DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURBS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 33, 8 February 1935, Page 39 (Supplement)

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBURBS

OuD records contain much of interest bearing on the outlying parts of Wellington during the early days, and residents of ,the suburbs who have not given much thought to; how their districts have grown from the humblest of beginnings will no doubt read with some appreciation the information given in this article. For instance, in 1845 Karori had a population of 215. Two years later it was remarked at the opening of the chapel that out of the whole population no death had occurred within a to quote from Louis Ward's "Early Wellington." The same authority states that a few of the old residents are buried under ■ the Council Chambers, part of the site having .been occupied in those days by a small hall in which church services were held. Some remains were discovered last month by workmen making an excavation in front of the building. "The friends and relatives successfully protested against dances being held in the Council Chambers," Mr Ward tells us. He also relates that ■the original mental,hospital was established.at Karori in. the, early fifties and accommodated a few patients. It says much for the mental balance of the people in those days that the first patient was admitted in 1854 and it was four years before a second patient was presented. Both were alive in 1897 when the establishment was removed to Mount View. As long ago as '1849 there was a "Homewood" at Karori. The property, which included part.of the cemetery Tarea, was the residence of Mr. Justice H. S. Chapman and the birthplace of Ernest, Arthur, 'Catherine, and Sir Frederick R. Chapman.

J. Of Island Bay Mr. Ward writes that the are named after the rivers of the United Mr. George Hunter, son of the first iMayor of Wellington, became proprietor of the 'Island Bay estate in the early days and lots were goffered for sale by Mr. J. H. Bethune in 1879. .The racecourse, of which no trace now remains, •ivas approached from the north by The Parade ■and Derwent Street, with Clyde Street as its east and Ribble Street giving access from :-the west. "The Island Bay hermit, whose smokebfjgrimed cave was situated a short distance from the Bay, towards Houghton Bay, was an to visitors and a source of revenue vto the hotel and refreshment rooms. Picnic

parties at this time thought nothing of tramping to Island Bay," says Mr. Ward, "and the writer can recall a visit to the hermit in 1886. He was reclining on some sacks at the far end of the cave and did not appear anxious or pleased to see strangers, who invariably left coins of the realm on a 1 huge boulder near a smouldering fire that rendered the atmosphere as unpleasant as the hermit's company, and which caused them, to make an early departure." Even as late as 1895 Island Bay had no postal arrangements, but there was a telephone bureau. It was described as a summer holiday resort for city residents, "with the houses mostly unoccupied in the winter." Truly there have been great changes in this district during the past 40 years. Kelburn, we are told by Mr. Ward, is named after Viscount Kelburne, the eldest son of the Earl of Glasgow, Governor of New Zealand from 1892 to 1897. "The name was at first correctly spelled, but the 'c' was dropped to avoid confusion with Kilbirnie. Or else that it was put right on a suggestion of Lord Kelburne, and that it was named after a seat of Lord Glasgow, as Fairlie Terrace was named after another seat of the family," The earliest reference to Kelburn appears to be about 1860, when a Mr. William Moxham leased a few acres of\the educational reserve, now the Botanical Gardens, and acquired the Upland Farm, 113 acres. "MOUNT MISERY." Khandallah in 1895 was described as being situated near the hill once known as Mount Misery. It had a public school established in 1893 with an average attendance of about 30 pupils. Early residents were Mr. James Nairn (1867) and Mr. J. Casey, who was born there in 1868. There were "several pretty houses and one large, commodious hotel" at Kilbirnie in 1882. This was not all, however, for there were a livery and bait stable attached to the hotel, several churches, a school with an average attendance x of about 140 pupils, and a hall and pleasure gardens as the features of a thriving district.

Melrose was subdivided in 1879, and plans of the land sold at auction are in the possession of

FROM SAIL TO

AT the middle of, the nineteenth century, steam had just begun to inva.de the I ■. •' ■ oceans. The seas were populated by sailing vessels which, under the stimulus of great trade rivalries, had reached the peak of speed, 3and which were'among the.most beautiful of structures. In such ships the pioneers reached 'these shores; and such ships as they arrived from time to.time delighted their eyes, kept them in touch with the Old Country, and provided them with a large measure of social life. Smaller sailing vessels did the chores of coastal trade, and a few of these still serve, in a minor role.

They were jolly days, if arduous, when men went down to the sea to do battle with the fates, and to win to some far place with dogged 'wills. Racing over the oceans to the south of Cape Horn or Good' Hope they went, with' their tall sails full and silent, and • the - green seas lisping at the bows or creeping up the leeward rails. Or fighting through gales, amidst icefields, with sails torn and waves sweeping the decks, and sometimes stilled upon a lonely ocean with the air breathless and sun boiling the pitch but of the seams. Thousands upon thousands of people were brought to the colony by sailing ships, and'to these people the memory of the.winged fleets arid their romance is very dear. The Westland, Rangitikei, Auckland, Lady Jocelyn, Otaki, Margaret Galbraith, Pleione, Zealandia, Opawa; these and a hundred others long since almost forgotten brought immigrants to New Zealand in the all-important years of her growth last century. .. Then came steam—first as a link between .Australia and New Zealand, and then between the colony and Panama. Hybrid craft they were, with their single smoke-stacks amidships, and rigged to carry full sails. The coming of these strange, new craft broke the first strand of a bond of romance; yet how few realised it then. Seeing these new vessels, many lovers of the sea and ships felt that they could not remain, and that on some dark night they would be swept away, leaving only mirrored reflections of the winged fleets.

But soon the march of progress brought steamers from Britain, shortening the time on the longest mail run in the world, so that 50 years ago, with the opening of the frozen meat trade, New Zealand was within 40 days of Britain. When it is considered what a remarkable sea-connection New Zealand has today with Britain, the fact that only last year brought the sixtieth anniversary of the arrival of the first steamer in the colony from England, must induce deep admiration for the mercantile firms named in this growth. The Atrato was the first ■steamer to come from England to New Zealand, but, within ten years of her first journey, a fleet of speedy steam-propelled vessels was running, among them the still well-remembered British King, British Queen, lonic, Doric, and Tongariro. Up to June, 1883, the largest ship to call at Wellington was the lonic, a White Star "giant" chartered by the New Zealand Shipping Company, having a gross measurement of 4368 tons. What a contrast with the P. and O. liner Strathaird, of 22,500 tons gross, which was in Wellington last November. These small steamships were kept busy, and in 1883 alone, 15,000 immigrants arrived in New Zealand.

MOTOR SHIP

Sail was already doomed, and had been reluctantly withdrawn almost entirely from the Home trade by the beginning of this century, to be scrapped, sold, or converted into lighters and hulks, and forgotten.

There are still"many people.who can recall the days when a dozen or more big sailing ships lay in Wellington Harbour -waiting to load the season's wool clip, and when above the wharves, such as they were in those days, there rose a maze of masts and rigging, ever a source of deep admiration and inspiration of wanderlust to those who loved them but; could ,not escape from the land. . But they are gone now, and the spirit of their times is kept alive only by the few scows and schooners—all of them auxiliarypowered—which still trade along the coast. Since 1900 New Zealand has experienced many changes, but few so apparent as those connected with the sea—newer "and faster and larger ships, new wharves and expanding trade, and a tremendously increased coastal traffic. In the early days of "The Post's" existence it was rare to find more than 14 ships in port, but today it is not unusual to have as many as 40 ships in the harbour, most of them far larger than the largest liners of those times, and many of them freighters and passenger ships which average 35 days between this country and Britain. Their watchwords are "Reliability, Speed, Comfort, and Safety." Wireless, a-'feature which plays a very great part in the shipping world today, was first introduced into the local mercantile marine only 25 years ago. Today, with radio communication, direction-finding, and an excellent lighthouse service, shipping, both, overseas and coastal, is run with the utmost security. At sea, then, as in so'many other spheres, a single lifetime has encompassed radical and -dramatic changes. Sail has gone, steam has come, the motor is rising in favour. Wooden ships are rare, iron has passed through its story, of hull construction and given way to steel. To forecast what may happen in'the shipping world is impossible. Ships have probably reached their limit and size for practical purposes, at all events for a long period. Not only are very large ships difficult to use economically as ships—they demand tremendously costly port equipment to accommodate them. Actual construction may and probably will be modified by the use of new alloy steels—which may not need paint to prevent corrosion—as these steels become cheaper. The use of electricity as a link between engines and propellers has passed the experimental stage, and may become extensively used. Fuel economy is a paramount consideration today. Coal and oil are among the most important of the world's diminishing assets, and economy in their use will become not less but more imperative, so that efficiency will always be sought to the utmost in engine design. The necessity for economy in fuel will also tend strongly—as it does now—to restrict the speed of ships, for speed is very dearly bought. Some improvement in speed can be obtained by careful hull design; but it is perhaps safe to say that extreme speed at sea is fast losing its claim to attention. People who are in-a great hurry and commodities that'must be delivered express can be carried much more quickly and cheaply, even over the greatest distances, by aircraft.

the Harbour Board. The borough, as it was from 1888 to 1903, comprised a very large area, 3840 acres, and was actually bigger than the city area proper, 3620 acres. MEANING OF "MIRAMAR." The now populous suburb of Miramar was once "covered with fern mixed with flax, small SQrub, kororriiko, tutu, and light brush in a gully at the head of Miramar Bay, and karaka trees on the coastline." Away back in 1840 there were, two cattle farms on the peninsula, Mr. J. C. Crawford having acquired the property in 1839. "Early Wellington" contains the following explanation of the name of the district by Mr. A. D. Crawford: "The name Miramar was given by.Major and Mrs. Mcßarnet to the site of the house that was built, for them on the hill at the.southwest end of Evans Bay. This house was.built somewhere about 1868. Major Mcßarnet was a brother of Mrs. J. C. Crawford. Miramar was named after a shooting castle built by the great Maximillian just north of Trieste. It is on a small peninsula and the meaning of the word is 'Behold the sea!' . . . The property was always known as Watts Peninsula, and it was only the site of the house that was 'Miramar' until it became a borough, when it was named the Borough of Miramar, and even then it did not take in the whole of the .original property, as the isthmus and Kilbirnie went into the city and %vere not included in the borough." Ngaio can trace its history at least as far back as 1859, when one J. Chew carried on a sawmill there. It had not post office in 1895 and the nearest school was at Khandallah. Seatoun's name originated from a place in Forfarshire that belonged to ' the Crawford family. Details of its early, history are scanty, but Mr. Ward tells us that even in 1897 there were not more than about a dozen settlers altogether, among whom were the men employed at the signal station. Wadestown goes far back in history. Subdivision of the land into one and two acre lots was in progress in 1841, the owners being Messrs. Watt and Wade. Many lots were sold for £20 an acre. "The purchasers were chiefly working men, who worked at their patches of ground after the day's toil was over, and Wade's Town soon boasted a population of 200 persons, whose neat cottages and smiling cultivations peeped from every nook among the picturesque hills." It is related that during the land mania of 1877 properties in this locality were cut up and sold, in some instances, at the rate of £500 an acre. CAUSES OF DEVELOPMENT. Proceeding to survey the causes of the development that has taken place in the outlying parts of Wellington, we find that the major part ■of that development has been carried out during the past thirty or so years. Until April, 1903, when the amalgamation of. the Melrose Borough with the city took place, the area of

the city proper was 3620 acres. With Melrose added the total area was 7460 acres, and this was increased substantially by further amalgamations and by extensive reclamations along the waterfront to the present area of 16,180 acres. It is only thirteen years since the Miramar Borough came into the city bringing its contribution of 2176 acres. The boroughs of Melrose, Onslow, Karori, and Miramar comprised practically all of what today are known as the suburbs of Wellington. For instance, Melrose embraced the district now bearing the original name, Island Bay, Lyall Bay, Kilbirnie, Hataitai, Roseneath, Kelburn, Mitchelltown, Brooklyn, Vogeltbwn, . Mornington, and Happy Valley. Wadestown was part of the Onslow Borough, and Seatoun was included in the Miramar Borough. Before they amalgamated the boroughs, with the exception of Miramar, where considerable development work had been carried out, enjoyed very few of even the essential amenities which existed in the city' area. In the case of the Melrose Borough, immediately after its amalgamation, the Melrose Improvements Loan was floated and extensive improvements were made. 'Certain of the areas' in the Melrose Borough were very sparsely populated at that time. The flat area of Island Bay was of a swampy nature, and the racecourse, previously mentioned, occupied a good part of the land. One of the early improvement works was that of culverting the main open watercourse leading from Duppa Street, Berhampore, to the Island Bay beach. Private enterprise was responsible for the subdivision of large areas by main and subsidiary roading systems, and shortly after the borough joined the city the recreation grounds known -as Wakefield Park were constructed. MUSHROOM GROWTH. r Hataitai provides perhaps the most striking example of the "mushroom" growth of a suburb of Wellington. The construction of the tunnel to carry the trams through Mount Victoria, opened in 1906, gave easy access to a district which at that time was not roaded and consisted of grass and manuka-covered hillsides and flats. What a contrast with the closely settled Hataitai of today! Concurrently with the development of the Hataitai district big improvements were made to the track which then skirted the fore- . shore between Oriental Bay and Island Bay via Evans Bay and Lyall Bay. Deviation and widening, regrading and surfacing of this road provided the marine drive of which the city is now justly proud. Roseneath being in fairly close proximity to the city was more thickly housed at the time of amalgamation than any of the adjacent areas, and the major development work was the construction of a main access road into, the district by the widening, regrading, and general improvement of the Carlton Gore Road, which was completed in 1926.

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Kelburn is another example of a district rapidly developing after amalgamation with the city, the problem of access being largely overcome by the construction of the cable tramway which brings residents into the city within a few minutes. This, following on the subdivisional work of the Kelburn-Karori Estate Company, soon made Kelburn one of the most popular parts of the city, and certainly the handiest of those outside the city area proper. ■ BROOKLYN'S FUTURE. Before 1903 the Brooklyn and Vogeltown district was mainly farm land, but after the construction of the Brooklyn road through the Town Belt and the-extension of the tramway system development took place at a considerable pace. In this district particularly there is great scope for further development, and it is not difficult to visualise the changes that must occur in the near future as the city's population increases and the nearer suburbs are more thickly settled. Since 1919, when1 Onslow joined the city, Wadestown has had a share of improvements by the widening of Grant Road and the main Wadestown Road. The construction of the tramway system into the area brought about quick development, which was further accelerated by private enterprise, such as the cutting-up of the Rhodes Estate, known as Highland Park. In Onslow itself the main development work has been the widening and regrading of the Ngaio Gorge Road from Kaiwarra to Ngaio, and the. alternative main access from the Hutt Road to Khandallah via Onslow Road. ACCESS TO KARORI. At the time of joining the city in 1920, the Karori Borough as a residential area was lacking in good access to and from the city, and great improvements directly reflected in the growth of population have been made by the access now provided via Kelburn Parade, Glasgow Street, Upland Road, Kelburn Viaduct, and Chaytor Street, and, alternatively, via the tram,way route through Tinakori Road and Glenmore 'Street. , . '

Miramar did not join.the city until 1921, and consequently it had developed further than most

A FAMOUS SHIPPING COMPANY

IN the development of ,New Zealand an important part has been played by the Union. . Steam Ship Company. Before the formation of the company the coastal and intercolonial shipping services were represented mainly by odds and ends of trade carried on by individual steamers, and it was the function of the Union Company, at any rate, in its earlier days, to brihg'.th'ese "under one management, and so to establish that regularity and order which are essential in modern communication. It is noticeable that practically all the earlier coastal steamers of the company carried passengers, thus filling the place which is now taken by the railways. As the railways extended, these coastal, passenger steamers gradually dropped out, until there was little left for them except the traffic between the North and South Islands. This diminution of trade at home, however, was not accompanied,by any shrinkage of the company's business; rather it had probably the effect of stimulating it to strike out into new territory, and thus contributed to its remarkable expansion.

The Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Limited, was formed in Dunedin in 1875, the nucleus of the undertaking being the fleet of the Harbour Steam Company, consisting of three small steamers of a total of 685 tons, to which were added two new vessels, each of 721 tons, then on their way out from Scotland. These five vessels engaged in the trade between Dunedin and Lyttelton, and to the west coast of the North and South Islands; and, notwithstanding their small size, doubts were expressed in some quarters whether they were not too much ahead of the available business. From such -small beginnings, by the purchase of other shipping interests, and by restless enterprise in seeking every opening where a trade could be developed, the company rapidly expanded its operations, and in so short a period as five years had increased its fleet to eighteen steamers, and embraced the larger portion of the shipping trade on the New Zealand coast and between New Zealand and Australia. Its entry into the .intercolonial trade took place in 1878, when it acquired the fleet and undertaking of Messrs. McMeckan, Blackwood, and Co.; in 1881 it entered upon trade to the South Sea Islands; between 1885 and 1889 it purchased three small lines of colliers running from Westport and Greymouth to other parts of the colony, and so secured the carriage of the greater part of the West Coast coal; in 1885 it took up, in collaboration with the Oceanic S.S. Co. of San Francisco, the mail service between Australia, New^ Zealand, Honolulu, and San Francisco; and in 1887 dispatched its first small steamer in the Calcutta service, which later grew to considerable proportions.

of the other districts that had already amalgamated. This position was largely due to the activities of the Miramar Land Development Company, whose subdivisional programme was executed before the amalgamation. Miramar was also the only borough in which water and drainage facilities had been provided, although these were to a great extent dependent upon help from the city's water and drainage systems. Probably the most important development work carried out after amalgamation was the Miramar drainage scheme, a triumph of engineering and an asset to the district of considerable value. The tramway extension to Seatoun tapped another, part of the Miramar district which has since become a populous suburb, and the construction of a foreshore road between 1924 and 1927 from the Miramar Wharf round to Worser Bay and on through Breaker Bay to Lyall Bay enhanced the attractiveness of the former borough. . - : RECREATION GROUNDS. It is of interest to note that in practically every case the amalgamation of the boroughs with the city has enabled large recreation grounds and reserves, as well as many other smaller areas, to be formed. Among others may be mentioned the Hataitai Recreation Ground, Kilbirnie Reserve, Seatoun Park, Rongotai Airport, Lyall Bay Reserve, Wakefield Park, Central Park, Kelburn Park, Karori Park, Western Park, Nairnville Park, Kaiwarra Park, the Onslow Reserve, and Miramar Park (now leased - for tennis). In scenic areas clothed in indigenous trees and shrubs Wellington as a whole is particularly fortunate, and a great deal of credit must go to the Parks and Reserves Department of the City Corporation for its part in this connection. The topography of the suburbs areas has made it difficult to find suitable places for the establishment of more sports grounds, but even those who complain of the shortage will concede that admirable use has been made'of land fitted in any way for conversion into reserves and playing areas. All things considered, a great deal has been done and further improvements are being planned. It is right; then, that full appreciation should be shown to those who have recognised that in whatever form it takes recreation is an essential part of the city's life.

lulu and San Francisco led to the company's withdrawal from the San Francisco mail service, but it found compensation by purchasing an interest in the Canadian-Australasian Line, for the development of which it provided large and powerful steamers. The steamers of this line, which forms the first stage of the "All Red Route" between Australasia and the United Kingdom, maintain a monthly mail service between .Sydney, Auckland, Fiji, Honolulu, and Vancouver, and alternate with the vessels in the company's, other mail service, initiated some years later, between Sydney, Wellington, Rarotonga, Tahiti, and San Francisco. y A further development was the establishment of a monthly cargo service between Australia and New Zealand, and Canadian and United States Pacific ports. In addition to the mail steamers, the company gradually built up services with the South Sea Islands, starting with its first venture into these waters in 1881, and later developed lines from New Zealand .and Australia to Fiji, Samoa, and the Tong'an Group, and to the Cook Islands and Tahiti.

The company extended its operations still further afield in 1912 by the purchase of four large steamers aggregating 28,968 tons, engaged in the trade between the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Though some of these were lost before and during the war, there is still one remaining—the Limerick—which runs under the agency of the Federal Line.

During the war the company's ships played an important part, principally i n the transport of the. New Zealand Forces. At one time •no fewer than 19 vessels, aggregating 118,455 tons, were under hire to the various Governments. Eight steamers, aggregating 54,716 tons, were lost through enemy action, but the company set to work to replace these, and by November, 1921, the number of its steamers was 81, with an aggregate tonnage of 266,503, and with crews totalling some 4000.

During the last few years, owing to the world slump and the consequent vicissitudes through which the shipping trade has passed, the fleet has been considerably reduced by the disposal t>f a number of the older vessels and their replacement by a smaller number of larger and more up-to-date steamers, so that today the fleet consists of 44 vessels of a total tonnage of 160,409.

An important step in the expansion of the company was made in 1891, when it acquired the business of the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Company and its fleet of eight steamers, and thus secured the interest in the trade between Tasmania and Australia which it has retained ever since. In other directions it continued to extend its operations, and by 1900 the fleet numbered 56, of a tonnage of 77,738 tons. In 1902, however, the operation of the American shipping laws as regards traffic between Hono-

■ The establishment of this great fleet naturally entailed a constant policy of shipbuilding to keep up with or ahead of requirements, and scarcely a year has passed without one or more important vessels arriving from the builders' hands, each showing some improvement on its predecessor, and in design, construction, . and equipment: displaying the very latest developments in naval architecture. Ampng the vessels built for the company were the first sea-going merchant ship constructed of steel, the first fitted throughout with -electric light, the first driven by turbines, the first large ocean liner with internal combustion engines, and the largest to burn oil fuel. These are but matters of detail; but they are illustrative of the spirit of enterprise which has always distinguished the company, and which has without doubt been one of the main factors in its magnificent achievement : *