NEW PLYMOUTH.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16688, 10 March 1920, Page 3

NEW PLYMOUTH.

AS SEEN BY A i VISITOR,

The visitor from the South approaches New Plymouth by “express.” This lexpress is probably the only train averaging a speed of 10 miles an hour—-I think that is how it works out by time —that allows the southern visitor to get to New Plymouth in one day’s travel, and then ho reaches it in iho dark. Railway management in' New Zicuiand is primitive; trams that auy- ■ where else would oe tunned slow trams aro called expresses, x'ossxuly when Wanganui, I'utca, naweia and i\ew RJymouui, and a lew inner towns eu route insist on a taster service, then tiieu they will get it. For it is a most rumai'Kaole tiling how politicians, even in mgii places, wend to public: opinion when Unit opinion is right. As the visitor amves in New Plymouth m tlie dark lie is unable to give any dim impressions, and tins is probably the reason why New Plymouth is so little known outside the commercial traveller and an occasional tripper. Even those who travel to Auckland via (Jnehunga see nothing of tlio-piaco, and the same applies to tuose iroiu Onehunga, althougii they could, if they wished, spend an hour or. two before the departure of tlio express, but there is nothing near enough to attract their attention, for however attractive the beach may be to local residents, it docs not count the same way with the visitor. The first impression that a visitor gets from the Rarawa of New, Plymouth'.is that ho has struck some wayjiack Yankee town with its oil derric-Ks and shacks ,on the beach, but this - impression is soon dispelled if a tram is taken. On the other hand the express visitors’ first impression is an expressman or a taxi looking for “arf” a dollar, then the “pub.” and the rush cold meat. When one stays for a little while in the place its charm becomes a wonderment, and if the visitor is lucky enough to know one or two local residents, then ho begins' to realise the paradise that New Plymouth really is. If tho visitor takes an interest in the place lie will find under the surface that there are in New Plymouth residents with a keen perception of their responsibilities as citizens, and when one sees what has been done at the Pukekura, Kawaroa, ami Western Parks by voluntary effort, one must realise that their' standard of citizenship is very high indeed—in fact, the self-sacrifice of those men and women who day after day, Sundays included, give free service as dispensers of afternoon tea at the pavilion at Kawaroa is the highest test of citizenship. But why the need for so much sacrifice? In a recent speech at the opening of an oil-well the Mayor, Mr. Clarke, said “that New Zealand was tho wealthiest country in tho world per head of,its population, and it was nop generally •known * that Taranaki was nearly 30 per cent, richer than any other part of the Dominion.” This latter statement is open to doubt; it may be so on an export basis, but on© must not forget that this is not always a true indication of wealth, as there are mortgages to count, but thik is by the way. Why cannot New Plymouth support its undertakings by taxation ? Surely the rateable value-of tho town is high enough to support those works by taxes rather, than by voluntary labour and subscriptions, for it must be remembered in this connection that tho burden falls on the most patriotic of citizens, and tho average one takes advantage of their labours without either paying ‘anything or considering the effort. Probably nowhere else in New Zealand is so much labour voluntarily given or newspaper support so readily tendered. To my idea, and I think to anyone who thinks, these places should be supported by rates. If tins was done the voluntary efforts now expended on these .works could be concentrated, on improvements badly needed. Voluntary labour for the good of the place you live in is the highest ideal of citizenship, but such labour should be controlled, working under a master brain and working to a set scheme. Mayor Clarke laid down this slogan, “Boost New Plymouth! Never say a word against your town. There aro a good many young men here. It is your duty to advocate your town on every possible occasion.” This theme was a happy ono for the Mayor to strike if lie; had anything to back- it up. In my opinion from a young man’s point of view you haven’t much to “boost.” You have no theatre largo enough to give him an education in drama, comedy or music. His.only places of entertainment affe the hotels, the billiard rooms, the clubs, the picture shows, or the streets, or maybe' if his homo life is attractive and his parents strong enough he may stay at home, but this is not generally the way with New Zealand boni youth.

What Mayor Clarke should do is not to ask the young men of Now Plymouth to boost their town, but he should so build it up that tho young men will stop and live there. I venture to predict (without any knowledge on the subject) that the best and brightest of New Plymouth lads leave their native town because tho place is not sufficiently attractive or big enough to hold them. No lad with an eye to the future and with brains enough to carry him on life’s journey will stay in Now Plymouth when lie can do better elsewhere, and it is for Mayor Clarke and those associated with him to find the remedy for retaining New Plymouth's greatest asset —the home-born. I have already written on the possibilities of the port. It is for its chief citizen to point them out- and educate tlie citizens to the possibilities. Getting baqk to voluntary labour, would it not be better, after providing for existing parks and works, to work on a set scheme? In Mr. Blau - Mason, tho Harbour Board engineer, in Mr. Cook, tlie borough engineer, New Plymouth has men capable enough of drawing up a scheme, first of all of waterfront improvement, This should he, in my opinion, New Plymouth’s first big concentrated effort. At present it is spasmodic and ineffective. Start at a, given point, either at East End or Ngamotu, and work on till the finish, except that trees should be planted simultaneously so as to attain symmetry. All the beastly railway cuttings obscuring the beacKviewa should be ciit away and a clear view given. The whole beach should bo a marine parade with a background of Norfolk pines. Let any buildings come last; get tho trees and let them grow. Follow Napier’s lead and if possible attaiA the big standard obtained by Caroline Bay at Timaru. Above all things, g<>t to work early and got your plans matured. No one knows what tho future will bring, if the ironsand industry booms, the beach, instead of being a thing of beauty, will be a thing of utility. Get to work and never let utility interfere with beauty. Keep your waterfront sacred, even at the expense of industry. No citizen has a right to'dispose of the rights of the unborn for a little material wealth. My advice to Mr. Mayor Clarke is not, 1

to ask the young men to “boost,” But to got" them to work, and in working they will be doing, a job that will redound in credit to them and, be of benefit in the future. As a visitor it surprises me to find the lack of the young material on your various public bodies. Aged men, who in some cases have lost their value to the community owing to Jack of initiative, stand in the way of reform —in this way Mr. Cock has-set an example, in making why' for jhe younger -men that some of tho older “bocks”' could readily follow. Any man who favours the retention ,of those ground robbers —fir trees—in Pukekura Park doesn’t known his job, and should be told about it. Some may be necessary as shelter, but the majority have, outlived their usefulness and should he filling*.-!, more useful service during itho coal shortage as firewood. From a tourist point of view there is no need to boost New Plymouth at .the present. Tlis hotels aro always pretty full, and any boost would not act to the credit of the town as you could not .accommodate tho visitors as the result of the boost. With the present possible loss of licenses always hanging over a -. publican’s head, there is no incentive to build, but a fortune awaits somebody or some company having the pluck to erect suitable accommodation for the tourist. The present hotel accommodatiofj' is fairly good, but there is not enough’ of it, and some of''the publicans have a peculiar way of doing business. .'For

instance, I was at ono hotel for nearly six weeks and was charged the full daily tariff (a state of affairs that no other publican in New Zealand would have dene), although others wore charged on 0 a weekly basis. Possibly there may he some method in this seeming madness, hut still it does not tend, to attract visitors. Possibly, with tho development of the port,, the necessary accommodation will follow; it it does not do so_,it "jtvill seriously retard the progress nof New Plymouth. I '

Possibly—and I hope your readers jrill not think I have drawn a. long bow— New Plymouth will be the centre of a very big tourist traffic in the near'.'future. There are sights to be seen and motor rides that can be taken that must tell when the place can be '’boosted.” In fact, when the time comes for the . place to be boosted its natural advantages will, after the first run of visiters, ■ boost itself. As a, world traveller I-am charmed with it, although my perspective may be a little out of alignment on account of the goodfellowsbip and splen•lid courtesy extended to me by many of v : its citizens, but to’make sure;l have taxed several visitors and they all admit the natural charm of New Plymouth-. Whether New Plymouth’s experiment with a manager to manage its affairs is a wise out I have not sufficient, data to go on but I should dsay, judging from tho experience of the older citiesi that the position'shmildi"be held by a. trained ■ engineer, and not by a layman.: An cagiijeer—of ‘necessity—is usually the guiding spirit of any local body ; a tpwn clerk is merely a glorified clerk with book-keeping knowledge. New Zealand has been built up by its engineers, Now Plymouth will ultimately be built -up by engineers, with the probable’as-■ sistanco.of town ■planners.'' \ . Snmm.ijl np;UNe*» Plymouth has posno other-town in New Zealand at present possesses. Why Wanganui beats .it droni a- tourist point , of view, with its fog-bound; -town, I , cannot understand, unless it is the river ' attraction and the uses -of advertiseComparisons are, always' odmus, but Wangamiiy-exgppt in its. river fend in this connection the Mokau’ pfopbrly ‘’snagged” would be a-serious rival), has no natural grandeur to equal New Plymouth ; it hasn’t the climate, it hasn't the water frontage. With the proper development of youi hydro-electric scheme New Plymouth—* if population can be attracted—should forgo ahead,, apdi. ill..this connection it would oe a wise policy to conserve! for

your own use as much power as posable ’! and not give contiguous, towns an-ad-' vantage that New Plymouth itself . should possess. To my mind there aro several areas close to tlie town of first-class dairying- 1 land that-'should be subdivided, fund ; your member would well direct.'’ his energy in this direction lor-the .advantage of would-be settlers and the town ! itJKlf. .. _ i The tramway service is, of course, : not sufficiently developed to invoke c'riticism, but neither from tlie personnel of tho employee nor the trams themselves j, can any hostile criticism be tendered.

Tho former are courtesy itself, and) tho trams are very comfortable. Possibly r the present time-table is the. oplyjon'd that can :be run with a-profit, but it appears to me that less people would walk —and it is walking that interferes with tram profits—if Morley Street were cut out excepting in the rush hours!,and) ! diverted to the Breakwater, making a f 10-minute service. X ■

The.attractions'of Frethey’s gardens should ho given, along'with other attractions, a free advertisement by the borough every Saturday in the,-twoJocal newspapers. It wouldn’t cost muclfjand ! would bo a just appreciation ■of wellmerited citizenship..' Probably withathe' j I, extension ,of tho tramway* ,|Snd ' greater and more_CQmfgrtabi4 facilities will be given to-visitors wishing to visit the gardens. 'S'~Z2-~ .1 4 For your-own pride the, collection boxes' asking!, the visitor to subscribe towards; .the Upkeep of your parks .? should be removed-. - The tourist usually

leaves enough money behind him in feeing the sights that he. ought not to be asked to-,-subscribe towards something that he has already spent a large sum of money to see. • -i Finally, insist on Hire speeding up of the express train, get’your wnterffont in order, improve your accommodation, and tho reward to’Now Plymouth-will

indeed bo great. To those citizens who are possessed of a fair share of this world’s wealth I

would point dut that you owe a duty to the town in which you reside, that pos- ; sibly your wealth was obtained 1 from Taranaki, that although in tho earning of it you might have toiled hard and long, still in tho -spending ■of it-you should do something for tho place that ' made your wealth possible. Let it be said of you by those who come alter you that “he was a good citizen, he realised, his responsibilities as a citizen and did something for cue leading city of the province that did so much for him.” I trust that this article will he appreciated in tho spirit in which it is written. If it is accepted in that spirit, and it causes criticism, 1 hope some good will bo done, blit I hope such criticism will bo written—tile same us I Have written —with the object of placing New Plymouth in tho place where it should be, as the largest city between Wellington and Auckland- —Palmerston North, Hawera and Wanganui not excepted. Think well of your city’s possibilities —it is worth it.