WANGANUI AND ITS POSSIBILITIES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12203, 22 April 1909, Page 2

WANGANUI AND ITS POSSIBILITIES.

.+, MR C. HIORNS INTERVIEWED. One of our staff, yesterday, had a chat with Mr Charles Hiorns, who has just come to live in Wanganui. Mr Hiorns has been nearly all over New Zealand, and in other parts of the world. Asked what appealed most to him in Wanganui, he replied: 'Well, there is only one answer —the river, and in that connection the great chances it offers, —once the difficulties of the entrance are surmounted to admit large oceangoing steamers, —of Wanganui becoming a much larger and more important city than at present. I have/] continued Mr Hiorns, "seen something of the traffic on the Main Trunk line, and heard the talk of Wanganui being relegated, in consequence of the linking up of Wellington and Auckland, to the position of just a station and branch I line, but that is all nonsense. Wanganui merchants will assuredly have to face competition from Auckland as well as Wellington in the future, but the advantage of lower cost for charges must, once the necessity of transhipment is overcome, be with Wanganui, and its merchants shoiild be enabled to compete on good terms with both Auckland and Wellington. While both these centres handle larger quantities than can be anticipated here, the harbour charges, warehouse rents, rates, and general charges are all higher than in Wanganui, and this must resolve to the advantage of this city. Rowing ? Why Wanganui should turn out the best oarsmen in New Zealand. See what is done on the Yarra? in Melbourne. There are fine stretches there but not so good as on the Wanganui, yet the eights which are to be seen nightly are, to rowing men, very interesting and give evidence of splendid energy—plus of course a large population —the former have here lost the latter —well, will come in time. 'Fruitgrowing?—" See what Hastings has done in this connection, the orchards and fruit canning industry there have made scores of men independent. J have in mind one man who, with only enough to pay a deposit on the timber for his house, and half a year's rent had in ten years made nearly a competency out of six acres, and another case is that of a speculator who purchased Jin orchard (just under 6 acres), planted with a good selection of peach and apple trees, for the sum of £1450 who was netting over £200 per annum off the property, and at the same time keeping the orchard in the pink of condition." Vviiy can't we do similar work? — "That is a hard question. 1 can, however, state this: tliat i devoted considerable time, trouble, and money to learn something about fruit growing, particularly apples (in Canterbury), and on land similar to that round. Wanganui. From that experience lam of opinion that, given the care to keep trees clear of blight, the finest fruit lin the colony should be grown here, though it is matter for experience as to ! how long keeping varieties of apples dei evelop—whether the rapid growth here would not be somewhat detrimental to long keeping qualities. Cherries should succeed admirably here, and that is a fruit for which in all the New Zealand centres there is an eager demand. The nature of the soil here will enable growers to raise enormous quantities of the earliest vegetables. Christchurch has thousands of acres of similar sandy land round it, but there is absolutely no comparison as to climate. ; There is. a prevalence of the bitter feast wind there which tends to retard early veget- , able growth. Yes. I should say'that an ' undoubted market exists in the three Southern Cities of New Zealand for much that could be {and possibly is) grown here. It might, I think, be Worth \ while to secure statistics as to. vegetal'Tes are available froiri say Auckland, Nelson, Motueka, Hastings and other possible competing places, and have tho dates compared with the facts that might be gathered here. What do you think of the town? — "Progressive—-with every evidence ot folloWihg the lead of the other large towns'-in New Zealand, viz., rebuilding in brick and fatone. From reports available, 7 there will .shortly be many fine structures in the Avenue. There are ample breathing spaces provided in and round the city. :The racecourse is a splendid ground, and one of the prettiest in New Zealand." The Wanganui A. and P. Show?— "Very little is heard of this. In Wellington for instance, the fact of a show being held at Wanganui is scarcely known; in fact it is little f-poken of outside tho local district. It was two or ihree years after I came to the North Island'hefore I heard it mentioned, yet the quality of the stock available for exhibit herd should place your show easily on a par with Hawke's Bay.. Palmerston Nortli and Masterton." . What do you think of our tramways ? "You are ahead of many Australian towns of much greater - population. A few years ago Ballarat, with 30,000 inhabitants, was content with horse trams and Adelaide (with 200,000) had six years ago, a miserable horse tram service. Wanganui can justly be termed progressive to have initiated and j carried out the service now running, though the suburbs require linking up to make it complete."