Palmerston North in 1880 and 1894.

Fair Play, Volume I, Issue 23, 2 July 1894, Page 32

Palmerston North in 1880 and 1894.

[By The Spectre.]

" To ine, after an absence of nearly fourteen years, the progress of Palmerston North is most apparent. In those days the place could boast of no very important business or buildings; things/went on in the' usual humdrum New Zealand fashion, though, at' odd times, when the mill hands and bushfallers drew their cheques, cash was plentiful and trade brisk. Those were grand days for -the hotels—days when dG2OO for a week’s takings was not considered extraordinary. James Fenton, J. Carroll, and Walkley ran the pubs then, and right good fellows they were, too. They are gone now, and strangers fill their place. All round Palmerston was standing timber. Bichter, Nannestead and Co.’s sawmill is turned into a flour mill and a sash and door factory, while where they cut into the bush, houses have been built and streets formed. TerraceEndhas advanced, too, and, as a natural consequence of the destruction of nature’s garden, is unsightly; the formerly charming residences on the terrace looking bleak and uninviting in their isolation. The Awahuri road is lined for a considerable distance on either side by shops, manufactories, and cottages. New Btreets have appeared as if by magic, handsome hotels and warehouses grace the Square, which was a few years back disfigured by a clumsy railway station. The trains 'still run through it, though the station has been moved to a diotance of about a quarter of a mile down the Foxton line, where the junction of the Hawke’s Bay, Wellington, and New Plymouth lines exists. This change has been followed by the erection of sundry accommodation houses, stores, factories, hotels, &c., w’hich catch a good deal of custom.. One of the hotels—the Cafe-de-Paris —had.a struggle to obtain a license, a fact rather surprising when the excellence of the place in regard to conveniences is takcn*into account. It is in full swing now, however, under Mr. Hook, and can be recommended to travellers. The report on the house by the police on licensing day must have been ex : ceedingly gratifying to the proprietor. He is about to make extensive alterations in the way of sitting, bed, and billiard rooms. To Borne hotels the Committee granted ten o’clock licenses, and to others in the Square eleven o’clock, an action which has given rise to much comment by travellers. [I shall not treat upon this subject in this article, but may have something to say at a later date with regard to it.] Miss Crawford has sold out the Commercial to Mr. Fisher, from the South. The transfer is delayed owing to the non-fulfilment of some form required by the Committee. A fortnight has been allowed the parties concerned in which to complete. The churches and schools are -peor -for-the size-of the town. Fruit shops are exceptionally. attractive, drapers too extensive if anything, ironmongers fair, and other trades represented in a manner which says much for the opinion entertained of Palmerston’s future. The Manawatu Farmers’ Co-operative Association holds the monopoly in most branches of business. To praise the show grounds is superfluous; the race-course promises to be a good one ; the public buildings, such as the Post-office, courts, halls, theatre, &c., are not a credit to the town; and of the banks, the Colonial of New Zealand takes the palm for exterior beauty. The general aspect of Palmerston North is suggestive of some of the inland towns of New South Wales—Narranderra, for instance. There is the same irregularity in the buildings, the methodically laid out streets, neglected footpaths, &c. You find alsothekeen competition iirbusiness, with accompanying low prices; the handsome private equipages, the well-dressed ladies, everything, in fact, which points to continual intercourse with more populous cities. -There is, again, the larrikin element, and a numerous demimonde, attracted to it, no doubt, by the glowing accounts which went forth of. the progress of the place. There are many fine athletes too, but the majority of the young men are not robust. The keen air and out-door exercise help to make the women handsome. Fourteen lawyers are in business, and several , doctors and dentists. Too many people are in the retail trade for the size of the town —they have a bad

time before them —and this brings me to an important part of my subject. "When the “boom” first commenced in Palmerston North vacant sections were rushed and built upon. Reports went far and wide of the wonderful advance of this once unknown village. Persons flocked there, bringing, in some cases', hardly enough money to start with. Assistance, in goods and cash, was sought and readily obtained, and, for a time, things flourished. Then the re-action came. "Wholesale houses stopped supplies, the Australian financial scare pulled- tight the purse strings of the banker, and trade, in consequence, languished. Failures became frequent, owing to bad book debts; the farmers ceased to spend freely, on account of the low prices realised for sheep; then the .collapse of the Agency Company completed this act in the history of the town. The bed-rock of hard times is about reached. Those who survive the winter will have, in my opinion, no cause to regret having commenced business in Palmerston North.

No one will, I think, find fault with me for saying that Palmerston will go ahead, but its progress will not be rapid—on the contrary, all we can look for is a slow and steady expansion after it passes through the present period of depression.. It has a good back bone in the pastoral^and agricultural surroundings ; its inhabitants are hopeful; and there is a constant influx of visitors from the districts opened up by the three railway lines. The vacant sections near the Bailway Station offer a .safe and lucrative investment for capital, for the town will spread in that direction. Another theatre —built on a more elaborate scale than the present—is required to induce good companies to visit the place. A public library should be opened as soon as possible, and the footpaths asphalted. The Square is in a disgraceful state of dilapidation, the posts supporting the chains running round it in many cases lying on the ground, having rotted away from age. The paths are obliterated by weeds, and the trees anything but ornamental. If the Councillors, instead of taking over new roads, would devote some of the rates towards remedying these glaring evidences of carelessness, a better tone would be given to' Palmerston North, and its natural want of beauty be made less noticeable. Perhaps the Councillors have these things in their minds, though, and we may hope that the day is not far distant when a visit to this promising centre will be one to be remembered with pleasure.