OPENING OF THE TE AROHAPAEROA RAILWAY.

Te Aroha News, Volume XII, Issue 1795, 21 December 1895, Page 2

OPENING OF THE TE AROHAPAEROA RAILWAY.

Punctually- at 12 -o’clock the excursion?* train from Auckland to Paeroa steamed into the Te Ardha station, there were about'lso on board, principally from the Waikato stations. Upwards of l r o Te Aroha excur sionists availed themselves of the opportunity of visiting Paeroa, and with the. Brass Band, helped to make up'a fair train. The line to Paeroa for the most part passes through low-lying swamp country, in the .possession of the Natives. ;'

The reception, as tho train steamed into Paeroa, was a very cool one, flags and flowers boing conspicious by their absence. The only demonstrati. n was on 4 the part of Miss Shaw and a Native damsel, who held a white ribbon across the line as the train approached the station. After some delay and considerable confusion the crowd wandering this way and that wondering whether there was to be any speeches or not the, Hon Cadman, mounted on the platform of one of the carriages, delivered a short oration, he Said he was pleased to be present at the opening of this section but regretted that the Premier was detained in Wellington upon a very important law suite, in which the credit of the colony was involved, however, he |ad this morning received the following telegram /

‘ Hon. Minister for Railways.—Kindly express to those assembled at the opening' of the Te Aroha-Paeroa Railway my regret at. being unable to attend to-day’s ceremony owing to the midland railway arbitration. I found it impossible to leave Wellington, and am grieved at the long-looked-for pleasure of opening this line has been denied me. I feel sure that the exps? dituro upon this line will be directly compensated for by the tvaffic it will carry in addition to Which there will be the indirect benefit conferred upon the reßiJents of Paeroa and the adjoining goldfields by giving to them the advantage of railway communication with the main centres. Please express to those present my hearty good wishes and earnest hope that they may enjoy the benefits which have been conferred. I trust this will be the inauguration of immediate and lasting, prosperity to* the district. R. J. SEDDOH, , Wellington.

Mr Cadmau continuing, said that thus it was left for him to open the line. He was pleased to have the honor, as it connected a district he . had tno pleasure of representing at present with one he used to represent. The Thames Te Aroha railway was commenced in 1879, thus it had been 17 years under way. Some people designated it as a political job, but he thought that all would admit that if the work had been completed when it was commenced, most of this country would have been settled long ago, however, 13 miles had been completed in 17 years, and there was still 19 miles to do yet. He hoped that present would live to seetheopeuingoftheremaining section. Since 1891 the present Government had spent £41,000 upon the line. The total expenditure to datejvas £10401)0 The estiraated-cGst-dflno "whole line of 32 miles was L 4763 per mile, which was a reasonable estimate and one that would tell for good when the interest came to be paid out of the earnings of the line. The question had often been asked, Will the line pay ? He had no doubt that they would ; have to enter into competition with the' river, but the coal and produco which could be brought direct from the Waikato would be a decided gain to the districts concerned. He hoped to see the line carried on to the Thames, anti had great pleasure in declaring the Te Aroha-Paeroa section open for Tailway traffic. ‘ , Mr Edwin Edwards, representing the Ohinemuri County Council, was in the act of apologising for the absence of the Chairman, when, that gentleman appeared on the Scene. Mr Edwards continuing said he regretted the absence of the Paeroa Band, flags, and flowers, and hoped the assembled aueience would forgive the as the time for preparation was short.' 1 Referring to the line being payable, he said, if it did not pay it would be a loss to the colony, not to Ohinemuri; on the whole Ohinemuri would be decidedly in a better position with than without the Railway. They were now within an hour of Te Aroha, and as the trains are to be run at present Paeroaites could go to Te Aroha on the Saturday evening, spent, Sunday in No. 2 or No. 6 bath, and return to Paeroa in time for business on Monday morning. On behalf of the County Council he thanked the Government for the line, and the excursionists for coming to Paeroa. Mr P. Barry, Chairman of the County Council, said he was glad to join in-the general rejoicing, he knew the line would be a great benefit to the district, and he expressed a hope that it would be continued to Waini and the Thames. : - ; Mr Kelly,' M.H.R,, expressed his pleasure at being present, as he represented apportion of the district, and had always done his utmost for the extension of the railway. It was a standing disgrace to the country to allow a portion of the Thames railway works to rot. He thought the Ohinemuri district a prosperous one, and should be proud of .its hills: full of gold. What was Wanted was-ai* Government loan of several millions;which=judiciously spent would considerably enhance the value of mining properties, and would pay well He had no doubt that at the next general election the voice of the people would be heard on the question.

Mr McGowan, M.HJEt., Thames, congratulated the people of Paeroa on the opening ,of the line; he had always b.en interested

in this railway work, and for 20 years he had advocated it and would continue to do so whether in Parliament or out of it. Paeroa must be the great distributing centre of this district, and he felt confident that no portion of the colony will in the near future yield better returns than this wonderful Hauraki peninsular from Te Aroha to Cape Colville. '*■ Speeches were also delivered by Mr Jas. Mackay, and Mr Jennings, M.L.C., on the future of Ohinemuri, ho believed that in five years the population would reach 25,000 people; also by Messrs McAndrews, Cassrells, Yickerman and T. Shaw. The Te Aroha Band considerably enlivened the procedings with their music, and during the afternoon they played selections in front of the various hotels- of the place. THE BANQUET. the evening a banquet was held in the Royal Mail Hotel in honor of the event, The menu arrangements were in the.hands of the popular Host Crosby, and he left nothing to be'jlesired by the most ciitc d epicurean. A large number sat down to do justice to the excellent provender, which was Jdisplayed with taste. The guest of the evening was the Hon A. J. Cadraan. ~

The chair was ably occupied by Mr H. P. Barry, with Mr E, G. B. Moss in the vicechair. /■;

The following toasts were'proposed,' The Queen,’ by the Chairman; ’The Mining Industry,’ by Mr Rhodes; ‘Agricultural Industry,’ by Mr Wick ; ‘ Our local Body ’ by Mr Moss; ‘Our Pioneers,’ by Mr E. Edwards; ‘ The Guest of the Evening,’ by the Chairman; ‘ The House of Representatives, find Our Member, Mr Kelly,’: by Mr McAndrews; * Public Works Department, coupled with the names of Messrs Vickerman and McAndrews,’ by Mr Mitchell; ‘ Our Visitors,’ by Mr John Phillips; * The Ladies ’ by Mr Mueller; *The P (S3,’ by Mr W. G. Nicholls, and ‘ Our Host and Hostess by Mr P. Cock. These toasts were drank with enthusiasm and were ab ly responded to.