NEW STATION AT RIVERS

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 16

NEW STA TION AT RIVERS

J>ALE

qimciAi opening.

PARipR£ AND THE BLUFF.

(Fboic Ous Special Reporter.)

GORE. An

*>, tAu air of jubilation and a fine display ft buntdhg wefe 1 apparent at Hiversdale Jrb-duy, the occasion being the official Opening of the new and remarkably up-»-d«ie railway station by the Hon. Mr 3*S&b (Minister of Lands). The new 3s»tipn buildings «,re 'a little further up jJJsq line than the former edifice, and is l&.r>ge, roomy, convenient, and planned with great elaboration of detail in regard no the .convenience of passengers and enAra.inmeni of products. It supplies a longijteltrwant in this ever- developing dis|u.Tlle Ministerial carriage was attached at Jpgre to 1.3 p.m. train, the engine of ■ Ffhich wag decorated for the occasion, and the carriages crowded with spectators. Che xtiversdale Station was bright with aagß. |estoons of greenery, and. Chinese jlanterns, and beneath these a large crowd had assembled, -fto^ platforms to welrome th© Minister." who arrived with ptefisrs a : A. Pip©^ (district traffic manager) jand A. A. Mac Gibbon (Mayor M jQoTe), The pfyrty- received by Messrs J. fimaill -(chairman of the local branch of the farmers' P?ij.o n )> J» Maher, jt, Murray, and; D.- B. -Steyfcison. !Blt' J t Rmjuu (nbiiyri^-rin" of the EnterjEainmenb Committee) % said the number present showed that the people of the district appreciated this auspicious occasion. He had great pleasure m presenting Sbhe Hon. iB. M'Nab with a gold key as a tnementS and in calling upon him to the building^ ppen. jr flphe Hon. Mr M'Nab" who was received «rith cneers, §aid that as there was anJ^tner function to follow on th© heels of Ihat one and as time wtis short his remarks |nust sot be long. Befoi^e declaring the Jjeautdful building open he could tot Jrefrain from making a few l'emarks on the jproeperity of the Waimea Plains district. (There were very few of the many around jhim who ooiija <iate their acquaintance%bip with $$&. fertile' part of Southland 3ap far back as'^e~eonld. It was perhaps % matter of ahcient history, but when he tirsi viaited the district there was hardly fr*n inch of cultivated land from the [pyramids t^ Waimea, and_ y«ry f«w P«ople. i*lt was not'^Teamed In those days that " Jthis district could become one of the best ;)culti rated in the South Island. He questioned -whethfir. there was any district in the South lai«nd— there might be in the iNorth— that jbould fayourafbly compare it. As the had progressed so ft/ felt th.4 oi th« necessaries of 'piviUsatifo. and in wfe r«speet he thought Iho peool* of this district bad been very

patient. The people in his own district would have raised an outcry long ago, and would have had this station built before. . He need hardly remind them that Rivers- , dale was to 'be a junction — (cheers). — and i in time to come there would be an amount ' of traffic through this station that they.. would never have dreamt of in the old | days. Here were some filgures which would chow the traffic passing through the stations of Rivercsdale and Balfour for the years ended March 31, 1898 and j 1908, which would enable them to gauge , the enormous increase that had taken place: i

This they would see showed a very j healthy development, and quite warranted I the /Railway Department in providing ' them with this station. The old station j had cost £300, and had measured 980 ft, { and the new one cost £2000 and measured j 2070 ft. Additional sidings for 43 extra trucks had been provided at a cost of about £350. There could be no doubt, however, that the department had been fully justified in providing these facilities ' for the Riversdale district. j The Minister then unlocked the door of I the ticket office, and declared the station open. ; Mr C. Robertson said that no one was ' more pleased than he was. He was quite confident that if, a 6 the Minister had said, [ there was patience at Riversdale there j wae plenty of clamouring at Waiktia. j He had first passed through this district 45 years ago, and had found it as de-sci-ibed by Mr M'Nab. The improvement that had occurred in that time had been astounding. The new railway station would become very busy when they got that railway to Switzere. The people must go to Waikaia to know what the plains were capable of. He congratulated the people of Riveredale on their station, and said he hoped soon to see another goinig up at Waikaia. Mr Mac Gibbon said that if the people had not complained at being kept so long with an inadequate railway station they none the less felt the inconvenience keenly. He trusted that Mr M'Nab would impress upon the Government the necessity of completing the railway to J Waikaia.' They knew many a farmer, who 2

i Tiad been trying to grow grain, but had been unable to cart it. This had not ' been altogether an evil, for now farmers , were going in for a better and more re- , munerative class of work — sheep. This ' district wae a very good one, and was > •.. always, improving. Some people might | say that Biversdale was not the place it used to be, but he would remind them that it was going ahead, and not, as formerly, on money borrowed from the Old '. Country. They were getting the smaller , settlers, just the class required, and the big holdings had been split up. Small j holdings had greatly contributed to the J prosperity of France, where the people i had beheaded the aristocracy, and had > j taken the land from them. They, of s course, had no occasion to go to such | lengths in New Zealand. . Mr J. E. Watson (chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board) added bis quota to the 1 stream of congratulations. In his capacity ! he claimed to represent a larger con- ! 1 stituency than any member of Parliament, ' 1 and was glad to take this opportunity to i render an- account of the stewardship of the Bluff Harbour Board, and to show ' the people that their interests were being ' ; pushed to the front. Arrangements were ' being made by which the size and number j of the ships which took their products to ; the markets of the world could be in- ( j creased. The Bluff Harbour Board was ! vigorously pushing important works. ; I Among other things a fine dredge had 1 been purchased, berths were being pre- ' j pared, and wharf accommodation was being increased. It had also inaugurated ( a system of lighting the harbour, so that vessels could enter and leave at midnight as easily as by day. Only recently a big ocean steamer had come in after dark. j This, of course, saved a day. As to this , j new station, it was one to be proud of. THE BANQUET. An adjournment wae then made to th© | large hall, where about 150 people sat ' down to dinner. Apologies were read ' from Sir Joseph Ward, the Hon. Mr Hall- ' ! Jones, Mr Fraser, M.P., the Mayor of j Invercargill, and others. ' j Mr J. H. Reed, in proposing the toast of " The Army and Navy," said that they had in their own district some of the smartest Volunteer companies in the country. The j young men should give the Volunteer movement their warmest support. He coupled this toast with the names of Lieutenant-colonel Boyne, Lieutenant- j colonel Bowler, and Captain Wayte. ' Lieutenant-colonel Bowler, in responding, ' 6aid that- as far as New Zealand was con- j cerned, her army, with- the exception of a few regulars, was composed of the Volun- , teers. He was treading on dangerous ground, for before him sat their guest, j the Minister of Defence, who, as the head j of the service, knew that he (the speaker) ] had not to talk but to do what he was ' told. He was glad to see that the sons j J of the farmers were taking an interest in 2 Volunteering.. He favoured universal }

training, and it was matter for congratulation that the Riversdale Club had shown itself so efficient in the use of arms. He thought everyone should do his utmost to support the Volunteers. Captain Wayte 6aid that as far as the country districts were concerned New Zealand had the best material in the world. As their country was so well worth defending, why not have universal training? It was hardly fair to the present Volunteers who gave their time that they should have to bear the brunt of everything. Mr John Maher, in proposing the toast of "The New Zealand Railways,' said that without a cheap and efficient means of transit the farmers' produce would be next door to useless. The Dominion had for many years been fortunate in having at the head of the railway affairs pTogressive men with brains. The cost ' of the carriage oi produce had been brought down to t heohhh been brought down to very little. The new station built here was a credit to the department and to the rising \ community of Riversdale. Some said it was a little ahead of the times, but in 10 years' time (when the Switzers rail- [ way might be open) the shoe might be upon the other foot. Mr Piper (district traffic manager) said he saw a legend, " Advance New Zealand Railways." He did not know if people j realised how New Zealand railways were i advancing. In building this station the department had looked ahead. J Mr M'Credie (district engineer) said that he was the sinful person Mho had lifted one whole section of the Switzers railway. J He had repented, however, and hoped to build them a station at Waikaia. J The Chairman, in proposing the health of their guest, said that the new station was a great credit to the Government and the district. There was one thing about j the railways that might be proposed to the Government, and that was that when a man travelled with his wife they should be charged only a fare and a-half. Their guest was a Southlander by birth, and ' a son of one of the pioneers. He hoped j he might be spared to be Minister of Lands for many years to come. Mr M'Nab, in reply, said he was sorry in one sense, but pleased in another, to be there that afternoon. Owing to the visit of the. American fleet the Prime Minister and Mr Hall-Jones had been unable to be present at this important ceremony. Few people really understood what tli© railways meant to the producers. In other parts of the world where railways were run by private individuals the capital expenditure was loaded before the share- J holders got anything, but with Government ownership all this large loading was done . away with. What a hopeless posw tion New Zealand would have been in had s,he relied for her railways upon a syndicate. In. gome British colonies, notably Canada^ the dijidencfc of the rail-

ways went to swell the funds of London financiers, who were- in a position to tax the transport of grain. He would, however, refer to the departments with which we had more to do. Good ad-

ministration was highly important in ! agricultural matters. The department j might be called upon to cope with large j disasters, and in the event of such it ! knew it could rely.on being helped by the J Railway Department for nothing 'if neces- ! sary. It had been said by more than one authority that we had a departmental' system of agriculture that was without equal in the world. The man who had' commenced that system was the late Sir John M'Kenzie. — (Applause.) He laid 1 ' down on a secure foundation the AgriculI tural Department. Some farmers did not realise what it meant for them, and had' even considered it a menace, but now every cultivator of the soil regarded it as a friend and a helper. To illustrate ' this, he said questions were always com- ( ing up to the department for solution — ' difficult questions. Let them take the : question of the importation of the fruit 1 fly — a pest beside which all other pests were of no moment at all. How power- ■ less the farmers' unions and associations ' would have been, but the Government . prevented this pest getting a grip on these shores. It had power to take a man's property if it were stricken by the pesfc ■ and run it for him till the pest was eradi- ! cated. He would point out to farmers "how necessary was a great central organii sation to protect him from a condition of ' things which, if allowed to exist, would wipe out a greater part of the industry. i There had been wisdom in the selection lof his predecessors. The Transvaal, I through the British Government, had ap- ' plied for the services of the Chief Veterinarian (Mr Gilruth), who had also been offered the position of chief of the I Victorian University Veterinary College 1 at a salary of £1000 a year. This showed l that Sir John M'Kenzie's selection of officers had been an excellent one, and that other countries besides New Zealand I had endorsed his choice by endeavouring :to secure the men for themselves. In ! whoever's hands the Agricultural Depart- ! ment might be — it was not going into any | one else's hands for some years yet, — it was the duty of that person to procure the necessary funds from the Government to carry on such experiments and proteo | tive measures as might be necessary. <

Mr Watson (chairman of the Bluff Harbour Board), in proposing the toast of " Agriculture," said he looked forward with apprehension to a steadily-increasing debt on this country unless more men ancl women were to be brought into it to help to bear the burden. Money was scarce and tight, but such a position of things might pass. Local bodies, harbour boards, and councils had, he knew, been borrowing to some extent, and it might be for the Government to devise wave by wlucji the larger; , public bodies .might borfW

without going to private individuals. jThey, haa a good live Government, a capital Department of Agriculture, and a •wonderful Department of' Public Works, and it was marvellous what it had done considering that the population was not as large as* that of Glasgow. The new rail•way in the North Island would be a national asset. All farmers were Intere's^ed in the port of Bluff, and " he hoped that, generally, they jyould come down, and see what the Bluff Harbour Board was doing for them. Mr A. Murdoek, in responding, said that were there no agricultural or pastoral'interests'there would He no need for railways, or even a Minister of Lands ; but" they had - got a Minister of Lands, and "were very proud of him_. In this locality the products compared favourably with any other part of the Dominion, and n the reputation the products of the Dominion enjoyed in the world's markets ■was in a great measure due to the New Zealand Government.

Mr. H. G. Earl also responded,

The toast of "The Local Bodies" was proposed by,, Mr 'John Gee, one of the oldest members in the district. He said ihatL'wheii he first arrived there were no local' bodies. If they wanted a road they had to make it themselves. They saw bow,. ratepayers' associations and parliamentary unions, which were very well in iheii? way, but personally he had no time sor .people who criticised but took no share of the responsibility. Mr T. Green {chairman of £he County Council) and Mr A. A. MacGdbbon (Mayor of Gore) also responded. Many other toasts were proposed and responded to, and the function terminated at 6 p.m.

DEPUTATIONS.

Mr M'Nab received two small deputations from the local branch of the Farmers' Union and the Drainage Board on local matters of minor import. The Minister will be in Invercargill on Friday upon departmental business, and ■will go right through for Wellington on Saturday.

Outwards. J 1898. 1908. Increase, i Ordinary tickets 5,039 12,231 7,182 j Season tickets .... — — 65 ' Parcels 36,610 107,219 70,609 ; Cattle .., 2,500 11.599 9,099 Sheep 84,706 366,254 281,548 Pigs 3,913 1,512 *2,401 Bales of wool ... 50,130 73,368 23,238 ! Grain (tons) ... 59,588 133,023 73,435 ! Merchandise (tons) 22,244 67,534 45,260 Revenue ... ...£144,962 £264,337 £119,375 Inwards. i Parcels ' ... ... 44,708 132,007 87,299 Cattle 993 7,718 6,725 ' Sheep 40,656 339,112 298,456 . Pigs 4,867 1,182 *3,685 ; Wool (bales) . 39,935 66,133 26,198 , Grain (tons) . — — 76,682 jtefrchandise (tons) 26,126 72,918 46,792