The Napier Fire Brigade was established on the 10th of October, 1876, with the present superintendent as one of its original members. The fire station first stood on the site now (1906) occupied by the band rotunda, in front of the Masonic Hotel, but in the year 1893 it was removed to its present site at the back of the Council Chambers, in Herschel Street. It is a wooden building of two storeys, the ground floor consisting of a large storage room for the horse, the horse-cart, hand reel, and a fifty-two feet escape. The next room has the salvage corps' waggon, and in the room adjoining there is stored a Shand Mason steam engine, ladder-cart, and spare reel. The first floor contains a large meeting room, a billiard room, and sleeping quarters for seven firemen, with bathroom, etc. There are also living rooms page 310 on the premises for the station-keeper, and a number of Abyssinian wells for the supply of the steamer. The water pressure on the town mains is about 135lb per inch. The horse-cart is fitted with swinging harness, a horse is stalled close by, and the Brigade can turn out within a minute after an alarm is received. The Brigade has always taken a prominent part in the New Zealand Fire Brigade Association competitions, and has succeeded in winning the Champion Shield on three occasions. It has a membership of thirty, and the officers for the year 1906 are: Superintendent, J. G. Gilberd; Sub-Superintendent, F. Tankard; and Secretary, W. G. White.

Superintendent James G. Gilberd was born in San Francisco, in the year 1851, and arrived in New Zealand with his parents shortly after. He was educated at the Wesley College, Auckland, and for some time was in the Bay of Islands. He then went to the Thames, where he was engaged in mining, and later worked for Messrs Matthews and Bartley, builders, Auckland. At the end of 1871 he settled in Napier, where he has since remained in business. For twenty years he has been secretary of the United Fire Brigades Association, an organisation that includes nearly two thousand members.

Mr. William George White was appointed Secretary of the Napier Fire Brigade in the year 1900. He has been a member of the Brigade since 1885, and was for two years its foreman. Mr. White was born in London, England, in June, 1866, and settled in Napier with his parents in 1872. He was educated at the local district school, and was afterwards brought up to the basket making trade, under his father, who had started business in that line in 1874. In June, 1905, his father retired, and he took over the business on his own account. The factory is situated in Dickens Street, and gives constant employment to two journeymen. Mr. White grows his own supply of willows at his residence at Taradale. He joined the Napier Navals in 1886, and he remained in the ranks till they disbanded, acting for five years as secretary of the corps. He then joined the Napier Rifles, of which he was secretary till 1905, and is still (1906) a member. As a Freemason. Mr. White is Senior Deacon of Lodge Victoria, No. 21, N.Z.C.

The Napier Municipal Abattoir is situated on the railway line at Awatoto, about three miles from Napier, and was established in 1902. Most of the slaughtering had previously been done in a smaller building, situated about fifty yards from the present one, which was under the control of the County Council. The abattoir is substantial and up-to-date in every respect, standing on a solid concrete foundation, and consists of the slaughter-house, yards, and stables, the manager's office being in a small detached wooden building. The main building is of concrete throughout, and includes the hanging and slaughtering room, the pig-killing room, offal and skin rooms, and the boiler house. An unlimited supply of excellent water is obtained by means of artesian wells, and a hydraulic engine on the premises supplies a good pressure. The amount of stock dealt with per month varies somewhat, but the average approximates 270 head of cattle, 2,100 head of sheep, twenty pigs, and thirty calves, a considerable portion of which is absorbed in the supply of trading steamers. The charges for the use of the abattoir are: 3s per head for fullgrown cattle, 1s per head for calves, 6d per head for sheep and lambs, and 1s and 1s 6d per head, according to weight, for pigs.

The Napier Borough Pumping Station is centrally situated in Vautier Street, and is a large brick building, with three commodious concrete tanks on the south side. The boiler department of the main building contains two Babcock and Wileox boilers, and the engine room has a large compound condensing engine, one compound condensing tandem engine, and one simple high pressure pumping engine. An unlimited supply of excellent water is obtained from artesian wells, which discharge into the storage tanks at the station. The water is then pumped into two large reservoirs, one of which, situated on Cameron Road, 150 feet above sea level, gives 65lb pressure, and the other, on Bluff Hill, 330 feet above sea level, gives 135lb pressure. The distance from the pumping station to the low-pressure reservoir is 1,914 feet, and to the high-pressure reservoir, 6,864 feet; with connecting delivery pipes of twelve inches diameter.

The Napier Botanical Gardens occupy a large area, extending from “Old Barrack Hill” to Chaucer Road South, and have a southerly aspect. They were designed and laid out with artistic taste, and are kept in splendid order. The lawns are intersected with a number of pretty walks, and winding avenues stretch round the gardens. A number of well-kept beds contain a very large variety of flowering plants. The hillsides are planted with ornamental, deciduous, and evergreen trees, and also with a variety of native shrubs. The paths are asphalted, and a number of seats have been placed in the gardens. An aviary and a fernery are objects of special interest. The Botanical Gardens are a deservedly popular resort, and they are largely frequented on Sundays and general holidays. Napier has another fine reserve in Clive Square, near the centre of the town, and there concerts are occasionally given by the Battalion and City Bands.

Mr. Charles Alderton, Superintendent of the Napier Botanical Gardens, was born at Swaffham, Norfolk, England, in the year 1852, and was brought up as an agriculturist. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1874, and worked as a gardener for a few years at the “Old Bungalow,” Napier. In 1880 he was appointed assistant gardener in the Napier Botanical Gardens, and became superintendent in 1899. Mr. Alderton is a widower, and has five sons and two daughters.