BIG MIRAMAR WORK.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 610, 13 September 1909, Page 8

BIG MIRAMAR WORK.

CITY'S EXPANSION, IjTHE LEVELLINC AND RECLAMATION. i. Miramar, .and tho southern foreshore of Evans Bay liavo much to gain from tho big' works', tlip;; Wellington ' Harbour Board is about' to "commence,.at the -lieSd;.'of Evans Hay. It is not so • much the . actual rtork which is, to 'be done. by Messrs. C. F.; Pulley ajid Co., under- ~ tiiq contractthat firm, secured.J.ast ,;,;week,'. "so v.mucb as 'what will follow -hK.its train.'; ,Bor some years- past it', has 'bMn/'-rMognised ''that "iff Wellington is . to 'expand'..during- the. next-.,ten .years' at' the •,even;'lqss,'..'than in the last' there; is;. ' really • little', choice l^t.'aivf(^i|(eV)li^iioil : expansion-will take.;':-There .ris",no larger,, area' of-'flat:-;land in closo proximity, to deep 'water' that calls for. settlemenjtj : ;ihdustrial; as. well as.'.reside'n-' tial, aa . •* Someone hadyto' make Residential settlement in'; ;iliramar commenced:- six - or seven: yearsvfagb, but it Remained' for the 'Wellington :(3a's' Company'.;to"; head' the; industrial invasion of "'Crawford's old sheep-, station." -■ .-. First in. ' Tho Wellington Gas Company is entitled to credit for the prcscience' its directors have shown in taking a step that time.would have made inevitable.' ' It is '"well -'established -that the trend' of■' Wellington's " growth is to the south-east—Newtown, Kilbirnie, and Island Bay. . Haphazard, tests havo shown that the' centre of population of greater .Wellington is. somewhere in the vicinity of tho Basin , Resorve; and the movement— though cheeked. ; still to that point, of-the . compass. ThO-Gas Company .doubtless ; nbted the fact ili selecting a site for _.its', new works, as it is essentially a business' that must study the movement 'of the residential population. ''Miramar, with its early prospects of closer settlement than it now boasts, stands in good relation , to those areas, of iand between the Mount Victoria ridge and the entrance to'tho -harbour, i which will probably receivo the population of the future.. ; The sito olfered . furthor valuable facilities. .It is .in close proximity to deep water, and • a wharf,, invaluable adjuncts: to. an industry that lives on - sea-borne coal. There is another why a shift should be commenced. The- company's property in'. Courtenay Place - and; Tory Street has become - much .too. valuable for industrial purposes, ,nnd as Courtenay Placo threatens, to* become, one of the leading business thoroughfares in' the city, consequent upon tho' establishment of tho markets., doqkj, and 'wharves in -its vicinity, it will bo to -the' advantage oftho. gas corporation' to-lease or.sell,its.,valuable areas a fow years hence, wlien .it lias'firmly, established its' new works at Mirmfiar. ■ v/here the Harbour Board Comos in, The Harbour Board has its responsibilities m -rosftect,:.to.; ftu wator front, ;-and has

always .' recognised - them. .It' is , worthy, of note jnst hero that it • was : while Mr. [William Ferguson (at present -' managing director of th 6 Wellington Gas' Company) was 'secretary and engineer to the 1 Wellington; Harbour Board,, that a scheme of'reclamation at tho head, of E ( vans ,Bay[ was first mooted, only some two years ago- The scheme at; that time was not tho one that is being carried out to-day. . It was a larger idea altogether—one that was to embrace tho. reclamation of the whole of-tho the 'head of' Evans Bay,. and up the bay the Patent !31ip. -..Tho-.work to be carried out within the next; eighteen, months is., directly attributable, to the Wellington Gas' Company's move, and though: of "ultimate benefit to . tho whole of the borough, is > being done. initially to convenience:'the operations' of the company. - Pulleys contract. - v ( J' r - Q.'F. Pulley's contract is only a bit of .the whole,scheme.'- The work; he is to "do is to c05t.£26y224, whereas tho 'board is ,'investing ;£52,000 s in: land; and harbour-front improvements in that'locality. .The land acquired consists of that ridge which follows the shoreline," immediately' to the south of Miramar It: is intended', tb 'make good .uso of it. ; The hill is to be lopped away, ,ahd : the beach reclaimed with the spoil, so . that hereafter the board' will come possessed . of ! a valuable area of flat land in closest proximity .to . the wharf (which is also ' to be raised and' extended to cope with tho- big coal and cargo traffic expected , in the' future). That area will bo further added to by thtlt-strip of land 'known as Miramar Quay (which leads to tho cutting), which the board become possessed of, under an agreement with the Miramar Borough' Council, on making the new road to be formed on the land to be reclaimed between the'Miramar wharf and the bound-1 ary . between, the city and'borough. This

land, with the sum ,of ;£oooo,'. is: the- reward tho board is to receive from' tho. Borough Councilin return for the work about,to So' undertaken. Pile particular work .to bo done by Mr. Pulley, ■ under his contract, is clearly set forth in tho; accompanying rough plan.. His chief concern is' tho'erection, in thrdo sections, of a big sea ,wall of a total length of 1432-feet, the central and a much •J° .longest hcction (1180 feet) to-traverse a straight mo,,practically parallel to Miramar ljuay. Ibis concrete wall will' bo I3ft. in tmekness -;at the base, and 6ft. at tho low-water-mark. - • . . >. A Novel idea. > Between , the . Joiv and high-watermark' a superstructure of-, concrete, strongly rein* forced with steel bars, will rise'to a'height of 4ft. above the level of tho now road. This superstructure,, to be "toed" on to tho main wall'm a manner to \ensure - strength, dwindles- in ; thickness to aboiit a foot, and will have.'a-curve outwards at the top'to repel the waves at .high-water. The superstructure, of; the wall Vis unique :as far as New Zealand- is concerned, aiid :has an appearance of frailty' in, comparison with : the massiye,.walls:;usually crected along a- seafront,, but the reinforcement is calculated to provide, all tho stability required. Roughly, half the contract cost will be involved in the .construction of tho wall from the base to the low-water mark. The rest of Mr; Pulley's work ' consists' of the. lowering of the lloor of tho Miramar Cutting, and its', widening to a breadth of 66ft., and: the' excavation, from Sections JLB,-19, 20, 21, 22, and' 23 (on the Miramar side of the. hill) for the reclaiming of- the- area between Miramar Quay and the sea-wall. Mr. ' Pulloy hopes "to : got a. start with tho preliminary work, in connection\with his contract within a fortnight. Thccontract time expires on.February.2B,-1911., , .