MOUNT COOK RESERVE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2172, 10 June 1914, Page 8

MOUNT COOK RESERVE

ITS LONG NEGLECT SITE FOR? DOMINION : MUSEUM ... , PROSPECTIVE TRANSFORMATION GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS OUTLINED, 'It should bo gratifying news to all who take an interest in tho progress and development of tho city-of Wellington that a period is. at last likely to bo put to tho long neglect of tho Mount Cook Reserve—one of tho finest' public estates within the city boundaries —and that it' is to'bo applied-to uses-in somo degreo worthy of its ispUhdid' situation and natural advantages.,, ,Atj. present the reservo is given, over to-tiio growth of .weeds and Carries>a building .which, by Vomraon consent, should never-have been irected in any such conspicuous position. iVow,,however, tHore is a promise l)f •better'things. - Proposals have been formulated .by the Government which will .have the. effect,"if tlidy are'adopted; of transporting . the unsightly, ,r,es<?rve into a' beautiful park, upon' which buildings will be erected presenting .a very 'different aspect from ' tho ugly pri> hS'O block now visible from.so many parts • of the city. Briefly, the Government proposals - are to uso the reservo as a site for tho new Dominion Museum and Art Gallery, ;and.,to, utilise the.former prison, now a defence barracks, for tho storage- of -historical, records. Part of the ample-prea, Afcailablo. is to'be. .turned into an cducation reserve, and, in addi-, tion tc> that, it is intended to give, effect to a proposal made by v tho Hou.- Fi-M. B. Fisher that a sufficient area should ■bo added to the present inadequate playground of the Mount Cook School, which adjoins the reservo on : its. western, side. The gist'.of tjje* matter-is that an area of some 14i acres of land, splendidly situated, w'hitfh has been absolutely wasted since the .foundation of Wellington, is to be turned" to purposes which will assist in an important degree to'bpautify the.city, and Which, besides, .will confer - material . advantage's l both upon'citizens'and visitors.' While these, proposals have; not. yet been - definitely approved ,by the Government, ;it is thought by.no- niefins impossible.that the foundation-stone-of- the hew museum maybe laid-before the.-'present ..year, is out. ..

A Mistake of the Early Days. It hiis long' been universally admitted that, a. f serious , mistake was made wlien the' coinmaiitliiig -.' eminence -,at ■Mount Cook w'as"set aside in the early days as a'gaol'Mxiservev and'that one mistake-was. piled upon another when tho construction of,the massive prison building which still stands upon the site-was determined upon in 1881 and carried out in. subsequent years ,in spite of many local -protests. Since that time many attempts havo been made to -convert-the site to more worthy ■uses'. " 'subject' was' raised by. the. ■lata'Mr.' Gtfo.' Fisher, in the Houso of Representatives', in 1897,- and later on, in -1906, 'Mr. P. M. B. Fisher (now Minister-; of-Marine) took tho matter 1 up and publicly advocated tho utilisa-' tion' b'f the' site for the benefit of- seci ondary and technical education. - Although they attracted a good deal of public support, these .efforts failed at the time, but, they, have, never been entirely susponded. - Tlio proper utilisation of the site has commanded -the close attention of ,t' Wellington"nfctabejjs' of tho-Ministry, ' foi.'.'stfihp. AiW!>':l)ast,.;and 'they' are all concerned ,inthe>proposal:" which; have -now been formulated. •Officially tho Mount Cook "area is still ,"_a prison reserve, and tho fact that it iij to'be made available for other purposes is in keeping with the policy announced, by tho Hon. A. L. 'Hordman of removing., the gaols from the citics and. larger towns. -The Hon. H. D. Bell,' as will be seen from an; interview pub l lished below,, is' strongly of opinion' • that- Mount Cook offers the best pos-sible-sito for : tho Dominion Museum, Art Gallery and Library. The Hon. F. M. B. Fisher has been active'.in adyo-, eating tho utilisation of the reserve ever- since ho entered publio-life, and is- closely concerned iu tho matter as member for Wellington Central, tho iistrir* within whicfl Mount Cook is located.

Practical Town-Planning. ■ . t 'All three 'Ministers- 1 - liavc» beon animated by a detcrminirtibn'that.townplanning should not bo .lost; sight of. 6o,„far as tho _City is concerned. Under "their proposals the reserve,-which-has too long been allowed to lie in the condition of waste land, will bq formed ' nnd planted in a manner worthy of tho buildings proposed to be erected. Hie slopes! fronting Buckle Street and the other < boundaries will be graded, and paths'and flower-beds will be formed, do transformed tli'oW reserve? <-bo» conio one of the iilcist attractive., . , in the City of Wellington, and a source of prido and pleasure to every citizen to wliom Mount Cook has boon an eyc- ' -sore for tho. last ■thirty''years'. The advantages ,'o'f ;£lio- sito as regards 'configuration and Situation arc obvious. ' Mount Cook is sufficiently',-'.elevated .to give it a commanding outlook and make it visible over a largo part of tho city, „but it is easily,accessible.from all direcs tioiis,-and ■.takiiig.'.jnto account .the'.de-' velopment 'of .tho hill /areas; Berliamporc, and ;-other .growing suburbs,; ;it must be regarded. as tlio most central pite in Wellington. If in future years it should bs proposed to establish tho Technical School ..or other, . educational institutions upon . the...'.'Mount .Cook', grounds, tho central nature of tho site is bound to operate as a powerful fac : | tor in'guiding a decision, but this is a' matter! for tho fnturo. Tho defini'to] proposals of tho Government meantimo are cohfincd to using the ,site for ; tho museum and its "allied institutions!' in' which Jcitizens should havo a' common interest, and in'.surrounding .the buildings with a .park., ; v Speaking td'a reporter yesterday, Mr. Fisher - condensed his'' comments 'unori' tho position which has now been reached in regard to tho reserve into one word: "Delighted." ,

; The Museum Proposals. , Tlio "proposals of the Government' in,: regard, to the Museum, Art''Gallery; nnd Library, were explained to a Dominion - representative by the Hon. H. D. Belli .who ( as Minister of Internal 1 Affairs,. is,in charge of-these'.insti-tutions. It is intended to retain the former prison building, now a (barracks. 'for the accommodation of historical records,, and ; ita .'build;tho,new: Dominion' Museum on .what is ijoiv, tlio jaivii in front of tlio Defenco Offices, tho .small brick buildings which adjoin tho end of the Barracks.. . Tho Museum building will thus face Bueklo Street. The Art Gallery, it is proposed shall bo located in a wing running back from the Museum building on tho western side and parallel with the Barracks. As soon as possession, of the Defenco Offices: could be obtained by the provision o& accommodation-elsewhere for tho officei'fl and soldiers, tlio Minister remarked, ho proposed to store the. more valuable portions of the Museum exhibits in thsso offices. . _ ' .The rear portion of the site is at present being worked as a brick-yard, and a gang of orisoners is "'-.ployed

there in making bricks for tho new Parliamentary Buildings, and other Government buildings. The intention is to lower the level of this portion of tho reservo to that, of tho. land adjoining tho Barracks, and to utilise tho area thus formed partly as a park and partly for educational purposes. "That Excrescence." In the controversies which have raged at different times over tho disposal of the Mount Cook reservo many uncomplimentary things have been said about the staring pile of brickwork which was erected as a prison (in face of many protests by tho citizens of Wellington), only to bo condemned for that purpose and ultimately to fall into the hands of tho Defence authorities. The late 'Mr. Seddou on one occasion spoke of tho. building as "that oxcrescence —that absolute disgrace—which stood upon tho best site in Wellington, at Mount Cook." Many similar things have been said abtilit the building at different times, but it will be seen that the Minister of Internal Affairs proposes to retain it, and to screen it from observation to a great extent with buildings having better claims to ' architectural beauty. From tho point of view of economy it seems to bo very desirable building- should bo retained. One potent argument, in favour of this ■courso is that it would cost a very • large sum -to destroy it, for it is substantial in a degreo not often witnessed jnl building in this coiyitrv. The main walls are ten bricks thick, and the mortar is exceedingly hard ' and tough. Something" like £40,000 of public money was spent upon .this massive structure, and as it, was erected by prison labour, it is,probably worth a good deal more itliah that at tho present day, provided 'it 'eah he'fully utilised. Mr. Bell is of 'opinion'thaf'the building as it stands, with its cells', galleries, and halls solidly cons true ted' ■ t'hroughou t, and in a high degreo-fireproof, affords admirably safe and suitable accommodation for historical records.

Providing for the Prisoners. ■ A number, of matters affecting prison administration are more or less involved in the proposed application of the Mount Cook-reserve to new and better uses. •Buildings aroat present being erected on.the.reserve to houso tho working staff of about thirty prisoners employed at the Mount Cook brickyards, and. as soon as this accommodation is provided tho necessity of marching the:prisoners through the streets every day, irom and 'to ■ the Terrace Gaol, will be done away with. . This is a matter to- which very great importance is attached by peoplo living in that part of the city'traversed by. the prison gang, and repeated representations have been made .to -Mr. Fisher, as nielnber for the district, that :tho daily march of the prisoners should be discontinued. It is urged that tho public parade of. the prisoners, in charge of their armed guards, inflicts; a needless indignity upon thenij and is not a pleasant experience, for people, old and young, who see them passing by.- Tlio_public appearance of prisoners :is of course quite inconsistent witli modern-.prison methods, and 1 it may bo taken"' for granted ■ that Wellington will soon havo seen the' last of it. The establishment of the working prison., gang in quarters on' the Mount Cook reserve is a temporary arrangement; It has already been officially announced that before long the Terrace Gaol is to be abandoned so-far as its present purpose .is concerned,' long-sen-tence prisoners being transferred to* the Waikeira prison-farm, and short-sen-tence prisoners and those-awaiting scntenco to a small depot prison to be established near Wellington. This institution will be located probably in the vicinity of Fort Ballance.

The Terrace Gaol Site. ; , A " matter to'somo extent connected with' the utilisation of the Mount Cook Bite is that of the disposal of the Terrace Gaol site when the existing prison is'removed. It is intended to set aside this area as an education reserve, and it is hoped that there may be erected upon it ultimately a modern and up-to-date school, which will take the place of both the J'e Aro t and Mitchelltown schools. . The Defence Offices. The problem of providing alternative accommodation for tho Defence authorities to replace tho offices, barracks, and stores at Mount Cook, is not a very serious one. It -is estimated that the necessary buildings could bo erected at a cost of about £12,000, and it , has been. suggested that while the transformation of Mount Cook is in progress, accommodation for the headquarters staff of tho Defence Department might bo found in the, present Museum building,' in l Museum 'Street. ' Tho Agitation of 1906. It is interesting at this stage to recall tho ' agitation originated by the Hon. F. M. B. Fisher (then a private member of the House of Representatives); in', 1906, in favour of- Using the Mount Cook reserve as a site for a high school and a-technical school, and leasing,tho street frontages of the reserves a3 an educational endowment. The -leading-features of the; position at that time were that the proposal was taken up and powerfully supported by the city, local and. public bodies, but that the Government 'of- the day declined to . make the desired concession. The wide support which Mr. Fisher's proposal evoked may bo gauged from the fact ~ thafci"'(reiiiiitation which waited, in OcJdiiai''. X 906," Upon tho' then Primo Ministor (Sir J. Ward) and Minister of Education (the Hon. G. Fowlds) included represenfatives of the following bodies : Tlio City' Council, suburban local bodies, the. Education Board, the , Technical Education Board, the Chamber of Commerce) the Harbour Board, Employers' Federation, Association, Trades and Labour Council, Wellington Employers'... Association, New Zealand tJnitferiitv;': Council,' Victoria College Cpuncijj "Wellington College, Board of < Governors.'ja'iid tho city and suburban school';committees. There were also present mombers of both branches of tlio Legislature, including Mr. J. G. W; Aitken, JJI.H.R. (who introduced tho deputation); and Mr. Fisher. When the Government of the day proposed in 1903 to erect tho Colonial Museum on Mount Cook tho question "of"devoting a portion of tho reserve to educational purposes was again raised, but no definito result followed.

• Tho original Blunder. Tho facts connected with tlio erection of a gaolon.tha Mount Cook site were sot i forth by. tlio lato Mr. Geo. Fisher iii'lß97 when he asked the lato Mr.'Scddon (then Prime Minister) what jvere tiio views of tho Government in regard to handing over the Mount Cook gaol sifej&s'tf sit-© for' a Middle District 'Uni'versitv. Since 1881, Mr. ■ ffeher ' stated, when the Government of the day 'first bruited the idea of erecting a central prison in Wellington, the people of the city and every public body in the citv' had steadily and consistently opposed the proposal. In 1836, when tho erection of the building had not proceeded far, a deputation representing tlio city local and public bodies waited upon, the then Premier,' Mr. (now Sir Bobort) Stout, "and asked him to arrest tho erection of that frowsy prison fortress which stands at this flay upon tho noblest site in this city." These representations were unavailing. Replying to Mr. Fishor, Mr. Seddon admitted that a groat error of judgment was committed when the I Mount Cook site was taken for the purpose. to which it had been applied, and saddled responsibility for the blunder upon a-member of' the Hall-Whitaker I Atkinson Ministry.