THE TOWN-PLANNERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 201, 20 May 1919, Page 5

THE TOWN-PLANNERS

CONFERENCE TO OPEN TO-DAY

EXHIBITION IN THE TOWN HALL

The New Zealand Town-Planning Conference and Exhibition will be opened in the Wellington Town Hall this morning by tho Governor-General, who is to arrive at 10 a.m. Between 3CO and -101) delegates have come to tho conference from local bodies and town-planning organisations throughout New Zealand. The delegates are to be welcomed, this morning by the. Acting-Prime Minister (Sir James Allen) and the Mayor of Wellington (Mr. J. P. Luke, M.P.). The presidential address will be delivered by thb Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. G. W, ltussell). The conference will take place in the Concert Chamber, where the delegates will listen to papers and discuss many aspects of town-planning problems, housing questions and methods of city improvement. The gallery of the. Concert Chamber will be open to the public, in order that persons who are interested may listen to tho addresses and tho debates. Each evening there will be ,111 exhibition of [cinematograph pictures and lantern slides, illustrating various jphfces of town-planning.' These instructive entertainments will start in the Concert Chamber nt 8.30 p.m., after evening visitors havo had time to see the exhibits in the big hall. ' The exhibition has been arranged in /the main hall, and it ought to bq of N very great interest to every citizen who is concerned about the improvement of civic and housing conditions and the beautiiying of cities. The organiser of the exhibition (Mr. S. llurst Seager) has gathered together a great mass of interesting material, including hundreds of sketches, plans, and photographs, andhe has 'arranged the exhibits in such 11 way that the visitor, passing through the hall by a lixed route, will be able to gather' consecutive impressions of townplanning activities. The exhibits occupy the whole of the hall, which has been divided by wooden partitions, and they extend into the outer passages of me gallery. The first section is historical. It consists • largely ' of photographs and sketches collected by Mr. Charles Rende, Government Town-Planner, of South Australia, and illustrating the development of architecture, from the earliest ages. It- shows how far modern nations have failed to maintain tho standard of architectural beauty set by ( earlier civilisations, and it provides a basis for tho consideration of the suggestions that aro made by the town-planners of to-day, whose work very often is in the direction 01 a reversion to earlier forms and designs. Modern town-planning in a practical form is illustrated in the next section by pictures and designs of some of the English graden suburbs, including tho Hnmpstead Garden Suburb, Letchvortli Garden City, find some of tho new suburbs of Liverpool. The effort of the designers in all cases has been to provide homes that are beautiful as well as healthful, and to avoid/ the evil features of most modern cities. The sketches 11,nd pictures show the methods that have been adopted, and theyl ought to convey many suggestions to New Zealand people. Town-planning and town-improvement in tii; United States and Canada, in German}' and India, Great Britain and .'aisraliit me illustrated in later sections, and there are many features of special interest. The transfer _of the capital of India ito Delhi provided an opportunity fur the creation of some magnificent piles, of official and administrative buildings. In Caiiadii and the United States playgrounds for the children have formed un important part of townplanning effort, uiid the pictures show something of what has Meen done in this direction. There are illustrations of ihe children's playground at Port Piric, South Australia. The, Government Town Planner drew up the plans' for this pinyground. Then K)(jU miners gnve a day to the necessary work, and they converted t?n acres of ground into .w'iiat probably, is tho best children s, playground on this side of the world.

Later sections' of the exhibition deal with many other aspects of 'tiio town-, planning question. Tliero are illustrations ol' properly designed industrial villages, as distinct from residential suburbs. The tneory underlying the erection of these villages is to secure economy ami .eiiiciancy by erecting the factory whero land is -.-heap and power is easily acc&ssible, and then creating a self-contained village for. the workers, with coinlortablc homes, pleasant -,ardens, and adequate facilities lur entertainment and 'recreation. Photographs of the modern mininj village at Woodlands, in Yorkshire,-.where milieu are housed under most pleasant conditions, have some topical interest. Mr. Hurst Seager has got together an admirable collection of photographs of the war and peace memorials of many nations.' He has sections illustrating landscape gardening and the use of statuary in the decoratfoa. of buildings. ' In fact, the exhibition is too comprehensive U> be described fully 'within the compass of a single article.

A phaso of the subject that is of special interest to Wellington people is con-tour-planning,' that is, .the study of the natural features of tho ground in the lay-iing-'int of towns and suburbs. Contours have Seen neglected almost entirely in the planning. of most New Zealand towns. Engineers have had to give some consideration to hills in the planning ot roads, but even in that respect an enormous amount of very bad planning has been done. Towns have been laid out in square blocks even when this arrangement meant constructing roads so steep that they are almost useless for wheeled traffic. The town-planner avoids this ]>y arranging his roads to follow contour lines, and at the samo time giving consideration to the location of the buildings that are to flank the roads. Some excellent examples of successful contourp.'anning are illustrated in the exhibition.

Posters from various parts of the world are shown in the upper part of tho hall. Tho object of the organiser in arranging this feature of the exhibition is to show that advertising need not be ugly and that successful posters can bo things of artistic beauty as well as of commercial value. Home of the most successful war posters were the work of clever artists, and were in striking contrast to the, cheap and vulgar productions that disfigure niaiiy hoardings in New Zealand and-elsewhere. The posters shown are of many kinds, small and large, simple and imposing. Their common quality is their appeal lo llie cvr, by means of clever drawing, effective colouring and well-balanced lettering.' The competitions that were arranged in connection with the exhibition have drawn a disappointingly small number of entries. There are no more than two designs by New Zealanders for garden suburbs, "and the designs for workers' homes are also few in number, though tliev include several plans that are worth attention.

After the conference has been opened this morning, the first paper will be read by the Hon. A. M. Myers, who will lake for his subject "The History and .Tusiification of Town' Planning, in New Zealand." Other papers to bo rend during the day are as follow:—"Existing Legislation and the Town-Planning Legislation Proposed," by Mr. G. P. Newton, Local Government Officer, Internal Affairs Department; "Town-Planning Legislation." by Mt. H. F. von Ilaast; "Health and AYell-being of the People in respect to Climate and Soils, their Homes and J'.nviromnent," by Dr. Krengley, De-puty-Chief Health Officer.

Tho C. M.. Ross Co., Ltd.. of Palmerston North, has ndopted the Saturday half-holiday, and on Saturday last just after closing time at 1 p.m. tho cm. ployees of the firm assembled to present an' illuminated address jo Mr. C. M. li-oss, the head of the firm, as a mark of their appreciation of the change. Tn acknowledging the prestation Mr. Ross said lie did not fear tho consequences of the firm's action, as he believed it would ultimately lie found to be as much appreciated by the customers as it was by the assistants themselves. The C. M. Ross Co. is the first drapery establishment in the town to adopt Saturday as n half-holiday, in face of the retention of Wednesday at the recent poll on the question. The firm is also eliminating the weekly Inte night, and it is rumoured that other drapery firms in the town contemplate cutting this out and closing 'dowii nt G p.m. on Saturdays.