Time passed and after the Second World War the old buildings on Meløya were no longer good enough. Again, the administration was to be moved, but agreeing on where it should be would prove a challenge.
 

In the early 1950s, there were relatively heated discussions about the relocation of administration from Meløya. The dispute was between Vall in South and Ørnes in the north. The owner of Grønnøy, Fredrik Kristian Meyer, had inherited more than just the name from his father. He was also very committed and was willing to go to great lengths for the administration to be put in his district. It is said that he was willing to move both the steamboat quay and expedition to the other side of the bay if necessary. Sigurd was no worse. He had begun showing his age, but his heart still burned for his village. He had already secured both the old people's home and the dairy and perhaps this was finishing touch of his career
 
One might wonder why the choice was between these 2 places. They are both conveniently located in relation to shipping, but far from perfect. There are probably other places that geographically would have made more sense. The fact that both places had a trading post was probably decisive here. Both Grønøy and Ørnes had a strong leader who was keen to protect his district. And the people were used to following them.
 
The trading posts heyday was indeed long since past in the 1950s. In Meløy, these were the only who still remained and they wore but shadows of their former greatness. Nevertheless, they had great influence and large areas of land. As the administration constantly had new needs for various services, Grønøy and Ørnes had made land available. Both places also had regular public transport routes.
Why the choice ultimately fell on Ørnes is hard to say, but much of the reason probably lies in port conditions and the accessibility to the industrial site of Glomfjord.
 
I think this was probably an example of a tug-of-war between old elites. But even if Fredrik Meyer was determent , social development had transformed Grønøy from the center to the outskirts. The road network was undergoing extensive development and was well on its way to taking over as the main thoroughfare.

Subject text: Helge Seim

Screenplay: Helge Seim og Jan Ivar Bårtvedt

Voice:  Miriam Sollie Iversen

Editing: Helge seim

Musikk og Lydeffekter: freesound.org

Source:

• Swensen P. , Torsvik U. og Schulz H.(1984) Jubileumsskrift Meløy kommune 1884 - 1984