Waiorongomai and the High School Reserve.

Thames Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 8605, 9 March 1897, Page 2

Waiorongomai and the High School Reserve.

At the meeting of the High School 3oard of Governors yesterday afterloon the Secretary presented a rough :eporfc of the rec3nt trip made by Messrs Eadford, Comer, and Poulgrain ;o Waiorongomai to inspect the School sndowment. On Saturday, February 27th, the inspecting party set out on their trip, which is an annual affair, accompanied by the Secretary (Mr Carter), arriving inPaeroatocatchthe 5.45 train to Te Aroha. Fortunately beds at Te Aroha had been secured some few days before; otherwise some difficulty would probably have been experienced in finding accommodation, as the town seemed full of visitors. The report goes on to describe the visits to the Board's tenants on the reserve, some of whom, seem well satisfied with their lot while others do not. While en route amongst the tenantry, a Waiorongomai shower was experienced, and on one occasion all hands had to come to the rescue to pull the Governors' conveyance out of a "bog hole." One of the tenants, who expressed the greatest satisfaction with the productive capacity of his section, stated that settlers on the reserve were averse to making any improvement because the leases had not long to run and might not be renewed. Mr Eadford said that so far as he himself was concerned—and he thought he could speak for the whole of the present governors—there would be no difficulty in the renewal of leases, and this would certainly be easier to accomplish with tenants who had both improved the land and paid their rent than where no improvements had been made and arrears existed. A long conversation ensued between Mr Baskett, Chairman of the Waiorongomai School Committee, and Mr Eadford with reference to granting a site for a teacher's residence, Mr Eadford informed him that the governors would be glad to grant a site on the usual terms, viz.: £t a year, and that they had no power to go beyond this. The report proceeds:—" The recent floods and winds seem to have caused considerable damage to some of the buildings. Mr Mulcahy had one end of his house blown away altogether, and another tenant on a business site had also considerable loss. On the whole the governors expressed themselves highly satisfied with the appearance of the farms, &c, but Mr Eadford thought there, was not the same briskness in the mining industry which had been observable a month or two earlier, when he had occasion visit the district in a private capacity. This, however, may onty be a lull, and you will have noticed that the Cadinan claim has been taken over by an influential syndicate. This may bo the beginning of still better things for the district."

Commenting on the trip, Mr Badford stated at yesterday's meeting that the farms and cattle had never looked in better condition. The only men working in the mines at present were those in the tunnel, as all of the hill was protected. With regard to the public school teacher's residence site, the Board had no power to grant it free.