AT SOLOMON'S KNOB.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1285, 14 November 1911, Page 5

AT SOLOMON'S KNOB.

CITY COUNCILLORS VISIT THE DAM. new_ storage reservoir at Solomon's Knob, at \Y ainui, about a mile above the old dam, was visited yesterday afternoon ov a municipal party, consisting of tho Mayor and councillors of tho city, witli their wives, and the executive officer.! and staff of the city engineer's departS°u t The P 3l '? s '* lvhich lcft tho ,r °™ liall at 1 p.m., in a procession of motorcars, had a very enjoyable outing. Solomon s Knob was reached about half-past two, and after a lour of exploration of tho new dam, the party sat down to afternoon tea, dispensed by Mr. "Dorrie" Leslio under the trees near the lower lake. Afterwards,' the Mayor (Mr. T. 51. Wilford) made a little spcecli, in the course of which ho remarked that the occasion "'? s a red-letter day for the citizens of Wellington. At a oost of .£50,000 there had now been completed a most up-to-date dam, which • would guarantee tho city a water supply far beyond their present needs, equal, in fact, to the requirements of tivico the present population of the city. The storage capacity of the new dam was 120 million gallons, and m addition to that was the supply of .20 million gallons in the lower dam. The estimated daily supply from tho river aggregated UJ million gallons. Again, the aggregato storage of the dams at Aaron was 107 million gallons, so that they had, practically speaking, the finest possible water supply for the city. Wellington had the reputation of being the cleanest city in the Southern Hemisphere, although Melbourne was running it very close, and this was entirely due to the foresight and perspicacity of the citv councillors. The duplication of th'e mains, also, had been rendered necessary bv tho fact that tho diameter of tho existing pipes was not sufficient for present requirements. This important work had been provided for bv the authorisation of tho .0100,000 loan for the duplication of the mains. Continuing, the Mayor said that ho desired to offer his congratulations to Mr. Morton. (Hear, hear.) In their city engineer and his associate officers the.v had a staff that tho city might well feel proud of. It was one of the proofs of Mr. Morton's high capacity that men whom ho had trained were snapped up by other bodies, rhey had lost Mr. Paierson, and that officcr had appreciated tho yaluo ot Mr. Morton's men by taking threo of them with him, and quite recently they had lost another officcr. Tho important work which had just been completed had been something in tho nature of an experiment for the citv engineer and the contractors. Tho dam was of tho Amburson tvpo, similar to the great dam at Schuvleville (U.S.A) and there was no other liko it South of the Line. The result of (he experiment was a testimony to the capacity of their engineer and the contractors. He extended his congratulations to tho contactors (Messrs. Martin, Hurrell, and snaddon) upon the completion of the work, and especially complimented Mr. Hurrell, who had taken up his residence at the dam site threo years ago, and stayed tliero till its completion. Iu conclusion, the Mayor said that in I order to perpetuate Mr. Morton's achievement, he proposed to ask tho council to agree to a change of name, that Solomon s Knob dam should be called tho Morton dam. (Applause.) It was the least the council could do. (Hear, hear.) Mr. W. H. Morton (city engineer) briefly respomlod, and bestowed a high tribute to tho efforts of his engineers, especially complimenting Mr. H. D. Mur' doeh (assistant engineer) and Mr. Robinson (clerk of works). Ho was ple,tvd that the result had been so satisfactory and assured his hearers that it would be a lasting job. (Applause.) Sir. Hurrell also responded, and the gathering then dispersed to the waitin" cars, and, after a smart hour's run" reached tho city nbout half-past five. '