NAPIER DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (INC)
RECORD OF MAIN ACTIVITIES FROM RE-FORMATION IN AUGUST, 1963
Background:
The Association had been in recess for a number of years following the employment of George Rogers (N.D.A. Secretary) by the Napier City Council as assistant town clerk and part-time promotions officer.
On George Rogers’ death a move was made to re-form the N.D.A. and a meeting of leading businessmen, the Mayor and others invited Jock Stevenson, Chief Reporter, The Daily Telegraph, to accept an appointment as Secretary/Manager, N.D.A. and, as such, Public Relations Officer for Napier. He accepted and resigned from The Daily Telegraph.
Previous activities of the N.D.A. focussed chiefly in a number of major exhibitions in W & K No 5 woolstore at Ahuriri and one motor show at the Centennial Hall.
When the N.D.A. was re-formed, a new executive was elected with Mr Jock Knowles as chairman and the Mayor, Mr Peter Tait, as president.
A fortnight after the re-formation, the new secretary and committee staged a daily Children’s Funtime Show in the Top Hall Ballroom to entertain children through the August School Holidays.
Immediatly [Immediately] after the School Holidays, the secretary started moving for a Marineland at Napier – something which he had suggested for Napier in a full-page feature article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday, May 12, 1962. He gained the support of the late Lew Harris to the tune of $40,000 and it was decided to proceed with the project.
Next, the N.D.A. was asked by the Airport Authority to organise an air pageant in February 1964 to open the airport for Friendship aircraft. The secretary said he would prefer to organise an Air Show rather than a pageant and the Airport Authority agreed. The major Air Show as staged in February 1964 with Air Marshall Sir Hector McGregor, Commander of the Far East Air Force, Singapore, accepting an N.D.A. invitation to officiate. The N.D.A. also obtained full co-operation of the R.N.Z.A.F., Operation Deep Freeze and virtually all air interests in N.Z.
These were the initial activities of the re-formed N.D.A.
Now follows a summary of other major activities carried out by the N.D.A. for Napier City. All achievements were initiated by the N.D.A. and successfully carried out. They are recorded below under categories.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.
Indutrial [Industrial] Development Exhibition, 1965, – using 6 1/2 acres of Dalgety Wool Store. Exhibits from N.Z. firms and Government Section of exhibits from all N.Z. Government Departments. Considered by official visitors to be biggest and best exhibition of type in N.Z.
“Your Move” brochure produced by N.D.A. and distributed throughout N.Z. and selected industries overseas.
Note: This resulted almost immediately in these new industries for Napier: Bryant and Kay Ltd., (10 acres at Onekawa for factory – later instructed by London to stay in Wellington). U.E.B. at Awatoto, Olin Matheson (Amaphos) at Pandora, Siros Dale, at Pandora (now Pacific Leather), Hatfield Industries, Onekawa (now Erickssen [Ericksen]), Easton Industries, Henderson Civil Engineers.
Other industries and concerns which set up in Napier as the result of N.D.A. counsel and assistance included:-
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