More Info →Page 25: 50th jubilee commemoration supplement

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Description: 1) Municipal block decried as "white elephant" in days when first mooted.
No proposition in the history of Levin was discussed so hotly as the municipal buildings scheme. It owed its conception to Dr. D.W. Matheson (who was mayor in 1932) and some of his councillors, who first considered it in that year. There was considerable opposition, but the proposal to build the block, consisting of the municipal offices, theatre, social hall and shops, at an estimated cost of £24,000, was endorsed by the ratepayers with the overwhelming vote of 371 for and 191 against.
2) Those were the days.
Some items from tradesmen's accounts, in 1895, with today's prices in parentheses, are:-
3) No flowers for Bonny.
Bonnie was a well-mannered horse- a big draught and she used to plod around the borough in the service of the council. But one night Bonnie made a "blue." She decided to go wandering after someone left the paddock gate open (her paddock was used as a short cut and some person had been very careless) . Her wandering took her to Tararua Road railway crossing. That was the end of the road for Bonnie.
4) Hectic time for firemen.
One of the Levin Volunteer Fire Brigade's most hectic experiences was during a fire which broke out in Oxford Street soon after high pressure water was introduced. The fire was near the premises of W.M. Clark, Ltd, but when the time came to plug into the system it was discovered that in remetalling the road all the fireplugs had been covered over.
5) Levin's high knobs.
The erection of the walls of the municipal block, massive construction for the Levin of those days, prompted the following lines submitted to "The Chronicle" in 1924. In those days the columns of "The Chronicle" were often used for satirical verse to express the current controversies and incidents in the life of the community.
6) Concerts were highlights.
"This year (of 1953) memory takes me back very nearly 60 years ago. Miss Bowen was postmistress and she was much loved by the schoolgirls of those days.