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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts]

Corporation Of Hokitika

Corporation Of Hokitika.

The Hokitika Borough Council was originally formed under the Hokitika Municipal Corporation Ordinance of 1867, enacted by the Westland Provincial Council, and it was subsequently incorporated on the 24th of August, 1868, under its Act of the General Assembly relating to boroughs. The area of the borough is 1,280 acres. The total rateable capital value in the year 1905 was £127,158, and the unimproved value £48,343, and general and special rates are levied on the unimproved value. The general rate is threepence three farthings in the pound, and the special rate is a penny-halfpenny; and in addition, a charitable aid rate of a penny farthing in the pound is levied on the capital value. There are two existing loans: one of £1,978, under the Municipal Corporations Act, of which £400 has been paid off, and a loan of £10,000 under the Local Bodies Loans Act, for drainage purposes, with a currency of forty-one years. There are over fifteen miles of streets formed, and about twenty miles of footpaths, and one-third of these are asphalted. The streets are level, and exceptionally well kept, and were formed by day labour. There are eighteen hotels within the borough, and they pay licenses ranging from £40 to £45 per annum. The income from all sources for the financial year 1904–1905, was over £3,000. The assets of the borough consist of a Town Hall and reserves. On these are built the fire brigade station, and the Agricultural Hall and Drillshed, valued at £3,000. Cass Square, which is beautifully laid out, is also the property of the Council. It is nine acres in extent, and is valued at £3,000. There are other reserves, which are used for public purposes, and which bring up the total value to £15,000. In the year 1905 the Council considered proposals for the general drainage of the borough, and for the inauguration of a water supply scheme. Up to that year, provision had been made only for drainage of surface water, and the residents generally were dependent on rainwator tanks. The Hokitika cemetery is under the control of the Borough Council, and is situated on the top of a terrace on the northern boundary of the town. The borough of Hokitika is lighted by thirty gas lamps, and gas is supplied by the local gas company at 7/6 per thousand feet net. Members of the Borough Council for the year 1905: Mr. J. Mandl (Mayor), and Messrs G. page 487 A. Perry, W. Heinz, J. J. Clarke, P. Amberger, T. W. Beare, P. Dee, H. B. Bock, J. Lloyd, and Dr. H. Macandrew. Officers: Mr. J. K. Campbell, Town Clerk and Treasurer; Mr. T. Green, inspector and overseer; Mr. A. A. Andrewes, night-watchman, and Mr. J. Ward, sexton.

His Worship the Mayor, Mr. Joseph Mandl, is a son of the late Dr. Mandl, and was born in Austria in the year 1836, educated in his native country, and served in the army. He went to Victoria, Australia, about
Mr. J. Mandl, Mayor of Hokitika.

Mr. J. Mandl, Mayor of Hokitika.

the year 1860, afterwards came to New Zealand, and was on the Tuapeka and Waitahuna goldfields for about two years. At the outbreak of the West Coast diggings, Mr. Mandl was attracted to Hokitika, where he embarked in business; first as a storekeeper at Blue Spur, and later on, with his present business in Fitzherbert Street. He was first elected Mayor of Hokitika in 1899, and subsequently served in the years 1899–91 and 1895–96. Mr. Mandl also sat as a borough councillor for six years, and on three occasions he was chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. He has greatly assisted in promoting the mining industry on the West Coast, and was a strong advocate for the Grey-Hokitika railway, which has proved such a boon to the district. Mr. Mandl is a widower, and has four children. His son has successfully completed his medical studies at Edinburgh, and is now practising his profession.

Councillor William Heinz has been a member of the Hokitika Borough Council since the year 1885. He is further referred to as the proprietor of the Westland Sheet Metal and Tinware Works.

Councillor Patrick Dee has been a member of the Hokitika Borough Council since the year 1888. He was born in 1839, in Ireland, where he was educated. Mr. Dee arrived in New Zealand, in August, 1862, and, in 1865, settled on the West Coast. He followed gold mining for some time, commeneed business at Waimea, and subsequently became a general storekeeper at Hokitika.

Councillor John James Clarke, who is a member of the Hokitika Borough Council, was elected in 1895. Mr. Clark was born at Blackley, Manchester, England, in 1847. From the age of twelve he followed mercantile pursuits, and was in the employment of Mr. Robert Whittaker, Pendleton, and of Messrs Booth and Whitehead, brokers, Salford. He then
Councillor J. J. Clarke.

Councillor J. J. Clarke.

spent fifteen years in the Royal Navy, sailed to Panama in the ship “Captain Cook,” and came on to New Zealand in 1866 as an able seaman on the R.M. s.s. “Rakaia.” Mr. Clarke procured his discharge at Wellington, caught the gold fever, and went to Hokitika, where he worked as a miner, and was fairly successful for several years. In 1875, he undertook the duties of district assessor, and became a general commission agent. In 1878 Mr. Clarke was engaged by Mr. Archibald Scott, insurance, shipping, and general agent, Hokitika, and when that gentleman's business was bought by Mr. W. Duncan, in 1879, Mr. Clarke was retained as manager, a position he still holds. He is also chairman of the Hokitika school committee, a position be has held for a number of years, and is also a member of the Westland Education Board, and of the District High School Board. Mr. Clarke was instrumental in forming the Stafford Literary Institute, in 1870, and is on the committee of the Westland Institute. Mr. Clarke has been associated with the Oddfellows since 1869, and has passed through all the chairs of the Loyal Waimea Lodge. In Freemasonry he is associated with Lodge Pacific, No. 1229, English Constitution, Hokitika, and was secretary of the District Grand Lodge of Wastland for many years, besides having filled all the offices. Mr. Clarke is married, and has, surviving, two sons and two daughters. One of his daughters was killed by a waterwheel while she was picknicking with a party of friends at Lake Mahinapua, on the 27th of December, 1901.

Councillor George Albert Perry was elected a member of the Hokitika Borough Council in 1904, and was re-elected in the following year. He is further referred to as chairman of the Hokitika Harbour Board.

Councillord Howard Bessell Bock was elected a member of the Hokitika Borough Council in April, 1905. He was born at Hokitika, and is an ironmonger by trade.

Councillor John Lloyd was elected a member of the Hokitika Borough Council in the year 1905, and had previously been a member for two years. He has a fruit shop and drapery business in Revell Street.

Mr. John King Campbell was appointed Town Clerk and Treasurer of the borough of Hokitika on the 1st of August, 1898. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where he was educated and brought up as an accountant. After being two years in Africa, Mr. Campbell came to Wellington, New Zealand, in 1901. He settled in Hokitika, and was an accountant in a mercantile office before he received his present appointment.