GREATER WELLINGTON
NEEDS OP THE CITY THE PROBLEMS AHEAD MAYOR AND COUNCILLORS AT KHANDALLAH Various matters pertaining to Greater Wellington affairs, and the needs of the Onslow district in particular, were traversed at a public meetinir which was held in the Khandallah Hall last night,' and which was addressed bv the Mayor (Mr. ,T. P. Luke, C.M.G., M.P.), Councillor It. A. Wright (M.P. for tho district), Councillor L. M'Kenzie (chairman of tho Outlying Districts Committee), and Councillor J. M. Dale (formerly Mayor of Onslow and now a member of tho Outlying Districts Committee of tho City Council). There wns a larse attendance. Brigadier-General G. S. Richardson, who presided, said the meeting was not being held under the auspices of tho Onslow Progressive Association, but was entirely public in character. Thev were nil interested in tho progress of the district, in which some urgent matters needed attention, including water, drainage, transport to Khandallah. refuse removal, recreation grounds, and the provision of bathing pools. The wisdom that was displayed row by the residents would make Khandallah and Nora.io either a Hampstead or a Poolar—a nice residential district, or a badly congested area. General Richardson consratulated tlie residents on the activities they had manifested on behalf of tho district, and said it gave him the greatest pleasure to be present as a citizen to help on the progress of Khandallah and Ngaio. The city of Wellington could not expand southwards, but great potentialities existed in Khandallah and Niraio, which could be turned into a beautiful residential area. In theso times of>econstruction money was needed on every side, but all the residents desired was careful ron.sidera.tion of their district'? wants. (Applause.) "No Mean City." The Mayor congratulated Onslow on having amalgamated with the city. There were great possibilities of expansion in tho. disirict. and the city felt that : t had to do what was. fair in seeing that the district was supplied with proper municipal services. They did not. want to copy the evils that existed in the city. (Applause.) In every part of tho city where there was an opportunity of improving the conditions that existed, it was their bmmden duty to, do so. Wellington did not possess slums in tho exact meaning of the word, but he considered that some parts of the city could very well be improved. The citizens could be satisfied that they lived in no mean city. Last vear the -'ncomo from all sources was .£"74.154. and the expenditure was .£765,955. leaving A credit balance of_ .£BIO9. Notwithstandins difficulties in regard to finance, and the limitations in regard to the execution of works, the city was in a strong and established financial position. It could vet stand a cood deal of strain, notwithstanding tie statements of some pessimists. The city was th° healthiest in the Dominion. One of the first things required for Onslow was the installation of water and drainage. (Applause.) The water question, was urgent from tho city's .point of view, and it would take some time before the Orongorongo tunnel, which would convey water into tho Waijiui dam, would be available. In the summer time .1,01)0,000 gallons a day ran into the Wainui dam, but the draw off was 5,000,000 gallons daily, and that was a serious matter. ' The Mayor thought that the watershed at Onslow nrght bo tapped for supplying tho needs of the district, until such time as the water supply could be made available from Orongorongn. (Applause.) For this purpose the district would have to bo reticulated properly. Some delay would probably occur in running the trams to tho district, but his opinion was that a trunk line should be constructed, leaving the Hutt Road on'a grado of not more than 1 in 14, and traversing not only Ngaio, but the road to Khandalluh os welC. Mr. Lftke mentioned that 30 acres of hind had been purchased on behalf of. the people of tho district, and Cabinet had agreed to pay a part of tho purchase price. Jlb would like to sco baths and a reading-room and library established in tho district. (Applause.) It wns no use urging people to go into tho suburbs to livo ; unless the municipality was prepared to extend to the residents the same privileges that tho people in tho city enjoyed. The City Loans, Regarding, lo'aus, 'Mr. Luke said that in December next a [oan of .£120,000 would fall due, but ,£30,000 was already in hand towards meeting that sum. As n matter of fact, tho city would not havo very heavy obligations in tho way of maturing loans for another ten years. A loan of .£90,000 had to be renewed, and the negotiations in respect to that matter were proceeding satisfactorily. The other day a eum of <£HO,OOO was borrowed at 5i per cent, to straighten up the street widening, drainage, and milk accounts. In 1.924, dC67,00fl was falling due, and a few thousands by way of sinking fund were available to meet that debt. Another XIG,OOO would be falling due in 1925, and after that no further leans would bo falling due until 1930. Therefore, it would bo seen that the city's financial obligations were not very heavy for the next few years. Mr. Luke said he would do his best to have proper rubbish removal facilities established in the district, and concluded by saying that he believed that in tho interests of safety subways were needed at the Khandallah and Ngaio railway stations. (Applause.) Councillor Wright urged the residents to map out a plan of their future requirements and keep on agitating until their desires wore granted. The greatest need of the district was water and drainage, and, so far- as water was concerned, tho speaker thought that something might do done in the direction outlined by the Mayor. Ho would support the Mayor in any action lie might urgo to bring water to tho district as soon as possible. Later on, the City Council would require the support of the ratepayers for important loan proposals to carry out urgent works in tho. city. There were difficulties in regard to Tunning a tram service to Ngaio, perhaps, but in whatever tramway proposals were made the .residents of the district would have to watch their interests very carefully. In regard to subways under the railway line, Mr. Wright said he understood tho Railway Department wns prepared to construct them in the district if tho City Council would help with the cost, and ho hoped the council would make a reasonable offer to the Department. The attitude of the Department in respect to subways indicated that it was showing signs of repentance on an important matter. Mr. Wright referred to tho City Council's . difficulties with regard to milk and housing. "We ore not asleep, we aro not chloroformed," remarked Mr. Wright, "but in the midst of all our troublts we havo not forgotten tho young outlying suburbs." (Applause.) Support for Loan Proposals. Councillor M'Kenzie considered that Onslow was o:*& of the finest suburbs that Wellington possessed. (Applause.) In all the new suburbs the City Council was faced with water and drainago problems, but those problems, had boeii foreseen in former years by the officers nf the council, who had recognised that tho suburbs would one day como into the city. In respect to the Orongorongo water proposal, Mr. M'Kenzie urged'that tho ratepayers of the district should give it their most earnest attention. It was the intention of the City Engineer to bring the water from Orongorongo straight to Karori reservoir so as to : ensure an ample supply of water for all lime. Many big works were required to place the city in a paramount posi- ' tiou, and it was hoped that tho rate- ' payers would support the loan ] in every way. flio council would have to take into consideration the establish- < mont of depots in the various suburbs ' for tho disposal of refuse, because the removal of rubbish from tho suburbs to the city destructor entailed a great deal ; in the way of haulage. "" . Councillor Dalo said tho City Engineer J'
was faced with many big in respect to trams, road improvements, and electric power. The city was jumping ahead aj a great rate, and the peopln had to see that they advanced along with the growth of the city. It was hoped to lay out tho Homebuslii estate at Khandnllah on proper town-planning lines and to plant shelter trees. A recreation ground was being provided for the district, and a thorough job was also to bo made with planting trees'on the catchment area. Mr. Dale did not think that the district had fared very badly during its first fifteen months in tho city. During tho Inst year of the Onslow borough's existence .£2700 was collected in rates and X'lloo was spent on roads and work on the catchment area. Last, year, tho first year in which tho district had been included in the city, .£2605 was collected in rates, and .£1558 was spent on tho roads alone.
Mr li. Lynneberg asked if provision would be made in the loan schedule for drainage, recreation grounds, tramways, nnd a new road to Khandallah. "A Good Look In." v The Mayor replied that £1,000,000 wou d require to be raised and the expenditure would be spread over a considerable period. Ho was not there to say what was going in the loan schedule, but trains would have to find a place there. The water sehemo was most uigont, however, and was tho first big undertaking that required to be put in hand. It had to be remembered that an adequate water supply would be. as great an asset to Onslow as to any other suburban area. As far as the loan schedule was concerned, Ngaio and Khandallah would havo "as good a look in an possible." The only limitation regarding the expansion of tho tramways, and other works, was the dear vate of money. In answer to further questions, Mr. Luke said the utmost consideration was being given to the question of forming a proper raid to Ktiandallah, but no definite route had yet. been decided on. Regarding transport, tho Mayor said he was m favour of a surface 'tram ' thnt won d run up from Thorndon Quay and would serve the needs of Ngaio and Miandallah. (Applause.) Councillor M'Kenzie, referring to the question of the subway under the Tailway line, said that the City Council was prepared to make the approaches snfo if the Railway Department would do the other work, hut tho negotiations had not yet been earned to a successful conclusion.
After further questions had been answered, the meeting closed with a hearty vo o of thanks to the Mayor and conncillore for their addresses.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 241, 6 July 1920, Page 6
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1,790GREATER WELLINGTON Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 241, 6 July 1920, Page 6
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