The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1925. THE RELIANT PROVINCE.

Southland Times, Issue 19539, 1 May 1925, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING, Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1925. THE RELIANT PROVINCE.

Southlandere, since the days of the unfortunate adventures of the first provincial government, have been ready always to stand squarely on their own feet, and to stand bravely to independent action. The first attempt to secure local self-govern-ment was hurried to its grave by the eagerness of the people in those days to push on with progressive measures, but that they were working along sound lines is not open to doubt, and Southland to-day .owes much to the foundations they laid. Although the provincial government went bankrupt, and Southland has been handicapped to-day through being regarded as a district of Otago, the legacy of self-reliance has been of incalculable value, for its influence can be felt to-day. By a happy coincidence the Conference of South Island Progress Leagues has been held in Invercargill in the week in which two of the most important public projects in the province have reached completion, and our visitors have been given a practical demonstration of the courage and enterprise of the people in this part of the Dominion, who will help themselves rather than wait on the slowmoving machinery of the National Government. The Ohai Railway is not yet completed, but the line which was officially opened for traffic yesterday goes far enough to serve all the mines now operating on the Ohai coalfield, and the industrial section of it is therefore finished. This line was made possible by the Local’Railways Act, which gave to districts authority to rate themselves in security for the moneys necessary for the construction of local lines, and it is the first effort made to use the powers granted by the legislature. No doubt, if the district had waited patiently, some Government some day would have undertaken the construction of this liqe, but the energetic men of the Ohai District, under the inspiration of Mr A. W. Rodger, declined to stand idle while the mineral wealth of the great Ohai coalfield was untouched. The railway was necessary for the development of the coalfield, and the coal was required in the Dominion. Instead of waiting for the State, the people of Ohai proceeded to help themselves, and the railway connecting Ohai with the Government line at Wairio, built in accordance with the Railway Department’s standards, is the result of their energy and confidence. Today, Southland Electric Power Board’s hydro-electric scheme based on Lake Monowai is to be officially baptised. The history of this movement is strikingly similar to that of the Ohei Railway. When the success of the Lake Coleridge experiment, and the rapid advance in hydro-electricity all over the world, made it apparent that no community could afford to ignore the opportunities which water-power offered, wide-awake Southlanders began to agitate for the development of hydro-electricity in the south, but it soon became obvious that the province would have tp wait many years if it were content to depend on the National Government: big schemes for the North Island were being talked about, and clearly the rest of New Zealand would have the advantage of many years’ start. Again, local action was decided on as the only solution. A Bill, similar in its general provisions to the measure which brought the Ohai Railway into existence, was drafted on Southland and finally was adopted by the legislature. Under this Act the Southland Electric Power Board, the first of its kind, was constituted and the Monowai Scheme, to cost £1,500,000, was launched. The idea behind the project was to make electricity available to practically everybody in Southland, and though the development side of the plan at times was subordinated to straight-out commercialism during the anxious and difficult months of the construction period, the original principles were preserved and, to-day, the Monowai Scheme is essentially that which was originally conceived by Mr A. W. Rodger, to whose energy, courage and skill the success of the effort is due. These two purely local enterprises show that the Southlander of to-day is as self-reliant as his ancestors, and like them he is safe in preparing for the future. The basis of the Monowai Scheme was the enthusiasm of the people of Southland, in town and country, and if they stand firmly to the project their votes made possible, the future will be assured. Electricity from Lake Monowai is destined to play a big part in the development of the province, and we believe that the future people of Southland will look back with gratitude to May 1, 1925, and to the name of the man most intimately associated with the ceremonies of this day, the name of Mr A. W. Rodger, the apostle of self-reliance and progress.