CLOSER SETTLEMENT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 242, 13 October 1936, Page 9

CLOSER SETTLEMENT

WANGANUI’S GREAT NEED YET LITTLE BEING DONE MR. SIDDELLS ASKS “WHY?" Mr. Siddells addressed himself to to problem of closer settlement, holdte ing that it was the greatest of all * needs in Wanganui. He deplored the fact, however, that little or nothing was being done to bring it about. “First, we have to decide whether Wanganui as a city is suffering from a form of sleeping sickness of any kind, and if so, the cause thereof,’ Mr. Siddells opened. “If we come to the conclusion that there are signs of decay then we must seriously consider what must be done to stop the rot. My opinion is that, beyond doubt, there is ample proof of decay. You say prove it. This can only be done by comparisons and history. Here they are: Let us go back 35 years, taking with us statistics and comparisons and work forward to the present time. We must face the position with an open mind and deal only with truth and facts. One could labour the position with an overwhelming number of Aimparisons, but that is not necessary to bring home the point Fall in Population. “To start with wc- ■ " know that during the last . u.e Wanganui City, instead oi in : ng its population, actually lost siderably. This is a very serioi , tt.>r and one that needs carefu' y ar ysing, especially in face of the fact that all other 1 towns of a secondary nature have progressed in a marked degree. Why should Wanganui lose population and others gain? The answer is quite simple—namely, that a towm population cannot continue to increase unless there are abundant secondary industries continue y growing wdth the ' population, or that he population on ' the adjacent land i< increasing in the 1 same ratio a- that o the town. This , reasoning is bey? . doubt and not! open to argumev It is borne out I abundantly by the population statis- j tics of Wanganui City and the two counties adjacent thereto. In 1901 (35 years ago) the population of Wanganui was 7329, it rose rapidly until 1926, when it was 23,691, by 1936 it had declined to 23,168. Now look at the position of the Wanganui and Waitotara counties in 1901; the population of the two was 7494, by 1936 it was 7481, showi;:g that there was not a great deal o' settlement during the past 35 years. The question arises as to what causrt the population of Wanganui to in.' ease so rapidly between the years Ml and 1926, the answer is that during that period there was a lot of development work being carried on in the back-blocks; this, coupled with the fact that large sums of money were borrowed fol city and harbour improvements, caused work to be plentiful and an influx of population.” Comparisons With Other Centres. I Mr. Siddells proceeded to draw T comparisons In 1901, he said, Palmerston North had a population of 6534. By 1926 it had risen to 18,134, and by 1936 it was 22,101. "Everybody knows that around Palmerston there is a large area of good land cut up in small sections carrying a

large population," he proceeded. “Take Hamilton — a more marked exi ample of the benefits of closer settlement. In 1901 the population was 1253, and Piako County (adjacent to I Hamilton) 2336. By 1936 Hamilton I had increased to 16,127, and Piako County to 10,243. The same story applies to New Plymouth, Hastings and all secondary towns in the South Island, including Nelson, which used to be known as “Sleepy Hollow.” The increases and advancement of those towns is principally due to there being a big population on the adjacent lands. Towns and cities do not spring up and grow unless there is some reason. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin will always continue to grow because they are the ports and busine is centres of large areas of country inland. Secondary towns can only progress by industries or a big country population using it as a business centre. Take Johannesburg. In the early eighties it was unknown. To-day there are over 300,000 of a population brought about principally by mining. The same story can be I told about numerous large cities all over the world. Recently there has been considerable talk about oil being under Wanganui and I have no hesitation in saying that if it could be found in payable quantities, it would soon put Wanganui on ths map without any closer settlement. In 1929 the late Sir Joseph Ward was Prime Minister, he was a far seeing man and what did he say? “In New Zealand we have to turn our eyes to the land,’ said Sir Joseph. “We have to do that I whether people in the towns lixe | it or not, or whether people in the I country like it or not. I am coni' vinced that the only way we can I prevent the causes of unemploy--1 ment in New Zealand Is to cut the | country up into small sections. We I have to cater for our own people first, and we should not bring large ' numbers of people from other coun- , tries until we are sure they will I not dislocate the local labour marI ket and cause inconvenience from I one end of the country to the 1 other.' ” ' The speaker recalled letters hs ! had written to the Press over a | period of years stressing the need lor I closer settlement. He also quoted (numerous public-spirited persons and bodies all convinced of the desirability of settling the land—Mr. Henry Ford, the Carnegie Trust, Mr. F. J. Nathan, Wellington, the schemes in Denmark, Germany, Mr. A. H. Cockayne, Mr. O. Holst (Wanganui), Rotary International, the Sydney Bulletin, New South Wales Cabinet, Phillip Gibbs. “Owners of Land Must Not Stand in Way.” “It may be asked, where is the land suitable for closer settlement to be found?" Mr. Siddells concluded. “I say that between Patea, on the one side, and Marton, on the other, there is ample scope to double the country population without harming those in occupation, and owners of large areas of suitable land must not be allowed to stand in the way of progress. There are many thousands of acres of good land suitable for sub-division. Certainly, it is at present being utilised for production, but not producing to capacity or keeping employed as many people as it is capable of doing. Then there is a large area of good land practically producing nothing on account of being over run with gorse and other weeds. This, as a menace to Wanganui, looms very large. Closer

settlement, backed by the Government, would alter that. “I have already said that we have not as much suitable lana as other towns named, but there is enough to make a change for the better as far as Wanganui is concerned. I agree that the action of the Government in spending large sums of money in railway deviation and making the airport will, for a time, improve business, and consequently, the people. But when that work is finished, as it must be some time, difficult days will again strike us. I am aware that some or our business men say, all is well, but that is because they are doing well. But in spite of these I say that Wanganui can be improved as a business centre. “The Government at present, and wisely so, engaged in a housing policy, utilising cheap money, but unless work can be found for many that will occupy those houses, how are they to pay for the use of them? I contend that a similar scheme for placing picked unemployed men with families on good land adjacent to towns under group plans would be a lasting benefit to the Dominion and the people. This could be financed from the unemployment fund and lessen the number of men receiving benefits from that fund.”