Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts]

Palmerston North Corporation

page break

Palmerston North Corporation.

Palmerston North Borough Council, Palmerston North has a municipal area of 4,595 acres. The Rating Act of 1882 was adopted in 1887, and the property tax valuation was accepted as the basis for rating. In that year the total valuation of the borough, exclusive of Crown Lands and unrateable properties was £250,156. In 1906 this had increased to £1,873,900 capital value and £1,081,351 unimproved value. The Unimproved Value Act of 1896 was adopted by a poll of the ratepayers, and rates have since been levied on that basis. For the year 1906–07 there was a rate of 27/8d in the £, for general, special, and library purposes, but exclusive of water rate, the total number of rateable properties was 3,400, and there were 1,400 ratepayers. The cash assets of the borough are £18,361, and the liabilities (including loans), £135,853. Part of the loans included in this sum were raised in London: namely, £50,000 at five per cent., for which there is an accrued sinking fund of £7,461. The balance was obtained locally, namely, £10,500 at five per cent., £69,850 at four and a half per cent, (for which £411 sinking fund has accrued), and there is a Government inscribed loan of £20,357, which is to be liquidated by an annual payment of three and a half per cent, for forty-one years. In 1902 it was decided to carry out a system of drainage, at a cost of £36,000, and this was ultimately further extended, at an additional cost of £20,000. The system adopted was the septic tank principle; a large tank was built at Awapuni, three miles out of the town, and the outfall is into the Manawatu river. The water supply is drawn from the Tiritea stream; it was extended in 1906, at a cost of £26,000, by increasing the size of the mains and erecting a large dam. The original reservoir held 300,000 gallons; now the enlarged mains tap the new dam, and the reservoir is kept as a reserve. In relation to abattoirs the Council has delegated its power to the Manawatu Meat and Cold Storage Company, Limited, a company formed for the purpose of providing slaughter house accommodation and facilities for the inspection of meat. In 1900 the corporation bought the old Colonial Bank building in the Square for municipal offices, at a cost of £2,400. A substantial municipal opera house was erected in 1904 near the Square, at a cost of about £10,500, and has accommodation for 1,300 persons. The building, besides the opera house proper, contains a municipal hall, capable of seating 700 persons, and a smaller hall with accommodation for 200 persons. The Council holds its ordinary meetings on the first and third Tuesdays in each month at 7.30 p.m. The members are: Messrs. R. Essex (mayor), A. E. Bennett, C. N. Clausen, E. J. Armstrong, H. Haydon, E. R. B. Holben, S. W. Luxford, W. A. Stubbs, D. Matheson, and J. A. Nash (councillors). The leading officers are Messrs. R. N. Keeling (treasurer), W. H. Cullingwood (town clerk and returning officer), F. H. Cooke (borough solicitor), S. Jickell, A.M.I.C.E. (borough engineer), and J. Perry (sanitary inspector).

His Worship The Mayor, Mr. Richard Essex, has been connected with Palmerston North for many years. He is a member of the firm of Messrs. Essex and Company, stationers, booksellers, and fancy goods dealers.

Councillor Edward John Armstrong, member of the Palmerston North Borough Council, is a civil engineer and surveyor. He has been connected with various public bodies.

Councillor Arthur Edwin Bennett was elected a member of the Palmerston North Borough Council in the year 1907. He was born at Thames, Auckland, brought up to the trade of a carpenter, and removed to Palmerston North in 1891. For three years he was senior partner of the firm of Messrs. Bennett and Sollitt. and subsequently became managing director of the Union Timber Company.

Councillor Christian Nicholas Clausen, member of the Palmerston North Borough Council, is the Palmerston North manager of the Tiratu Saw-milling Company.

Councillor Henry Haydon has served on the Palmerston North Borough Council since 1895. He has served on the Hospital and School Committees, County Council, Drainage Board, and other public bodies.

Councillor Samuel Watkin Luxford was elected a member of the Palmerston North Borough Council in the year 1907. He conducted a stud farm near Palmerston North until 1905, and has since resided in Palmerston North.

Councillor Dugald Matheson, member of the Palmerston North Borough Council, is also the borough representative on the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

Councillor James Alfred Nash was elected a member of the Palmerston North Borough Council in the year 1907. He is a member and was a promoter of the Palmerston North Beautifying Society, and was President of the Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce for two years.

Councillor William Stubbs was first elected a member of the Palmerston North Borough Council in the year 1905, and was re-elected in 1907. He is chairman of the Palmerston North Public Library Committee, is secretary of the College Street School Committee, and has been a prominent official of the New Zealand Farmers' Union.

Civic Institutions.

The Palmerston North Volunteer Fire Brigade, The central station is in Coleman Place, in the Square, and there is a sub-station at Terrace End. The central station is a two-storeyed building, containing a library, reading room, and a club room, with a caretaker's residence at the rear. The Brigade is well furnished with up-to-date appliances, and there is an ample supply of water. There is a membership of twenty-five.

Mr. Albert Tingey, Superintendent of the Palmerston North Fire Brigade, has been a member for twenty-five years. He first joined the brigade in the year 1883 as lieutenant, four years later was elected superintendent, and during his term of twenty-five years has devoted himself with untiring zeal to the interests of the fire brigade. Mr. Tingey was born in Hackney, England, in the year 1863, and came to New Zealand at an early age. He was educated in Auckland, afterwards entered the employment of Messrs. R. and E. Tingey, of Wanganui, and four years later opened the local branch. In 1905 page 666 this business was formed into a limited liability company, and Mr. A. Tingey was appointed managing director for Palmerston North. Mr. Tingey was for three years a member of the Palmerston North Borough Council, and is a member of various social clubs. He is married, and has two daughters.

Bunting, photo, Superintendent A. Tingey.

Bunting, photo,
Superintendent A. Tingey.

The Palmerston North Opera House, which is the property of the municipality, is situated in Church Street East, close to the Square, and is a massive two storeyed brick building with ferroconcrete facings and concrete foundations. It was designed by Mr.F. J. Wilson, erected by Messrs. Trevor and Sons, of Wellington and Palmerston North, and was formally opened in July, 1905. The Opera House and Municipal Hall, on the ground and first floor respectively, are the principal divisions of the building; the former has accommodation for 1,300 people, and the latter for about 700. The Opera House is a model of its kind, and nothing has been spared in making it thoroughly up-to-date. The dress circle (with seating accommodation for 413 persons) is furnished with the latest pattern opera chairs, upholstered in red leather; whilst the reserved stalls are upholstered in green leather. The stage is sixty-four feet deep, with a clear space of forty-seven feet, there are nine dressing rooms, and the theatre is provided with a considerable amount of scenery. The building has several separate entrances and exits, and five functions may be conducted simultaneously and yet quite independently of one another. It is at present lighted with gas, but an installation of electric light is projected for the near future.

Mr. Harry P. Muller, Manager of the Palmerston North Opera House, was born at Pleasant Point, near Timaru, in March, 1882, and at an early age removed with his parents to Palmerston North. He was educated at the Central School (afterwards known as the Campbell Street School), and then entered the office of Mr. E. O. Hurley, barrister and solicitor, for whom he afterwards became managing clerk. After studying law for six years Mr. Muller entered the theatrical profession as manager of the old Theatre Royal. He soon afterwards resigned this position to join Mr. R. S. Smythe as treasurer and assistant manager of the Rev. Charles Clark's lecturing tour, and subsequently managed the Australasian tours of other important companies, including those of “Banjo” Paterson, Madame Dolores, Harry Rickard's No. 2 Star Company, Dix's Gaiety Companies, and others, until receiving his present appointment. Mr. Muller takes a keen interest in all kinds of sport, and is secretary to the Manawatu Rugby Union, as well as being a member of various local clubs.

The Palmerston North Cemetery is situated on the main Palmerston-Ashhurst Road, about two miles from the post office. In the early days of settlement seven acres were set apart for the purposes of a cemetery, which is now under the control of the Borough Council. The grounds are well laid out with asphalted walks and flower beds, and surrounded by macrocarpa and cypress trees. There is a small section set aside, where comparatively free burial is provided, and the remainder is divided between the various religious denominations. The sexton's residence is on the north-east corner of the cemetery, on a hill, with the slope in front laid out with flowers and shrubs.

Mr. John Richard Meredith, caretaker of the Palmerston North Cemetery, took up his duties in the year 1902. He was born in Geraldine, South Canterbury, in October, 1867, was educated and brought up to general manual work in Melbourne, and then returned to New Zealand. For five years he was engaged as a farm assistant at Winton, Otago, afterwards worked for seven years in Canterbury, and then removed to the North Island. Mr. Meredith followed sheep station life until he was appointed to his present position. He is married, and has two daughters.