THORNDON RECLAMATION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 9, 5 October 1918, Page 8

THORNDON RECLAMATION

CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY NEXT.

The Mayor (Mr. 3. P. Luke) and the chairman of tho Wellington Harbour Board (Mr. C. B. Daniell) will confer with the' General Manager of" Railways (Mr. E. H. Hiley) on Tuesday next in connection with theplansfor tho proposed reclamation at Thorndon (between the present Esplanade wall and tho Kaiwaira promontory) and the lay-out of the railways in connection therewith. : '• |

This work is of vital importance to Wellington, as it concerns the reclamation of portion of tho harbour opposite a point forming a bottle-necked • passage through which all Wellington inland traffic must pass, whether it goes by rail, motor-lorry, or horse-dra.vn ■vehicle. The point in question is the strip of lnnd between the hills and the sea, where the Thorndon Esplanade junctions with the Hutt Road. From a railway point of view alone the formation of further solid land there is of ■ immeasurable importance to anyono with vision. It. is scarcely less important to the Harbour Board, which must extend its wharf system that way, and must have shed and road space in order to utilise the waterfront. The board, too, has an idea- of making special facilities for the storage and handling of coal in that quarter, and the board's engineer is in America, at present picking up the best nnd most suitable-"notions ,, in that regard for Wellington. As the railways can scarcely be separated from coal facilities, what would bo a.gain to one body must benefit tho other. The city, ioo, hits its .claims. At present the City Corporation owns the Thorndon Esplanade—a parade that has long sinco lost its intended significance—which the Railway Department will ■ probably wish to acquire. For such a concession and the loss of the Thorndon Baths, a quid pro quo will be required. Te Aro railway station site has been suggested as a means of compensating the city, a purpose which would meet with the desires of tho Harbour Boarcl, as ty such an exchange arrangements might bo made for, continuing the roads already existing from Courtenay Place right through to the sea front.

SPORTS PROTECTION LEAGUE'S • VIEWS. ' . The following is a copy of a letter from the secretary of the Now Zealand Sports Protection League to His Worship the Mayor with regard to the proposed extension of the Thorudon reclamation:—"! notice that a conference will bo held on Tuesday next to consider plans for the extension of the Thorndon Reclamation. The chairman of the Wellington branch of the league has instructed me to suggest to you, as Mayor of the city and member for the district, that the utmost should bo done to secure for the citizens privileges at least equal to what they have enjoyed in the past by the Use of the' Thorndon Esplanade and tho Thortidon Baths. It is hardly necessary to point out the unwise tendency to destroy the. immediate picturesque water frontages used for.-healthful recreation, and n:y coinmitteo considers that free access should bo allowed to any proposed plans before they are- adopted, in order that tho interests which the league is enlted upon fo protect shall receive their hill and proper consideration. I trust that your support will bo given in this direction."