PICTURESQUE DRIVES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 8, 10 July 1923, Page 20

PICTURESQUE DRIVES

T: ' .108 -the visitor to Wei-: ''■ PS? 1 lington during Welcome" 'w, .*&" Week-to see merely the ■f/3 •'i 'central! portion, of tho, vl I' **' qityH-wpuM bo, to miss w ■} «A-a.-what many who go a flei^??'' 'little.-:"'further \ afield, -I—_____l probably ... deem the best' 'part: ojf J'tlieir stay here. The beautyi'of Wfellingtbn lies in its combinatibn. o£i bUliaid/ dale and .water, and, ;^hile the::yisitor will be charmed at many.of-;th.e;yiVws of wooded slopes and ttaraced'homes* which crown tho perspective of city streets or the little panel oi distant:blue water framed by ■lofty,-buildings; he. must climb .the heights and skirt the water's eftgo to survey -the city 'and its environment from different angles and gain a.tr.uer idea of the variety of pictures it,has to offer. ;.- . '-'■'■ ':-.. •." . . : .' .'

-Twenty'years ago. this would have meant some task and: an exertion beyond the strength of many people, but to-day the tramway, the cable car, and* tho" motor, above all,-have put such pleasures.of the, discerning, eye within, the reach of rail. „-.'.- _ .-..'.■ '.One triprjS^ich has become exceedingly', popular«H\'ithin the/last year of.so, n-.Ky be taken.-by the motor coach which, laden with- passengers,, leaves.:the ■ city mi the morning, and ■ afternoon for a tour round,the Queen's Drive, along Oriental Bay> round' Point' Jernihgha'm, follow-ing-the" margin of,'Evans Bay, over the. isthmus .t0..,-. Lyall .Bay; ■'• and /thence, • 'skirting the .open-ocean to Island.Bay,

returns to the city -via Happy and the heights of'-Brooklyn.-.-O-he-i time taken is about two hoiirs./.'ahdi.i.in'irthatii period' the',.yisitor.:,.may ,^enj6y..J.sugerb' panoramas ofVharbour. arid r'sea' and the green Mils •rismg-tompuntains 1. that':form 1 the background ;even.:. across; the'"Strait ■where the snbsv=-tpp'ped'':'.KaikpuTas lift their peaks out of^_the>odan;-' '-No visitor should miss this\raip'Pwna£ever be his conveyance—:f>.ven.;.be,.^it':the humble "shanks's .pony."' On a. : flne:'"day many people lake the car' oht-Vtp.;- 4lsland Bay and walk round the ocean drive to Lyall Bay. or make the trip_ in a. reyers^ direction. There is nothing like it in any other city of-New Zealand.

■Starting from the city on.this seaside tonr^ffie visitor Vill"hote'the fine- parade round Oriental Bay,, made within the last dozen years or : so'by the City Council, and giving, a finished appearance to a suburb that^'most of any in the Dominion, resembles^ in its 1 facades on houses along fhe ; waterfront : the typical. English watering-place' or 'seiside rescirfc with its promenade:" -'.The pier alon? is] lacking, and even-ihathas .been talked of heie. At present, bands!-.play. in th"c summertime in,..'the.Totanda- about, half-way round the; parade, which does i-,ot yet extend to tfie^ limits of Oriental Bay. ' Provision has-been made to carry i*;-to the tram terminus, and the road -is to" be widened and a sea- wall: built beyqr.d. , . ■ ' *l -At .To'nt Jenjn^him,'where Q.vcen'? Dii.-e hUes n sh-.Tp befid round, the h*iflii'i'l- on ...which.:the suburb of Rose■Mi -th 'see as* ;to-cling precariously, thy vff-"t--jr shou'cTteaH'a'halt,'if-he'-is trav-' " '.• ;' i:. by -car, End take a look around ■i; . Looking backward, in ,the. .direc-n.-n finm vwhicli he has been travel- ■ ■ r^f-Mi'o"'spip'tho 'eracpful "curves of' the

; " bnl -Mild.' the hollowed, hills, thicWy •m .ih residences and gardens, which ■i ue Oriental Bay one: of the most at-^ ! tive. of Wellington's suburbs: Furround towards the city are the ! ;s and the boat harbour with its <: .; of -yachts f motor-boats^ arid. other \ ■!! <raft: 'Behind that stand the twin ' nneystacks of the-destructor—^land- • Us of the c-ity-^and; further round \in are the but dings ,:6f the'.derisely■^jlated To Aro flat and the quays ■d wharves 1-OTfe-1 he shipping berthed «de them and the business centre of :; sivis! 'biiildiag3 in. .their immediate pkgroar.d. -And so the- eye travels un--1 it compasses a perfect panorama of c in ler city/ and its ramparta of hills ■11 its".expanse of; water stretching out ilthe Hutt/Valley and. the seaside subrbs across the;harb6ur. ■ '' ' - From this incomparable prospect— •i l,fn latheiv-refct'ospect—of the city,- the ye -nay resume its foiward 'gaze over" tiie >vi"do,.wate>'B^^Ev^g_saj (L: aB.JBIBi

of Wellington Haibpur,.big enough and deep enough of itself to make a large enough haven frr any port.'- There on the other, side-of'-the water,,as the.carproceeds on its way holding fast .to thtf narrow strip between seal and .hillside, ;.'• is-.the. Miramar Peninsula . ; : with< Us. grassy hills, green in the winter, but' burnt'a tawny l>ue in the height-'of :suinvmer. At the "inner .end. of this, natural fortress, commanding,the entrance.to,the harbour, are the" forts, and a road fol- I lews ' the,.'water"B edge right round'-to.; Karaka Bay, Worser Bay, and Seatoiin, I the suburbs on the fairway by which : : all 'tlieV shipping of the port of Wellingl ° ton passes. This ioad:at present is very j narrow and needs repair,"but it has ljwn vested by the Government in the city, and sonic day will become part of a great drive—Wellington's marine drive —skirting the water from the city to where Happy. Valley meets the open sea beyond Islaod Bay. j But our route for the present doe 3 not take in the Miramar Peninsula—that may be left for another day; it runs due south: along ihe shores of Evans Bay, past the.Patent Slip, which is Welling- ■ ton'si-substitute for a graving, dock, and where sizeable steamships may be seen hauled up bigh . and dry out of the water on a' great undercarriage ready for. repairs or'the cleaning of- the hull. Queen's Drive passes between ship and sea) over .the rails, along,, which the vessel was drawn from' its proper eleiuent. '. - ...

Swinging rpu-id points'■■■ and., inward curves with ■ pleasant' little. glimpses,-.of boat-building sn'. stocks' alongside .the

water and : suburban:.: gardsns . running steeping down the'slopes from;the trim villas above, past bathing sheds and a big recreation ground, we come to the head of Evans ■ Bay; Kilbirnie, and the isthmus which,, connects '" the Miramar ■Peninsula with, the Test ;of: the city. .

The visitor will, observe that,, the water here is Comparatiively shallow, and affords opportunities for reclamationsuch as that which extended the area of Old .'Wellington. The beginnings' of such a scheme are seen on the Miramar sid« in a lai-ge and massive sea-wall

between Qio .. JUiramar "Wharf and the • • headi of the bay. A right- ; angle .'turn, in this, .-wall 'marks the starting point cf such, a reclamation, ijeant to stretch'-righVabross-.the head "of \thp bay. Din-ing Wellington's last big 'expansion l.ooni" from''iSo4 to 1908 the plan was ready to be carried into •'operation)' but,, 'on second ''thoughts ' it was decided to '.wait till things developed more. . JCke' greatest ..development since lias.Keen, .the erection of "'-Wellington's new, power-house,, the -conspicuous'huge ibuilding.'with "a..short-steel, smoke-stack jat.the.head of the,bay. '.The-'machinei-y !is now being .nstalled . and should be I working by the: end of "the year. ■ .This power-house'is the last work in the,"generation.- of. electricity, by.steam.." At Kilbii'nie. the Drive leaves the. waterside to cross the neck of land between 'Kilbirnie and Lyall-Bay. Here may be seen in passing the old and the new Wellington, arid some of the unfortunate legacies the old has left to the new. Some of the streets, are narrow and some of the houses mean, with limited frontages and scanty sections.' Those were made "before this area came into the city,- under borough bylaws that permitted abuses. Lyall Bay itself has suffered, though to a-much less extent, by. the operations of the speculative builder who crowds as many houses as he can to the acre. As this is one, of Wellington's few .level stretches of land, and fronts one of the finest ocean beaches in this hemisphere, it is all-the more regrettable that some- plan of the district was not prepared beforehand on the town-planning- lines long ago prevailing in the layout of new suburbs in the Old Country. Indeed, the lack of town'- : planning will be V subject of comment by : the visitor throughout bis isojourn here,_ and he may bear a grudge, against Wellington for laving abused or misused magnificent opportunities.

«• But now we ar.e by the water again on the shores of the open ocean with the combers rolling in from the far Antarctic—if it is a southerly day, and that is the time to see' this part of the marine "drive at its best—and- let ,the keen bracing breeze blow awaY all regrets for the unalterable past.'.; A run .o"a couple of miles along-the-edge, of Lyall Bay brings one out" into full view of Cook Strait and, if it is at all .fine, of the mountainous -coasts '.and . hinterland our southern neighbour isle. | There are few things finer .than this view j over the -\water—the rolling water—on | one of those best of Wellington's day's, ! when the southerly-gale shall.have blown • away its fury of rain 'and wind, and left the air: pure and fresh, and.bright, and keen, the sun shining- brilliantly and the breakers pounding in :the . surf of the southward-looking bays. Yoii' see it and feel it all on the run between Lyall and Island -Bays. ' .■ '"• ■ '.-•■■ . . Island Bay, with its. curious little pyramid of a barren island, giving shel- • ter, with ,the reefs that jut out from the mainland, /to the little cove behind it, with its fleet of motor vessels, half fishing port and half seaside resort,' has a charm all-its own. It is Wellington's 'chief local centre 'of the Ashing industry, and special, provision is being made for the needs of the fisherman, so that he .may carry on his neefiil calling without : disfiguring the beach with somo of those. redolent by-products to which the seaside visitor might legitimately take ob; jection. ; . ' . .

It is but a short distance now to Happy Valley, where we shall bid farewell and turn our backs to the sea. In that short distance there is compressed some, typical rock scenery of this. iron T bound coast which extends to Capo' Terawhiti ,and beyond northward to the mouth of Porirua Harbour. Thesea boils- in and around the jagged rocks and swirls ir. and out of the pools they confine, in rough weather showing little chance of salvation to ■ ship. or swimnier. " : The road turns inland at'the mouth of Happy Valley, . where in ■■ recent 'years there has sprung up one of those curious little seaside hamlets where New Zcalanders love to live in the summer season —some all the year round—the open air alfresco life free from the conventions' of crowded civilisation.. In this way; the young people of to-day have their taste for the pioneering life of their forefathers gratified, while,at the same time they are doing a: bit of suburban pioneering themselves, as they did invear•lier years at all Wellington's beaches and bays, now flourishing residential suburbs. . '•■ . Happy Valley, one forgets why socalled, is in some' ;of its aspects just like a bit of sheep country that mightbe miles away from anywhere. It affords the strongest contrast to the crowded city and the roaring, seas, a tranquil deep-set valley with' a certain austere charm. . .

Tho road rises steadily through a valley diminishing in width and depth until ■ quite suddenly it emerges on tho ridge in Brooklyn, the chief of Wellington's high hill-top suburbs, reached from the city by the . first of the winding, climbing tramways, part of the city's main system. The view of the city from Brooklyn heights is, perhaps, most impressive at night down into the illuminated basin of tho centre of a nelwoi"k of streets, fringed by the waters of .the harbour reflecting on a moonlight:night a broad track of silver from the , lunar sphere. In the .daytime it gives a sort

of aerial picture of Wellington without the necessity of flying over it in an aeroplane. From Brooklyn the car descends smoothly to the city down a wide road following the tram-rails and easily graded. The memorable round trip is thus completed.

• There are, of course, many other good motor trips round Wellington, which would take too long to enumerate in full, much less describe. Thus an excursion into and across the Miramar Peninsula would be worth while from tho instructive sidelight it .throws on the. development of what some I ;vcnty years ago was simply a large : aheep run offered .to the Wellington City Council on more or less favourable.terms. The council was willing to buy, but the Goverrimenet of the day, for some reason or other, refused

its consent and the ' opportunity of creating a whole garden suburb, on the largest area of flat land this side of the Hutt Valley, was lost like so many other chances of providing for the expansion of the city. Miramar lent itself for the ideal lay-out on its several thousands of acres. The, estalo was disposed of. privately in different allotments,,and has had a chequered career-with an amusement park, pony racing, and- polo-play-ing until with the shifting of the Gas Company's works out there it took on an industrial development which has proceeded ever since.

. After seeing Miramar and'the pretty series of bay suburbs reached through the tram tunnel under the ridge .to..Seatou'n, the visitor could .'return via the lull road over from Worser Bay and back across the Miramar flat/through the cutting, and, past the-wharf' to; Kilbirnie. While at Seatoun he ■ might digress through a gap in the hills to the seaward side and descend'to the shore at Breaker Bay; From this point it is intended'to carry on the drive right round the coast to' Lyall Bay and the negotiations with the landowners are practically, complete at the time of writing. When this work is furshed and the missing link in the circuit supplied, Wellington will - have one of the finest marine drives in the whole world,' fringing ■ tide water for a distance of between twenty; and thirty miles. It is quite on the cards that the visitor will be able to use it the next time, he comes to the winter carnival—which will, of course^ be next year.

.By motor; top,■■ can be reached the country .to; the; north and ■;'west of 'Wellington, • wuicli, stands in most striking contrast-.to, the scenery of the. marine drives. Take^theCwajr- out. through. Karon,...for. instance, ;tp . '■Makara., .and; its beach' and' back.,.via;the Ohariu'--Valley and _Jphrisonville.'-- While on- the seaside touring; Tims-, round. : the'..marine':'drive,thereis practically "lion'ecessity to' change' gear ■ anywhere; 'there-.will be plentjvoh the Makara .trip..-..Starting .from•Lairib- ■ ton quay >and working.:'up'-to .the, Ter : race by .".Woodward .'street; the, .visiting motorist .-.will begin to; appreciate some of the finer arts of driving a car in Wellington..'.' .Up' the' 3?errace>and round sharply into Mount street, up the.grade again, and .on to Salamanca; road, and round past the ' university building till you come out on Upland road.; On the ascent the passengers will have some fine panoramas of the city. ' So on across Kelburn with its .proud residences ■ on" dimcub, sites, across the viaduct ■ over the tramway, through the tunnel, a ijlimpsn of Karori Reservoir, the' cemetery, a back view of. the wireless station, and. then Karori'itself.

After' Karori^ still bearing traces of its history as Wellington's oldest- suburb, if it could be..called that and not rather a separate community mostly engaged in supplying milk'arid eggs and firewood to the older city—afterKarori the. hill—Makara hill which constitutes the ■watershed of streams flowing west to Cook Strait and those running eastward to the harbour. It j s a wild-looking country about, here with big hills . and , deep valleys and an occasional far-off glimpse of the sea. Down into milder secluded regions of farm land, where nothing seems to have changed since the early days and everything looks old-fash-ioned, until you come but tq.,the western sea at Makara beach." Back-then to the first junction-"of iroads,' take the one to the. left, and .chive.-slowly:^up : through' the Ohariu Valley, old, old country, arid eventually come out to the ridge ovevlpokiug Johusanville, ifroni. Johnson.-

ville'the return may-be.-made through the once famous Ngahauranga Gorge and back along the. Hutt road into-town. The roads in Makara County will generally be found good.. ■'•..: ... ■

Other motor trips that might be taken would include the short run to NorthInd along past the Botanical- Gardens and up and round the other side of the Tinakori Hills, skirting Wilton's' Bush, one of the city's reserves, where it might be. worth while spending a half hour or so arid back by, the quaint old hill suburb of Wadestown, part of it laid down in the New Zealand Company's original

survey and part.quite modern, since, indeed the tramway was built up from'the-! city. The view from here is'magnificent only surpassed by that from the wireless station itself. Runs ■• may also be made put to • Johnsonville; via Ngaio and Khandallah, flourishing and back from ' Johnsonville' by Newlands, the scene of the notorious Cooper case, which; ended in the /law taking- the extreme _ course of ' its full rigour. Quite apart' from its unfortunate notoriety Newlands is worth a visit for its intrinsic charm as p a rural oasis bosomed in a rugged forbidding country. . Further afield again are.'runs to Titahißay, Pahautanui, and'back by crossroads to the Hutt Valley;' -But these; may well, be left for the' summer.. ].'.'■

So far by motor, or other wheeled conveyance, if there are any such these days; but beyond its .picturesque drives, briefly outlined, Wellington offers little journeys afoot that are absolutely unsurpassed by any other- city in the Dominion, or,, indeed, in ■ Australasia. It is

not for nothing that Wellington has its* club for walkers, the Tararua Tramping',; Club, now famous through the isles. Thej hills round the city and the mountains,*-bush-clad in all- the primitive glory of.

the original forest, a little furthr afield;but yet within .'easy reach,, are • a s 'playV ground for the walker, singly, in pairs, or. in parties, that more than makes up forany obstacle these ranges may be to the* expansion of the city. -.The country" round Wellington is indeed a paradise for, the trampev and tramping; winter and summer—all the year round—has become the principal recreation- of very many-people of both sexes and riot allin" their'early, youth either. They realise' that there is no better exercise.for mind and body than walking over the hills. The longer walks, such as the ''weekend tramps over the Tararuas and among the Orongorongo ranges, to -which access^, must bo obtained for the start by train: or steamer across the harbour, may very;" well be included with the longer "motor trips as something better left to the sum-? mer, though the bolder spirits of the Tramping Club take the journeys in any season. There, is no need at this time of^the year to go so far, as Wellington has many \valks which may be covered in a few hours from tbe centre of the city and back again; ' They are all in the nature of a Sabbath day's journey.

First and, perhaps, most convenient would be Mount Victoria, with its i-idge 7 paralleling the development of, the city, north' and south, and standing like a wall apparently to bar expansion to the , east with its large areas of level land. Thatbarrier has been pierced by a tramway tunnel and-surmounted by a road at its lowest saddle, giving access by two routes that, are already all too cramped for', the growth of population.

But that is. another story—mentioned elsewhere^—and the .walker is hot', par-' ticularly concerned with tunnels and high roads when he wants to. get to the top of a hill. You can' best approach Mount "Victoria from Conrtenay. place, which the highest peak, with the-signal station on its pinnacle) directly, overlooks. .'You simply take the. road lead T easy climbing streets to keep the grnda. becomes more and more severe towards the top of Majoribanks street, : you realise that this is one of. the penalties of having a plan of a new city drawn up in London apparently on the.assumption that the .land was as level as, the map.,' Many of Wellington's old streets are like this. They pursiifi their way,, up hill and down dale, like a Boman road;- the shortest distance between -two points. -Had the. town-planners of the New Zealand Company been ;on the spot;', no doubt we,should have had a differ-, ent'lay-out of the.city to-day, qne more, picturesque . with-, winding, terraces and easy climbing streetsitp keep the gra.de. But the steep climb has'done much for the physique -of generations of citizens. Once at the top of Mount Victoria^ you see all the. city beneath you at your feet and a view :of the harbour that.is. perhaps the best yet. On the other side there are the eastern suburbs and the long* expansei'of;: Evans. rßiiy;-with- ; IiVall -Bay in'the distance, and beyond that the ocean. A recently constructed road-made-.by the unemployed in the. bad winter of the slump—runs the whole length of the'ridsje from »Boseneath on' the north to Newtown on the south. The. walk is.on the skyline, practically all the \vay ; and opens the view all round qE city, harbour,, and hills. -..There-are.'few things more pleasant than this walk-on a fine clear day. .' „'" ■ • .'■ .'. ,- For those who have a. little more, time to spare the. walk' may be continued along the ridge beyond Newtowri'Park out to. the sea at Island Bay, with a perfect panorama of the city's extensions southward and eastwards in populous suburbs. : The ridge itself is practically clear' the whole, way, .and still forms an outlet for suburban growtb when the .time comes. . ' . .' ' '■■:'-'• -A walk;tjiat~. taken-as a whoTe.j.wbuld occupy more than a, -morning or ■afternoon, but which may be-conveniently dene in separate sections^; if" preferred, is a traverse of the higher' levels of the -city from Thorndon right -along to the sea between Happy Vallby and. Island Bay. : The first stage to the Kelbura Heights will- inrlude a gradual climb through the verdant bush of the Botanical - Gardens out to the rounded top where the Observatory stands. This, in itself, is a very 'pretty walk, and the view from the top of the city, the harbour, the gardens, the suburbs of Kelbum and Northland, and the slopes of ■ the Tinakori . Hills, ,is particularly. fine. Oh through Kelburn, bearing always to the higher levels, the trainper. comes out on a ridge 1 overlooking another, section of the city,; with, the plantation . of pines- round the collecting area of the Karori reservoirs. on his right. This catchment area ha.s all- been planted ■ in comparatively recent yeai'S, yet the size of the trees show how even '"windy" Wellington responds to afforestation. A rough track on. the edge of the'ridge—

something of a razorback—brings the visitor out .to. Harrington's Farm, arid .about a mile further on into Brooklyn.: From;.. Brookly n, the.-,- visitor.; can.,, follow theridge out. through Viewer suburbs-to Island, Bay. " Branching the other way—. to the -rightl from Harrington's FarmV— the trampe'r.-who; wants the .longer. :vie'\v still, can go along over.a maze of ridges, and above deep ..valleys;, to the : highest pointy in; the. peninsula here^-. MountNHawkms—rfroni, which 'the, view extends southward, over ;.the";.whole" of the.north-east corner oFtlie South Island andrHDn ,a fine -day—as ■;far . north ..as Mount -Egniont, ..standing..'like a-, little bell tent across the sea. . . ... _. . Another.-fine;'walk with a,, .splendid, view, of the' city and its environment' covers the length of tho Tinakori Hills from; Wadestown. to. Northland or ".vicoversa. The" worst" of the climb, which at the. wireless, station 1 reaches a. height of_ over- a thousand feet, can be taken in. the .tramcar, either to Wadestowri or to " Northland. The' rest is .just '• easy ridge walking. Tlie panorama is perhaps the most' extensive of-all;that can be obtained from, the heights-about 'the city, and ;it is from'here that, the principal panoramic photographs of the city are taken.-, It is,interesting, from these to mark",the different stages; in the growth of Wellington:' -X the'period Is taken in'"decades, it will be seen".' that each decade, for instance,'. shows tho 'shore line' of the harbour, to have been changed by- reclamation. From' the "wireless station, too', one cah get a bird's eyei view of the-shape"of the har r bour"and its: entrance-and the wharves' and'shipping of theihner. port.-.: ... :■ ,In tramping" over the.'hills, immediately round Wellington, .it . will . occur 'to the visitor; to ask how .these hill-top suburbs and embryo towns have come to be'supplied:with water and drainage, arM the usual conveniences of civilisation. As to water, he will notice, no' doubt,

onall the trips outlined on the highest points of hills, higher than, the highest habitations, artificially levelled mounds,neatly fenced in. These mark the sita of high-level reservoirs for-the supply of the high-level suburbs. Boseneath, Meliose, Brooklyn, Kelburn, and 'Wadestown—tlieso covered reservoirs stand : a« monuments to the foresight and engineering V skill:. of the late . Mr. W.- H. ' Jlorton, for nearly twenty years Wellington's City Engineer, to whom modern .Wellington owes more than it could ever repay. Greater Wellington, from,'. ;ths .engineering point.of view, is largely. ' the creation o£" the late .engineer. .:■ Ho', arrived, here to take up the position iust as the'expansion was beginning. He laid out'the tramways, to the high levels and out to the further suburbs. He designed .tho wat&V-supply and drainage systems! of these' suburbs. Under, his. . regime were carried out extensions to: the wator works that increased,the supply to itteetthe vastly increasing needs and the.lat-. est work, the, tapping 1 o£ the Orongo-. rongo River by a. two-mile tunnel, is only the final nionuinent, the completion of which; unhappily, he did'not live to. See. It is fitting that, in a 6un rey of a city, such: as one' gets -in.the case of Wellington from the tops, of. its hills, one should dwell hot only on what one sees to : day, but endeavour.to picture.in the ,mind something .of the - prodigious" human effort that has', gone: to make it what' it is. .Mistakes there, will, always: be in purely human affairs, and we are apt. to-blame burl forefathers.fory.much that could'ndt; however much: we' think it, have been foreseen.' 'Town-planners will regret this .and this and that, but let them" vtake things' by .arid large and on .the.\vhole'.and they, must agree that the broad foundations of this city .have been'"-well and truly-laid;- and; that, as citizens of no mean, city.".theyhave Teason to be proud, of the achievements of the past and the work of the; founders.