TARANAKI’S MAIN TOWN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 9, 11 January 1941, Page 7

TARANAKI’S MAIN TOWN

COMMENT ON SMALL GROWTH

VISIT AFTER TWENTY’ YEARS NEW PLYMOUTH, Jan. 9. Surprise that the town of New Plymouth had not made greater progress during the past few years was expressed by Mr. J. W. Hayden, formerly a prominent resident of the town, and an ex-Mayor of Takapuna, after a fortnight’s holiday. When he left New Plymouth 20 years ago he visualised that during the next decade it would grow into a city, but he had been disappointed at the slow progress made. He had been round the world five times in that 20 years, and had not seen any town that had the same natural advantages as New Plymouth, with its parks, beaches and panorama of hill and vale, with Mount Egmont in the background. It was difficult to understand why New Plymouth had not made the strides that he anticipated, said Mr. Hayden. The harbour had certainly been developed along the right lines. The striking development of the dairy industry was clearly reflected in the additions that have taken place at the freezing stores. Developments of that nature made it harder to understand way the town had not responded accordingly. The fact that New Plymouth had such a wealtr. ct charm made it all tr.e m< re difficult for Mr. Hayden to understand why it had not reached c ty status, particularly as most of the suburbs appeared to have made great strides. He thought possibly a considerable quota of the population might be living just outside the borough boundaries.