what it is — little more than an open roadstead. The st.ib. bom obduracy of the ancient inhabitants, many of whom boast — positively boast — that they have not be^n out of Taranaki for 30. 40, or even 50 years, is probably unique.

There are signs that the ancient dominance o£ tife old settter is coming to a close, and then New Plymouth will be a charming place to live in. Sooner or later the shops must put on a more modern guise, and the present antiquated cliquecease to reign supreme. Then the " large sums tiow sent to Wellington will be spent in Devon street.