THE CAPITAL CITY

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17471, 3 June 1922, Page 7

THE CAPITAL CITY

WHY WELLINGTON WAS CHOSEN. MABLBOBOUGH'S DOUBLE MISS. (specially written fob "the raKss. ') (By Will Lawson.) (All Rights Reserved.) Canterbury has never claimed the honour of possessing the capital city of New Zealand ; yet tho choice nearly fell in adjacent territory. Twice in her history, Marlborough has narrowly escaped the greatness of having the Dominion capital city within her boundaries. The third is proverbially the lucky chance, and who knows, in the near future, when it is decided to separate the capital and the chiof shipping port, Marlborough or North Canterbury may still be in the running? Her central situation and her deep water port, combined with a fine climate and splendid waterways, may yet sway the balance in her favour. "With the railway completed to Christchurch, a fast ferry to Wellington and the unique mountain, river, and sounds county as playground, the capital city would be a delightful place to live in, and Marlborough would truly come into her own as a working part of the Dominion machine.

In all the diverse portions of Marlborough, where was it contemplated on the two occasions reterrod to that the capital should ba situated? 'l'his question would interest Marlborough people, for seldom has a rich territory of the. small dimensions of Marlborough been s 0 divided within itself in natural formation, climate, and the local aims of its people. It is this division of interest which has held Marlborough back in the past, and is holding her back to-day. If the capital should be offered to Marlborough to-morrow, it is not safe to say that the wrangle as to the site might last for a hundred years. Picton is the town in Marlborough that was first regarded favourably as a possible site for the capital or the colony. It was in the early sixties, when the isolation of Auckland from the remainder of the colony made it imperative that tlio capital should be removed to a port on Cook Straits. There were three large sea-coast settlements here then, with about equal claims to the honour. They lay in line with one another, a line running due east and west, and they were Wellington, Picton. and Nelson. Nelson was then the final port of doparture for the Sydney mail steamers. Picton is reported to have had a population of about 3000 people; and Wellington was still very much in the rough; but growing rapidly, and their claims were considered to be so equal that a Royal Commission was appointed to visit each of them and collect evidence to assist the Government in making their decision.^ First the Commission visited Nelson, and were royally entertained. The obvious limitations of the port at that time, and the supposed difficulty of readily linking Nelson with the 60Uth by rail, put the little cathedral city out of count.

The next visit was to Picton. It rained at Picton a good old-time • Sounds rain, the influence of which, not all the geniality in the world could counteract. Still, Picton's claims were not altogether disposed of, until the Commission reached Wellington. There the ladie3 had heard of the extraordinary efforts which had been made at Nelson arid Picton to influence the Commission by means of dinners, dances, and other grand social turn-outs. So they set to work and arranged a dinner and a ball, the equals of which had not been known in the colony. The weather was glorious, the sun shone, and there was no wind! Because of this welcome, the story tells, though there were, of course other factors operating, Wellington was selected, though, for years after, doubts as to the wisdom of the choice were often expressed. The Government was removed from Auckland to Wellington in 1862, most of the records being lost in the wreck of the steamer "White Swan," near Castle Point, when the vessel was conveying officials and documents to the new seat of Govornment. Looking back, one cannot help thinking what a radically different state of affairs would now prevail had Picton or Nelson been chosen. Wellington still would have become the busy port she is, there would have been a capital city across the Straits necessitating a railway to link it with Christchurch, and a lorry across the water to Wellington. It almost seems a pity that it did not happen so. The second occasion when Marlborough came under notice was about eighteen years ago, when the advisability of having a capital out of reach of shell-fire by men-of-war was debated in the House. The late Mr G. Laurenson, then member for Lyttelton, brought the matter forward, and, after a debate, his motion, that the capital should be removed from Wellington to an inland town, was only lost by a few votes. Behind Mr Laurenson was a movement led by a man who knew New Zealand well, and who had in his mind an ideal site for the new capital if it was decided upon. That site was where, the town of Seddon stands in Marlborough. There were strong arguments supporting this selection, many of which still obtain to-day. One of the most vital was the fact that it was all Government land in the vicinity; another was Seddon's accessibility by rail with the 6outh, and by rail and steamer with the north. At. that time the intention to build the trunk lino to the south was genuine. The nearness to Picton Sound, where a fleet could lie, while the city would be sheltered behind the hills, against gunfire from the sea, was another big factor, though aeroplanes have now spoiled this advantage. Climate was another; Seddon is just as bracing and even as windy as Wellington, water supply another, excellent drainage into the Awaterc river, another, anyone who knows the locality will realise that the residents in the capital city of Seddon, or Maßsey, or whatever its name might have become, would have been lucky beings, working in a radiant climate, and with a playground of mountains and rivers at their doors, while the seacoast and sounds districts are not far i awav. . When the debate was on in the House, such places as Palmerston North and Taumarunui, Masterton, or Grey town, were in the people's minds. No one thought of Seddon, except the wise man who was behind Mr Laurenson when he brought the matter forward. Marlborough has had two chances. The third is always the lucky one. The question is, if Parliament said, to-day, that the capital must go to Marlborough, would i the Marlborough public, if they were ■ asked to vote would they select either Picton or Seddon as the site for the I city ? "Would the question ever be deI cided.