SEASIDE HOMES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2630, 27 November 1915, Page 3

SEASIDE HOMES

A NEW RESORT OHIRO BAY ATTRACTS BUYERS. _ One only has to read' the newspapers in the springtime to judge the value of seaside Wellington. Tlie history of every city that ]ias frontages to the sea and a. prosperous back coimtny, well dotted with thriving towns, and richly yielding acres, is that as country and city grows, and the bulk of tlie people get past the struggling stage, they look for rest and recreation beside tlie sea. One has only to quote the rush for Island Bay of fifteen years ago, tho big money that was made at Miramar, and the push that has sot ill towards Lynll Bay since tram communication las metamorphosed the place. Unfortunately the area of ground for summer, or all tho year round, resi-dc-nce_ for that matter, within call of the surf is limited. It is true that there is yet plenty of land of sorts near the sea, but tlie trouble has beeat to secure areas affording good building sites, reasonably near to a good beach, with ap.cturesque outlook. This is where Wellington's new seaside resort is scoring. The spot referred to is Oliiro Bay —the pleasant little lialf-moon bay at u* ? ceal1 * enc * Happy Valley—a- bay which looks over the ever-changirig blues and grays of Cook Strait, just to the west of Island Bay, a bare mile from its tramway, terminus. For a long time many people have cast longing eyes on the land that fronts the bay and follows the road up Happy Valley, for there one is shut off from tho madding crowd s "ignoble strife," though within a short half-an-hour of the City. , H a PPJ' Valley—happily named—runs oetween _ two ranges of high lulls which run north and soutli from Brooklyn to the eea. As these ranges approach the coast they open out gently, with nice flats of land on cither siclo of the road, well sowin in English ahead is the curve of the Bay, a crescent of sand and shingle in the centre, and protected on either horn by natural breakwaters in the form of rocky barriers, against which the big seas hi heavy southerly weather spend their wrath. Across the Strait in clear weather, clear cut against the southern sky, lie the hoary Kaikouras, a serated bank of hazy blue in the summer, a glistening monument ■ of snow in the winter. And l the view* from this spot is never twice the 6ame. ThSt is its great charm. Each inflection of tho weather bringsnew tones .to the canvas, and all the time Happy Valley is a thing unto itself—a 6nug, secluded seaside retreat rather than a resort. Rushed by the Publlo. Only three weeks ago Mr. S. George Nathan, acting for the . trustees, had that portion of the Joseph Estate in the immediate vicinity of Ohiro Bay subdivided for the 1 purposo of seaside residences, tho sections averaging a frontage to the main road of 40ft. by. a depth of 120 ft. Those sections to the cast of the Valley Road, between the road and the Ohiro Stream—varied in depth from 105 ft.. to 200 ft., and others were of irregular shape. Prices ranged from £25 to . £200 _ per section. Mr. Nathan got out his plan, and offered Ohiro Bay to tho public. Within three days ho had disposed of twenty-seven (27) sections, and up till yesterday over 40 had been sold. Tho beach sections are rather hilly, but are splendid sections for wliares, and with a little excavating capital sites for week-end cottages may be secured. The pick of the land, however,- is two minutes' wall: up from the bcach road, just across the bridge. On the eastern sido of the road most of the subdivided sections have been sold except one or two which lie lower than the rest, bnt since then another block of land—absolutely the pick of tho locality—has been subdivided, nnd plans-and prices were made available as from yosterday. Old Recreation Cround Subdivided. This. block consists of the old weekend recreation ground, where for a quarter of a century past- cricket and football have been played on the grassy swards which slope gently froni the hills to the road. _ This area of heavily grassed .land is_ ideal for residential purposes, and it is only a mile from Island Bay. and a-little over two miles from Brooklyn.. Roughly this extensive paddock lias boon divided into fifty-four sections averaging 40ft. by 120 ft., with prices ranging from £55. to. £150. so that, those, folic who. find it difficult ,to Cet homes at a reasonable rental' are afforded an excellent , opportunity, to secure a lovely, section within the city .boundaries/-beside tho sea,'at prices which all must concede are reasonable in the extreme. Tho Futuro of Ohiro Bay. Already half-a-dozen sections on the weßt side (Block 2) of the road have, been disposed<of; already there uro new owners sinking piles into the wound they only bought a few days ago; . already over 40 sections have been sold. These facts tell the whole'story. . The future of the bay must be one of quick development. From Island Bay there is a broad, well-conditioncd road that runs on the flat round the corner , to Ohiro Bay.' Between tho two bays the Oity Corporation has recently protected a portion of the road by erecting a long and substantial concrete retaining wall on the seaward side, which is now capped with a protective rail fence. Only settlement is needed in the bay, and the electric car system will doubtless be extended to the new resort.. With the growth of settlement In that locality and the growth of Mornington west, it is not extravagant to contemplate the .linking up of tie tramways between Brooklyn and Island Bay by way of Happy Valley. Already it is one of the most popular motor drives-in the neighbourhood of Wellington. Another adVantage will mean that a'l the hygienio advantages of City life will be available in a minimum of time. The City already has a sewer running down Happy Valley to, a septic tank, located far out among the rocks. That main will be available almost' immediately for the draining of tho houses to be erected. Only surface water, will be allowed to drain into the Ohiro stream. The water is already laid on from the City majns to the septic tank, eo that tho mains that remain to be laid over cover short distances.

An important factor that is calculated to be of material advantago to users of the beach is the fact that the City Council has prohibited the removal of any further sand or shingle from the bay. In the past the operations in this direction have been extensive, and have not tended to improve the beach, but already the prohibition has had a marked effect on the beach, and each tide is building it up. again to its pristino beauty of contour and firmness.' . Cood for Sport. Off the rocks good line fishing is to bo had, whilst tho rocks along tho coast are tho favoured haunt of the succulcnt crayfish. Thero is splendid rabbit shooting to be had among tho hills, and perhaps there is no finer walk than that which offers along the beach to the west towards Terawbiti. Plans of the newlysubdivided lands of Happy Valley % tho sea may iiow be had at tho office of Mr. S. Geo. Nathan, in Customhouse Quay. Those desirous of seeing tho land for themselves ivill find Mr. Nathan on the block this afternoon.