Forum And Aginum

A Name For A Bridge

The contractors are now driving the piles for the new William Pettie bridge, which should be ready by early 1968: The occasion will pose a question.. is the name of William Pettie to be perpetuated in the new bridge, or should it have a new name? With all possible respect to the late William Pettie, who was Mayor in 1911-13 (and in whose term we presume the bridge was built), several fairly obvious comments are in order.

Firstly, it is most unusual for a bridge to carry the name of a local body administrator, and it is difficult to call to mind a parallel example.

Secondly, the bridge now being built has no connection with the name bestowed upon the old bridge.

Thirdly, the great majority of residents Of today would have difficulty in deciding why the bridge carries that name.

As there is no other bridge in the city area across the Waimata River, a suggestion that the attractive Maori name for the river should be adopted merits consideration.

Signposts Needed

A visitor complains that he lost his way trying to rush a friend to the airport to catch a plane. It may be hard for us locals to realise the difficulties facing strangers in our midst who must study street maps and watch for signs in order to follow routes which to us are as familiar as the backs of our hands. Now that Gladstone Road and Chalmers Road are sealed to the kerbs, the obvious way to direct people to the airport is to send them up the main highway with instructions to turn left at Chalmers Road. There should be a few signs in Gladstone Road marked "To The Airport" in bold letters, and pointing in the right direction, and a similar arrowed sign on the Left-Hand side of the road at the Chalmers Road junction.

Our informant managed all this part of the route satisfactorily, but had to back-pedal at the south end of Chalmers Road, having overshot the turn-off, which carries no sign of any kind. It is sometimes on courtesy signs that our visitors judge our welcome and our efficiency in attending to their needs.

While on the subject of signs: We still consider the "Youth Hostel" signs directing people at various intersections to the Waiteata Youth Hostel in Russell Street to be misleading. Any stranger reading these (and they are obviously there only to direct strangers), must be subject to a feeling of misdirection on finding that he is not being directed to the internationally accepted Youth Hostel run by the Y.H.A. , which in Gisborne is at the other end of town, near Midway Beach.

The new industrial subdivision in Awapuni Road, on which contractors will start in the immediate future, should prove invaluable to the city, and is a credit to the City Council for its determination in proceeding with the scheme in the face of considerable local opposition. The 50-acre area, serviced by a road the width of our main street, will be completely debt-free when the sections are sold. But this is purely basic economics. The greatest wealth this development will give the city will undoubtedly be the establishment of new industries, creating greater prosperity for the district and more employment for our labour force, a particularly valuable aspect in view or the present national circumstances.

Already the giant firm of United Empire Industries, one of the largest concerns in N.Z., has purchased four acres of the land, and intend establishing a large factory housed in a £40,000 building. Many other enquiries have been received, which will take about half the area if they come to fruition.