that town again.

[Silk]

Our town in the news again, not a good look. Although it is also about other small towns throughout the country, and in other countries too, where the industries that kept the town alive for generations, are no longer there. And yes, I live in Huntly West.

Click on the Westside Stories banner for other articles in the series...

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102095147/west-side-stories-turning-a-town-around

 

[azjake]

Very sad. You're right about these problems in other countries. There are a lot of rural areas in the US that have fell into hard times after industry left. One town that comes to mind is Anderson, Indiana that once was thriving with a large GM presence, but now struggling. Also many rural areas in Ohio have been hard hit after the jobs left.

 

[Shannow]

Here in Liffy, it's similar, not that dire...

Coal mining, steelworks, and cement factory that built Sydney, and powered the electrified trains, and ultimately 20+% of the state's power.

Steel and copper went forever ago. Cement factory since I've been here.

Tens of mines down to one operational, we lost a power station in 2014.

Every time there's a public forum for development consents for pwoer/coal, the BMWs from out of town rock up, and ask locals for directions to the hearing, then present their piece on how OUR district should be managed, and these industries closed, and us all to be retrained in renewables and solar panels.

Then they drive off to their mansions, smug in themselves at having put another nail in the place.

I've run for local Govt, participated in urban renewal programmes, but barristas and hair dressers can't sustain a service economy, without dollars coming in from SOME sort of industry.

We are close enough to Sydney that we are becoming a retirement village...sell the house in the big smoke for a fortune, buy up here, pay subsidised rates and utilities, and reject propositions that make the place better for the young (e.g. $50/house special tax to upgrade the indoor pool was decried by the new oldies as a waste of money, especially seeing as they wouldn't frequent it).

 

[Silk]

There was a time where you didn't live in Huntly West unless you had a job - the houses were owned by the State or the mines, if you got a job in the mines or at the power station, you had a house. Mine is an ex state house, built around the time the power station went up, probably a managers home. Even the company I work for, they were a Rootes and Chrysler dealer, later Mitsubishi, car and truck shops, specialising in building trucks, they put Roadrangers and Detroits into Fusos - they had 16 houses in the town. Work for Gills and you could have a house to go with it.

The rot set in in the late '80's when the what they call these days, Neoliberals sold off state owned companies, or privatised them and made them make a profit. Hundreds lost their jobs, and a few taken on as contractors. The houses were given to the local Iwi (tribe), Tainui - they sold them on. One of my kids lived a few door up, her landlord owned 50 houses here. Upsets me because that's 50 houses off the market, 50 families that can't have a home. And they are low cost rentals, nothing done to them, and they don't care who rents them. The articles posted blame the State houses, but there are more rentals than State homes. We need to get families into these houses, give them something to work for and be proud of.

It's a hard road for the few people trying to turn it around.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Putting in a freeway that bypasses a town can be the end of that town.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Times change and change is not always for the better. Case in point. Sidney,Nebraska was the home office for one of the most well known hunting and fishing retailers in the country. Times were good, anyone alive looking for employment could find it. New homes going up and new merchants opening their doors. Cabelas opened scores of new stores and essentially didn't have the management know how to manage the rapid growth. And then, BOOM. Bass Pro purchased the retail business and Capital One Bank purchased Cabelas bank and credit card operation. The number of out of work individuals is not in but it's not pretty. Very nice office complex available in Sidney, Nebraska and excellent labor supply of trained people looking for employment. And it all occurred in about two years.