GISBORNE SHEEPFARMERS' F.M. COMPANY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14474, 8 December 1917, Page 5

GISBORNE SHEEPFARMERS' F.M. COMPANY.

OPENING- OF NEW STORE. The official opening of the Gisborne Sheepfarrmers' Frozen. Meat Company's extensive and up-to-date new wool store at the wharf took place to-day. The function was conducted by the Mayor, Mr. W. G. Sherratt, m the presence of a large gathering of shareholders of this progressive company, an 6* Representative citizens. As indicated below, congratulatory speeches were made, the company being heartily commended on its enterprise m erecting such a large and substantial building. Storage accommodation for the annual wool clip has never been so acute m the history of the Dominion, a fact entirely attributable to the extraordinary condition^ arising m consequence of the waiv a yThe position was fairly acute last. j.. year when various buildings throughout the town were requisitioned for wool storage. '- Apart from the serious shortage of "shipping the Imperial Government's commandeering of the wool clip of ' New Zealand suddenly brought about greatly* altered conditions Local wool stores were formerly designed only to cope with temporary storage ' pending shipment, but the purchase of the clip and the consequent necessity for valuation at this -end', instead of on arrival m England, created ii sudden demand for greatly additional accommodation in-order that the wool might be displayed for valuation. , The company's* new Store has been specially designed l lo f ajSHitate the handling and displaying of ' the wool under the very best -conditions/- The roof, for instance, has been ! specially built to provide the maximum of light from the large area of skylights, which will be 1 fitted m the roof when the building Is completed. The i*oof is designed on what is termed the- '.'saw-tooth" type. The whole of the sky-light glass, however, is not at -present' available,' the unfortunate torpedoing*- of one of the Honie steamers s'ome'£months ago having occasioned' the loss ujf a large consignment' that was comirttg ; out fbr the purpose. However, Aa* further shipment was ordered and "peWdiiigMta. arrival -a large ' section of 'the skylight area has been protected with sheet iron. The' new building forms a large extension to the-' company's '• store that fronts Nesbitt road', and the premises now extend back as far as the railway i line that i*uns to the wharf. The ex- | tension -provides storage accommodation jof approximately 20.500 square feet. The existing store lias a storage of j about 15,300 square' feet, thus making t the total Rtorage space now available I m the completed building nearly 36,000 [ square feetT The -vhtiildirig has an actual frontage of 111 feet to Nesbitt road, its maximum length (north wall) ! being ' 229 feet, and being erected m brick presents a massive, appearance. I The new extension has an average' dimension of 109 feet by 93 feet 6 inches, which gives a floor space of 10.250 ! square feet. A cellar extends over the | j whole area below, thus giving a total floor area, of 20,500 square feet. When the first , section -was erected built-up openings were provided m the back wall. These openings have now to be out out of the dividing wall, throwing it all into one building. A portion of the cellar, it should be mentioned, has been specially put down for .saltinghides. - . . . * Apart from the difficulty experienced m procuring the. skylight glass, the company had to practicaly scour the Dominion for the large quantity of steel work required, this being all procured before the contract was let. Although the building is already being utilised, it ie not actually completed, and amongst other details the lifting gear has yet to be installed. The building, it should be mentioned, was designed and erected under the supervision of Messrs Burr and Mirfield, architects, the contractor \being Mr. Chas.. Martin Taylor, wlio are to be congratulated upon the excellent job. THE' OPENING FUNCTION: CONGRATULATORY SPEECHES. The opening function took place shortly before noon, m the presence of a | large and representative gathering. The ! store presented quite a festive appear.jance, festoons of bunting being suspended from the steel girdtrs. A raised dais was provided at one**end, and was neatly draped with a dfark" red jfrill. This formed a platform for , tfie! i*eak;ers, and presented quite a stril&ijL ap-? ipearance. Immediately m front'\tfore.,a | series of tables, generously, bespread with j light luncheon, and providing accom- < modation for a couple of hundred visiftori The! tables were tastefully do-, corated with bunting and flowers,! and ; the general' effect reflected • much credit 'on the Masonic fro^el staff ant } ftass , Barnes, who were 'responsible for the ;same. . y j Seated on the jffatform were Messrs „C. A. de Lautour,' chairman of directors (who presided)f the Hon. Sir James Carrol, ALP., the Mayor (Mr W-wG^Sher. ratt), Messrs J. Townley (chairman of Harbor Board), G. M. Reynolds (chairman of Cook County Council); G. J. Black, J. H.'Burr (architect), and C, M. Taylor (builder). The chairman intimated that apolo-<j gies had been received from Messrs Wl*" A. Barton, S.M., A. S. Waschsmann, and J. W .Bright. | A suitable toast list was submitted. | ' The Mayor proposed "Tho King, and ! Victory to his Armies," the toast being honored with musical accompaniment. J The Mayor congratulated the directors m their energy and foresight m putting -up the'' big shed. He believed m the saying "Live and let live." When he^ entered business m 1898 his firm was* •given twelve months to run. It was still running, and since then other firms . had be^en founded.- Without the county the town would be a small thing indeed. JHe was sure the store being opened '. would be a success, 1 and he was certain .that it would be a success as the other j undertakings had been. The farmer was ;not a grasping man, but each firm sent , their brokers over the district, ling competition, and m the farmers' injtej^sts. Prosperity of the District," was 'proposed by Sir James Carroll^ who ««dl jhe was pleased to be present and to inspect the splendid store. There was .evidence to show that storage was urgently wanted here, and that the efforts of the directors would meet with the 'general approval of the di§trict. Referring to the toast he said he was struck by the remarkable strides Poverty Bay had made during all the years he had been associated with the district. During that period they had been faced with almost insurmountable difficulties, and aj> the, same time he was glad to say that ty most \ instances, those had been overcome, and it was due to the '* vigorous energies of their settlers and the industry of their farming section that things appeared m the light they did to-day. There was no other district m the Dominion, notwithstanding the difficulties they had to cope with — difficulties m connection with botli land and sea — that he would place" before this. Thanks to the remarkable vigor of its settlers and the fertility of its soil it liad great possibilities. They should ■ all share m their appreciation of our district, and they could only trust that with harmony and the co-operation of all sections of the community, they npght be able to bring it into line, so that the future of our district woyld be such that they might leave it with pride to posterity. They had physical difficulties t6 overcome. It-had easy to carry on m .the past, but as the demands of settlement made themselves felt, and the policy of the development of the country became more pronounced, and the expenditure of public money proceeded, it had become absolutely important that Ye should progress with otner parts of the Dominion. It was essential to the progress of the country that they must open up the land, that capital jmust be < induced to come m, and that they should have harmonious relations between labor and capital, and they would make this district ono hundred per cent, more prosperous than it was. (Applause.) Mr. G. M. Reynolds, m replying to the toast, said he felt quite young among the pioneers of the district who were on the stage. He would like to hay m regard to the future of the district that if the town could only get better means of communication with the ■ /'

outside world its pronounced success was assured. Thero was no town m New Zealand with the same population as Gisb.ornq h^d such unsatisfactory communication facilities. He! Roped, all' the varib'ifs local tfifclies would^tpork energetically m this direction, and help to bring about the fulfilment of the requirements m the interests of the district m general. I 'Mr John Townley said he felt some- ! what out of "place among the company present, as he was not a sheepfarmer. i He had much pleasure m proposing the toast of the builder and architect, for the thorough manner m which the erection of the shed had been carried out. It was from the site of this building that the speaker started out on his career m this district. At that time it was the site of a timber yard m the possession of Captain Read, who "owned everything and did everything." However, the captain treated him well, and he* was instrumental m successfully starting him out m life. He wished the shareholders every success, and congratulated them on their foresight m haVing the building erected. As an original member of the. Harbor Board he could sajTthat the Board m those says^was a modest one, with the result that it "now possessed little property m the vicinity of the wharves. He only wished the Board had m its possession more property than it had. Mr. J. H. Burr, m reply, expressed his thanks on behalf of himself and his firm. The building was not completed, but the company had an honest job. and it would- fulfil all the purposes fo^ which it was intended. ' (Applause.) Mr. C. M. Taylor alao^briefly replied and wished the company" 1 every success with its new building. Mr. G. J. Black" proposed the toast of "The Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Frozen Meat C 0.," and m doing so said he wished the company every success. Look ing round the building 'he was sure that /there was nothing to compare with it. It was fireproof, and built for the purpose seqjiired, and there was not another in' Gisborne like it. Continuing^ the speaker said he looked forward to the farmers getting fair, treatment. They had not had the sariie treatment m tho past as outside districts. ; He hoped that with the providirte of better facilities like, this the wool-buyers would come" here, and that they.Hvoiild have competition. Previously tho§e who had .bough^ the local wool had made a good thing out of it, 'but -he hoped wlien things got going that good would *ome oL their recent efforts. Hecongrntuisii'-i' tl^ compaj^y on its enterprise m erect-! hig this building and the additions atj the freeziiig works. • Personally he had been associated with the Chri^tdn'irch i Meat Co. 35' years ago, and he recalled the days when he had had to take 2s i to 4s a head for his sheep. Whan or.c realised this one wondered now tliey j managed to -carry on with prbes iike! that. Referring to the progress of the 1 district, Mr. Black said that m 5904! the number of sheep m the district from! Tauranga to Wairoa was 1,882,534, and : m 1917 it had increased to 3,517,979, having just about doubled m i 3 yenr*. Proceeding, the speaker said -ie Kid heard some of the Labor members m the House refer to the farmers of Now Zealand as being unpatriotic. He would show, however, that they were patriotic. The farmers of the Dominion could not be accused pf profiteering on their pro- A duce. It was the other way about-^-in fact, they had made great concessions to the Imperial authorities to take meat, for instance. When one saw the prices they have j been paying for the home-grown article and for the Argentine meat and saw that the farmers here have been supplying beef, mutton, and lamb at an average of about 6d per- 'lb., one may put it" down at a low estimate that our farmers have made a concession of 2d per lb. on the weight shipped last season of 680,253,0001b5. This would amount to a sum of £5,668,750. The dairy farmers had alsV made concessions to the Imperial Government. They had been supplying cheese at from 7,d to!---9£d. This was about £35 a ton less . than its market value. f The Imperialauthorities were paying the Canadians! ll£d lb., and New, Zealand cheese is 1 just as good. The quantity supplied was ' 47,170 tons, so on this quantity a concession was made of £1,650,950. He had not the figures as regards outter. j "Taking wool, he said, "you will final we have sold it for less money, tn an, any j other wool-producing country m tha world. Wool was not commandeered; in 'Africa, Canada; br Argentine,' '4nd see the prices- they have, been getting. The; Americans have bought most of the Canadian wool m the grease "hi froni 2s 6d to 2s B£dj they have bought largely m the Argentine at from 2s to 3s 6d per lb., and the price of scoured Wool m Boston at last reports was 7s 3^d per lb. Now we are supposed to be getting 55 per cent, on the 1914 values, but jn many case's we were not getting that. In fact we are not getting as much as we were m 1915 when wool was free. Buyers were here and many clips -were sold at from Is 3d to Is 4d for all fleece wool and ls for pieces and bellies. If you will look at your account sales you will find that very few Vill average ,those prices. At the same time labor &nd taxes have increased by 100 per cent. We may safely say that at the prices we are getting for our wool we are making a concession of at least 6d per lb. Last season the weight of wool sold was 170,290,0001b5, so that would represent a gift to the Imperial authorities of £4,257,270, or a total from the farmers of New Zealand of £11,576;970. The Board of Trade's estimate of the amount of the concession made was- nine millions. However, we are not gro\vlin<r about the prices. We are prepared to kgp on supplying ; the Home Govern,, nnwnt with cheap produce, and by so donfe help to win the war." (Applause.) the exports 0 f this Dominion, .he added were higher than any other country m the world on a population 7^o IS, «« and am ouiited this year to £32,000,000, or equal to £31 per head. He formally proposed the toast and wished the company success. Mr G. A. de Lautour said he was a great believer m the policy "Produce for the Empire and Empire for the produce." He thought the farmers were doing their share m providing produce for the Home Country m her time of, need. It was impossible to judge the immense wealth m the district from here along the coast to Opotiki.- Much still remained unopened' and consequently was not* fully developed. He contended that if a railway was opened m this direction the' land would reveal more possibilities than were ever dreamt of by those present, including the biggest optimist. It would reveal another Taranaki. While inspecting the freezing works recently a visitor remarked on the stability of the building, and said the firm evidently had faith m the district. He contended that the best motto for any firm or undertaking was "Make sure of your object and never be content till you reach it.'- He felt sure there was a great future ahead of this district, and that the building, when completed, would compare favorably with any similar erection mi n the Dominion. Realising the future wants of the district, the shed had been built for the benefit of the farmers, and it was for their use, if they required it.y It was m a time like this when the great world conflict was proceeding uninterrupted, that the spirit of co-operation was most required for the carrying out of the war to a "successful issue. - By. the spirit of co-operation alone would unlawful trusts ; and c.omj bines be diverted from their grim pur- ! pose. As an old man he advlse«f*them to beware, of Government interference, as m most instances the path would probably prove a stony one, apd m many instances where the Government had been requested to interfere, the result had not always been satisfactory. The shed had been built on the reliance of support ( from the farmers, and he was sure that while- the feeling of loyalty on the part of soihefariAers write strong, they would realise that the shed was erected there m their interests. The company was extremely fortunate m retaining the ser- ' vices of competent officers who fully understood the district and Its conditions/ They had the full confidence of the shareholders, and as long as the same" officers, oontinued their duties m the same satisfactory manner, he was confident of tbe success of thd company^ future,, He. then (pid he had $o refer :;•.■';.,.-> ••,}. „, .. - ; a . v \ ■

to a sad incident, and expressed regret at the death of one of the company's auditors at Wellington, whom, he said, was a man. "unequalled m his profession and unsurpassed m his abilities." Sir James Carroll proposed the toast of the health of Mi. W. F. Cederwall (general manager), and Mr. J. Pi. Jones (works manager), which was received I with much applause. ! Mr. Cederwall, m responding, said he could assure them that any success as i far as he was concerned, m the management of the company, was due to the assistance he had received from his "chief." He did not think that there j was a manager m Poverty Bay who had had the assistance he had. He considered himself very fortunate iii having had Mr de Lautour's aid, and m his business career Mr. de Lautour had taught him a great deal. ' He hoped to continue his association with his chairman and directors. Mr J. R. Jones said that if he was entitled to any little praise .it was on account of the co-operation of his foremen, a most loyal body of men, and he accepted the toast on \their behalf: v