1930s

1930

• Population 20,000

• Government subsidised work schemes for the unemployed commence in City

• Artesian bore sunk in Heretaunga Street to supplement water supply

• Regent Theatre opens

• Palmerston North Gazetted as the 7th City in New Zealand, population had reached 20,000

• Informal celebrations of Palmerston North's new City status

• Golden (50th ) Jubilee of Manawatu Standard Newspaper, special issue published

1931

• Augustus Edward Mansford elected Mayor

• Leader & Watt, a local electrical contractor & retailer, is founded in a garage at 8 Carroll Street

• Palmerston North Unemployed Workers Movement formed in City to protest Government's handling of unemployment

• Hawkes Bay earthquake, homeless refugees from Napier evacuated to Palmerston North, damage to buildings in City

• Second Radio Station opens, 2ZO, a privately owned station

• Massey Agricultural College Main Science Building officially opened

• Milson Aerodrome opens, a privately owned airfield used by the Manawatu Aero Club, celebrated with an air pageant

1932

• Additional artesian bore sunk in Heretaunga Street adjacent to the first to further supplement water supply

• June-September Economic Depression at its worst in Palmerston North, over 1500 males registered as unemployed (about 14% of the labour force)

1933

• Fitzherbert Bridge over the Manawatu River (the second bridge), construction commences

• Charles Kingsford Smith brings the Southern Cross aircraft to Palmerston North after a second Trans Tasman flight, the aircraft was damaged while taxiing on the Milson runway

• The State Theatre opens (cinema)

1934

• YWCA Queen Street Hostel is abandoned

• Demonstrations by unemployed over sustenance levels and work camps, Prime Minister Forbes addresses a restless crowd in The Square

• London to Melbourne Air Race (20-28 October), Manawatu Aero Club enter an aircraft named ‘Manawatu' piloted by McGregor and Walker

1935

• Joseph Hodgens elected as MP for Palmerston North

• Manawatu Co-operative Society Ltd is founded, later ‘Consumers Co-operative Society (Manawatu) Ltd', one of the regions largest retailers, also known as the Co-Op

• Second Fitzherbert Bridge over the Manawatu River opens, replacing the now rotting wooden first bridge, opened by Governor General Lord Galway

• Manawatu Co-operative Society opens their first shop, a grocery store on Broadway

• Labour Party wins Palmerston North seat in the general election, Joe Hodgens is the first Labour MP for the City

1936

• Population 22202

• Terrace End Fire substation is sold

• The Palace becomes The Mayfair (cinema)

• Union Airways Ltd opens first commercial air service for Palmerston North to Dunedin

• Cyclone hits Manawatu, “The Big Gale” causes considerable damage to buildings and one person is killed

• A third artesian bore is sunk to supplement the water supply, this one is in Vogel Street

1937

• The Meteor Theatre opens (cinema)

• Milson Aerodrome is purchased by City Council

1938

• Savage Crescent state housing precinct commences, this was a ‘garden suburb' subdivision by the Labour Government and is now recognised as a heritage area

• The Art Deco T&G Building is constructed in Broadway Avenue, in 1938 this was the tallest building in the City and at £46,000 the most expensive building erected in the City at the time

• Fitzroy Park opens in the former New Zealand Railways gravel pit on Main Street (later renamed Memorial Park)

• Radio Station 2ZA opens, a Government owned commercial station; two privately owned stations are forced to close down

• Public Library establishes free service for City users with the abolition of membership subscriptions

1939

• Population 23400

• The two cannons that had been present in The Square were removed during beautification of the gardens; the cannons were originally part of the Wellington Harbour's coastal defences

• World War Two declared