NEW SITE FOR CITIZENS’ MEMORIAL

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 114, 11 February 1928, Page 9

NEW SITE FOR CITIZENS’ MEMORIAL

MR. HURST SEAGER’S RECOMMENDATIONS WHY ALTERATION IS URGED REARRANGEMENT OF NATIONAL SCHEME In view of altered circumstances, an entirely new site for the Wellington Citizens’ Wap Memorial is recommended by Mr. S. Hurst Seager, the well-known architect and town-planner, in a report he has forwarded to the Prime Minister (Right Hon. J. G. Coates). At the instance of the Government in 1926, Mr Seager, in a report submitted to the then Acting-Prime Minister (Hon. W. D. Stewart), recommended, in preference to the site adjacent to the Parliamentary grounds, that the memorial should be erected on the Mount Cook site and form part of the scheme embodying the National War Memorial, Museum, and Art Gallery, including a Campanile. The location for the Citizens’ Memorial now suggested by Mr. Seager is at the south end of Kent and Cambridge Terraces, between the fence of the Basin Reserve and the footpath, and on the axial line of the garden between them. Thus the Mount Cook site would be left available for the National Memorial, together with the Museum, Art Gallery, and Campanile, in connection with which scheme an improved rearrangement of layout is suggested. The Prime Minister considers the report of such general interest and importance that he has handed a copy to the Press for publication at the earliest possible moment in order that the recommendations may be available for public information and discussion.

"In 1926, at the request of the Hon, W. D. Stewart, then Acting Prime Minister,” states Mr. Seager in his report, •‘I submitted a report on the position of the Wellington Citizens’ War Memorial (now to be spoken of as the Silent ■ Memorial), and gave in it what I considered conclusive reasons why the memo-

rial should not be erected on the Parliamentary site. I recommended strongly the Mount Cook site, not only for this monument, but as part of a schema embodying the National War Memorial (Hall of Memories and Campanile), the Museum and Art Gallery. Some members of the Memorial Committee were itrongly in favour of this scheme being Harried out, but the majority decided against it, and in spite of repeated endeavours the committee firmly adhered to their decision to place the memorial on the site of their choice, and have instructed their architects to arrange for the laying of the foundation stone on next Anzac Day. I feel more and more strongly that if the monument is erected there the committee, the Government, and the public will be greatly disappointed with the result, and it is in the desire to help to realise this that I again bring before you the views I hold. A SPACE DIFFICULTY. "Since writing my report the condi-

tions are to some extent altered. It is now proposed to lower Bueklo Street in front of the Mount Cook site some 7ft. to 10ft. This would interfere and . lessen the value of the lower portion of the Mount Cook site on which it was proposed to place the ‘Silent Memorial.' It was objected that the scheme did not

provide enough space for the massing of troops and the gathering of the public at the Anzac Day ceremony. In this respect I admit that the Parliamentary site was more desirable. I was led to believe that the committee would waive this point of view in order to be entirely free from the disturbing traffic, and to take their part in a scheme which was generally admitted to be one which would add greatly to the amenities of tlieir city. THE PROPOSED NEW SITE. "Failing the Mount Cook site, there is another- which was not a desirable one at that time, but under the present conditions might be considered even more desirable —the site at the south end of the Kent and Cambridge Terraces, between the fence of the Basin Reserve and the footpath; and on the axial line of the garden between them. Since my previous report the City Council have converted these, terraces into an avenue 153 feet wide, far exceeding in beauty anything to be seen in the Do-

minion, and the wealth of colour of the flowers in the centre is so attractive that it takes the attention away from tile mediocre buildings and their blatant signs on either side of it. The impression that is now left on the mind is of a beautiful way, and it is in the power of the council, under the Town Planning Act, to ensure (hat the buildings shall be worthy, and signs and placards shall disappear. No more suitable site could therefore be found for the fine memorial which has been chosen. It is exactly the type of memorial to form an excellent objective the whole way along the Terraces (now to be spoken of as the Avenue), from Te Aro Flat. “The central garden, as shown in the plan I have submitted, might be cut back 42ft. to form an open space in front of the memorial. Seals could be placed as shown, and from these a good view of the work in detail could be obtained uninterrupted by the traffic, but the merits and demerits of the two sites can bo best determined by comparing them under various-headings.” This Mr. Seager proceeds to do as under: — OBSTRUCTION TO THE VIEW OF TRAFFIC. “Parliamentary Site.—The erection of the memorial would interfere with the view of the traffic to a considerable extent, and when the new railway station is completed, cross traffic will be increased. My diagrams were based on the original drawings, in which the architects had cleverly adapted the design to the conditions imposed by the site. 'The front was placed facing the apex of the triangle formed by the intersection of Moiesworth Street and Lambton Quay, and being thus at an angle of 45 degrees to both streets, there was no obstruction to the view near the iunction. It is now, I believe, proposed to place the monument parallel to Lambton Quay, thus bringing the obstruction to the view close, to the junction, and increasing the risk very considerably. “.Pronosed Site.—No obstruction to view of traffic. APPROACH TO MONUMENT. “Parliamentary Site. —Only a very restricted view of the monument is obtained. Approaching the monument plong Lambton Quay from the south, it cannot ba seen from the path on the eastern side of the Quay till close to Ballance Street, nor from the path on the western side till free from the verandas at a distance of about 200 ft. At that point a fore-shortened view, backed by. the Hotel Cecil, the shops, and. the Artcraft Theatre would be obtained. Coming from the north the verandas are 100 ft. distant, and there again only a fore-shortened side view is obtained, backed bv the commercial buildings of Lambton Quay. The front is seen only from the footnath, in front of the Government Buildings, while from the rising ground of 'Moiesworth Street Only the back is seen. The total of the distances from which the monument is seen is under half a mile. “Proposed Site.—Here the monument can be seen for long distances in all

directions. It can be seen the whole way from Te Aro Plat, ..nd excellent side views can be obtained from the rise of Buckle Street on the west and Ellice Street on the east, while the shaft could be seen towering over tl.o Basin Reserve from any point along Adelaide Road up to, say, its junction with John street. The memorial can thus be seen from any point in one mile and a half of roadway. INTERFERENCE BY TRAFFIC WITH VIEW. “Parliamentary Site.—The view is Impeded by tram traffic from all points. The trains run so frequently along the front of it that it is a very serious drawback. At limes the monument would bo surrounded by trams blocking out the view. “Proposed Site—No tram traffic passes in front, and over the motor traffic, as seen by the sketch, a greater part of the monument would he well seen. All the trams being to the east of the footpath nt the side of the, central gar-

den. there are Mill thus three paths from which an unimpeded view could bo obtained.

MONUMENT AS CIVIC DECORATION. “Parliamentary Site.—The monument is not on any axial line or m relation io either street or building, it could not therefore enter into any wcll-ordeled scheme, and its value as a piece o- cnic decoration wou'd be nil. lhe photos show that so far from adding to the

beauty of the Parliamentary grounds it actually spoils what is the finest prospect in the city. However beautiful the work of art may >e in itself, appropriate environments tend to increase its artistic value enormously. In this connection the value as civic decoration was much greater in the original design, tor then it was nearly parallel to the Parliamentary Buildings, there was thus some slight relation between them, now there is none. “Proposed Site.—Tne monument standiim at the end of the Avenue is exactly where an expert town planner would

put such a monument. By forming the objective to the avenue, the beauty of the monument could he fully appieci ated. The Queens statue forms an objective at the Te Aro end, y it is too far off to interfere with the monument as an objective at the south end.

LOCATION OF THE monument. “Apart from the questions aheady con-side-red we must, consider the quest ion of location—the neighbourhood—w hat it is now and what it is likely to. become. From this point of view ths auvantages of the proposed site are overwhelm! It is geographically the centre of Wellington, and also it is the centre of population. If a work of art is to have any ennoblinq effect it would surely be of most value if placed in a position where it can make its influence felt on young people who are passing through the most impressionable age. “In this respect this location at the end of the Avenue has a very <l<? cl <decl advantage, for it is stirrounded by the Wellington East Girls’ College, the Wellington Boys’ College, and St. Patrick s College. The Anglican Cathedral it is proposed to build where.St. Marks now stands. If the Mount Cook site is granted for the National Memorial, the Art Gallery and the Museum, it will form a splendid group seen from the end of the avenue at the tram stopping place. This stopping place would be the one at which people would alight to visit all the monuments and buildings, and from the plateau of Mount Cook they would look down and see tlm monument in relation to the Basin Reserve. It is a neighbourhood which unquestionably must advance in value as nine goes on. From the elevated grandstand in the reserve an excellent view of the memorial with its equestrian figure nt the top would be seen to the greatest advantage. LIGHTING OF MEMORIAL. | "Parliamentary Site.—On the Parliamentary site the memorial would fuco towards the east, and would be lighted on the front, where the sculpture is placed, only in the early morning. It would be best lighted about 9 o’clock, when the sun’s rays would diagonally strike it. At 11.15 the whole would be

in complete- shadow, and the necessary light and shade on the whole of the face of the monument would disappear, and the sculpture cease to be effective. In the afternoon the memorial from the best point of view would have the sun immediately behind it, making it absolutely impossible to look at the upper part of the monument and the fine statuary which it supports. . Had the monument remained in its original position, the lighting would have been much better, for it would then pave faced north-east, and have been well lighted till about 3 o'clock. "Proposed Site.-On the proposed site the memorial would face north, and tlius be effectively diagonally side-lighted from the east of north during the whole of the morning, and from the west of norfth during the afternoon. From the elevated seats in the grandstand in the reserve during the afternoon the north during the afternoon. From the direction the monument could be seen from a sufficient distance to avoid the strain and inconvenience of looking up. MASSING OF TROOPS. "Parliamentary Site.— Although there is a greater space in front of the memorial, it is so covered .with tram lines as to be of little value. . ceremony, all motor traffic going noith of free space can be obtained in front of (he memorial all down the Avenue and up Buckle Street. On these streets (here need bp no tram traffic during the ceremony, all motor tra ;c going north bo sent down Kent Terrace beside the trams, and the very small amount of traffic up Buckle Street could be stopP0(1 '“It will be thus seen that from every ooint of view the advantage lies with the pronosed site. It is owned by the city, and t [ ie . c, J y Council would, I am confident, be most willing to grant it to the Memorial Committee if they expressed a wish to make use of it.” Tn a note Mr. Spacer states: "T have not hern able to obtain Hie altered plnn. so am not sure what modification tlie architects hnvc made-the sko'che* are based flhev are onlv sketches which nerbnns. do not do foil justice to the fine design!. on the plan nceepted by tlio committee, which was before the Government and Citv Council when the site was granted.”. THE MOUNT COOK SITE. "T have,” continues the report, ai--1 ready stated the value of the Mount Cook

site for the combined scheme—the National War Memorial, with its campanile for the carillon, the art gallery, and museum. Now that an even better site is suggested for the silent memorial, it leaves the way free for the consideration of the best arrangement of the iemaining buildings on the site. In my previous report I arranged that the silent memorial should stand on tne lower slope of the site, and the National Memorial’ at the south end. covered '''H a. dome as a contrast to the obelisk form of the silent memorial. This scheme would have been most attractive, the weakness of it might be considered to be that, it gave undue prominence to the silent momerinl, and subordinated the National Memorial. The group would have ben seen as a whole from a distance, but as the site was approached the silent memorial would have dominated it. This weakness in the scheme is now avoided, for the National Memorial can be brought to the north end, where the whole of it would be in full view both from distant and near points of view.

NATIONAL MEMORIAL DESCRIBED. “By making the entrance to the plateau at the south end, from a road win-l-ing up from Tasman Street, a great improvement is effected, for all the motor traffic can approach a large parking space opposite the Technical College, and opposite the proposed group of buildings. Opening on to this parking place would be an archway forming a portico to the entrance to the art galler and museum on cither hand, and through it we should reach a large open space with the National Memorial exactly opposite it. This space wouid have »n the northern side o colonnade connecttin* the National War Memorial with the" colonnaded ends of the museum and art gallery. As we approach the National War Memorial the view through the columns of this colonnade would be an exceedingly line one of the harbour and its surrounding hills. Beyond it on lhe northern side would be a very broad terrace. This terrace would be approached by a noble flight of steps having ramps oh each side leading in subsidiary monuments as part of the whole _ scheme. The subsidiary monuments might take the form of monumental seats, with appropriate legends carved at. the back of them, referring to the exploits of our men on the different battlefields. CAMPANILE DESIGN. “The design of the campanile is merely suggestive—it would have to lie worked out in relation to the bellfounder’s requirements, but this does not fall within my province,” concludes Mr. Seager. “The general height and width would be as shown to mnke a pleasing pyramidal grouping of the northern end. 1 would suggest that the national memorial need not be carried to completion at once. It would look very impressive if simply carried out in reinforced concrete. The casing of marble might be left in the hope that private munificence would assist largely in this, and also in the completion of the interior of the hall of memories, as was done at Westminster Cathedral, where the rough brickwork for many years gave splendid expression to the aims of the builders. Illis is now being covered with mosaics and decorations, which in time will make it the finest church in Christendom. “Tlie approximate size of the hall of memories would be the size of the in-

terior of the campanile, of about 28ft., and beyond this the recesses of about 7ft. in depth and 16ft. in width, forming in plan a Greek cross having about 4,2 ft. between the arms. The total height of the campanile is 142 ft. I have had an estimate prepared of a structure of this size in steel and concrete construction, and the estimate for this is .£14,250. If this amount is expended the essential construction of the h;.*J ■of memories and the campanile would be provided and be ready to receive the carillon soon after it arrives. “CIVIC BEAUTY SPOT” AN EARLY START URGED Copies of the report have been forwarded by Mr. Scager also to the Vt ellington Citizens' War Memorial Committee and the Mayor (Mr. G. A. Troup). Tn his covering letter to the president and committee of the Citizens War Memorial, Mr. Seagar states: "The conditions now are so different that a review of the whole subject is warranted. When T presented my previous report the south end of Kent Terrace was a most unattractive spot, and it did rot occur to me to recommend tins ns an alternative. Tt has now been converted bv the council into one of the most attractive civic b.ennty spots in the Dominion. and T have, therefore, no hesitation in recommending il strongly as a most suitable place for your niemorial. . . The site is level, and as soon as tlie consent of the council is obtained operations could be started at once.. I hope, therefore, that you will determine that the foundation-stone shall be laid on Anzac Dav as arranged, but that it shall lie laid at the ton of the Avenue, and not on the Parliamentary site I would add that T am working solely in vonr interests, and T ihink when jw have read mv renor! von wil, agree with me that the result of *’’l monnnmnt on the site, von have seleete 1 would bo so disappointing f.int yon would heartily regret it.”