EARTHQUAKE REPAIRS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 14, 12 October 1942, Page 4

EARTHQUAKE REPAIRS

All To Be Done In Time

Though three and a half months have elapsed since the first of ‘the two big earthquakes in Wellington there are still numbers of damaged buildings on which little work has been done save the demolition of threatening piece's of parapet and the like. When consulted as to the position of those buildings, the city engineer, Mr. K. E. Luke, said that there were several major jobs which had to be attended to right away to allow’ the business of the city to go forward. That was the case in Maimers Street, where it was imperative to make sure that certain premises did not collapse across the street. There were two reasons why there still remained many damaged buildings on which no work was being done. The labour available for such work was scarce, and owners had to wait till the architects had completed their plans for repairs. He had a list of such buildings before him, and several of them would be put in hand this month. Others might h’ave to wait, 'but all would be attended to in good time. Mr. Luke said that, under the circumstances, he though the earthquake repairs had been attended to fairly satisfactorily, and he hoped that they would be on a fair way to a clean-up by the end of the year; It was mentioned that in some cases the damage was so severe that buildings bad been reduced in size. The Caledonian Hotel was now a one-story structure instead of two, and the Roxy boardinghouse in Manners Street had been reduced from three to two stories. ,