CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Taranaki Daily News, 5 October 1929, Page 6

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

CHAIRMAN'S ANNUAL REPORT. REVIEW OF YEAR’S ACTIVITIES. The annual meeting of the Hawera Chamber of Commerce was held last night, Mr. B. C. Bennett presiding over an attendance of twelve. . The work ’of the chamber during the past “ year had been ' very successful, stated. the chairman. in his annual report. The. year had; certainly-not been a very strenuous one, but the work in hand and brought before the chamber had been successfully dealt with.' Members’ attendance at executive meetings had been exceptionally good, an evidence of the interest evinced. The Hawera Aero Club had been sue cessfully launchedduring the year, and the public meeting called by the chamber in that connection had probably been one of the largest and most enthusiastic held in Hawera since the war. Many members of the chamber were active member- of the aero club and it was to those members that much of the credit i:. forming the club was due. The club would still need assistance in the future and that, no doubt, would be freely given by the chamber. The formation of the Hawera Aero Cub was probably one of the largest undertakings of its kind for the district during the year, and such a (Cjuht'.wyas full =of ..possibilities for. the future. Various postal and railway matters had occupied the attention of the chamber, and, through the hearty co-operation of the postmaster and stationmaster, both of whom had been active members of the council, such matters had been satisfactorily dealt with. The only outstanding matter of importance was that of the Tawhiti crossing which was still in the hands of the district engineer. Certain proposals had been made which would no doubt met t the difficulty. The matter of improving and beautifying the land from which the stockyards had been removed also remained to be dealt with. The question of forming a footway across the railway in-South Road had been satisfactorily arranged through the county council, but it was to’ be noted that, so far, no work had been done. Owing to the increase of burglaries in the district the advisability of providing extra police protection had been placed before the authorities, .and it was a matter for congratulation that the efforts of the police department had been •successful in obtaining a considerable number of convictions. There appeared to- be need for- greater vigilance on the part of the police owing to the facilities given to criminals by motor-cars,- and the action of the Minister in asking for the strengthening of the police force was not taken before its time. The Taranaki Chamber of Commerce -had been moving in the direction of obitaining night train services to Wellington, and the chamber, having considered the proposals, was in accord with the suggestion made, that the department should run night trains three times a week to see whether the scheme would, be a payable one to the department and. a good service to 'the district. It was understood that the service would be commenced shortly.' ... Various matters' concerning the general welfare of the Dominion from tho political field had also been dealt with and expressions of opinion forwarded to the various Ministers from time to time In concluding he thanked the executive for its interest and valuable assistance. In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet the chairman said that although chamber of commerce work covered a wide field of . activities, there were always matters that could be brought forward by members. To do the work as it should be done took up a considerable amount of time and it was unfortunate that members of chambers of commerce were generally active business men who could ill afford to spare the time the work warranted. He considered there were numbers of retired -men with business or commercial experience who should be sufficiently public spirited to devote some of their time to the work. However, the Hawera chamber had done excellent work during the year. The attendances at the executive meetings had created a record, and if the same support was accorded this year the town and district should benefit. The report and balance-sheet was adopted without discussion. The election of officers resulted: President, Mr. B. C. Bennett (re-elected); vice-presidents, Messrs. F. AV. Horner and C. Freyberg (re-elected). The following members of tho executive who retired by rotation were re-elected, Messrs. P. Bond’, W. G. Walkley, R. S. Dale, H. G. Dickie, M.P., and P. McCarthy, Mr. J. B. Murdoch was elected to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Mortlock.- Mr. R. S. Sage and Mr. E. K. Cameron were reappointed secretary and treasurer respectively. By the acceptance - of a notice of motion members of associations, local bodies, and- heads of Government departments may be nominated to seats oil the executive. . The Minister of justice ( 'the Hon. T. M. Wilford) acknowledged receipt of a letter urging that the law dealing with the .wrongful' conversion- of motor-cars be amended with a view to increasing tho yenalty for offences or providing that restitution should be made to the owners of damaged cars, Mr. Wilford advised that the representations had been noted for consideration. MANAIA GIRL GUIDES. . £ The Manaia Girl Guides held a concert last Tuesday evening to raise funds for the local executive committee. There was a good attendance and the function was very successful. The programme consisted of games, songs, folk dancing, recitations and a playlet) entitled “First Aid—And Then.” Those taking part in this were May Jennings, Betty Paterson, Kathleen Brown and Frances Gamlin. Piano solo's were contributed by Betty Paterson and Jean Meuli, a song by E. Gunderson, and a recitation by Betty Laursen. A “camp fire” and supper concluded A pleasant evening.