AT CHEAP RENTALS

Evening Star, Issue 23701, 8 October 1940, Page 2

AT CHEAP RENTALS

HOMES FOR AGED PENSIONER COUPLES EIGHT CONSTRUCTED AT WAKARi COMFORTABLE AND CONVENIENT From time to time the question of providing suitable self-contained modem dwellings i'or aged pensioner couples has been raised in various quartern, for there is not a shadow of doubt the necessity exists. In Dunedin, as elsewhere, pensioner couples with small financial means arc forced to occupy single rooms and other types of accommodation in crowded localities, simply because their incomes do not permit them to occupy quarters more in keeping with their declining years. in view of these existing conditions it is doubly gratifying to find that at the State housing suburb of. Wakari there have been completed two fourunit blocks for aged pensioner couples, the rentals of which are only 15s 3d and 15s 6d each. An elderly couple, therefore, on a joint pension income of £3 a week, in possession of one of these units,'will be in "a position to live comfortably and well within their means.

The eight self-contained homos now completed will not, of course, meet requirements, but their construction and completion is a start, and the Government is to be congratulated on having tackled the problem. Possibly the work will be extended. The individual units at_Wakari represent all that can be desired in comfort, economy, and convenience for an aged couple. They are situated to catch the maximum amount of sunlight, and have been built with an abundance of windows. Each has a nice sheltered entrance porch, which leads into a well-lighted general living and dining room, with fireplace, and two hot point plugs in the wall, one for a radiator, if desired, and the other for a wireless, an aerial for which is incorporated between ceiling and roof.

Off this general living room is a sleeping room, built as something in the nature of a large alcove without a door, so that the maximum amount of warmth from the fire in the living room will reach it. It is so constructed that, if the tenant so desires, it can be readily curtained off from the living room. These sleeping quarters have been built so that they will take either a double or two single beds, leaving room for a duchesse or tallboy. The units have ample accommodation in the matter of cupboards, and there is also a built-in wardrobe in each. Off the living room of each unit is a small kitchenette, with all conveniences, including modern cupboards, sink with terazzo top, small electric range, and a modem hot water boiler with electric unit. Off the small adjoining passage is a compact and thoroughly modem bathroom, which also contains the conveniences of the home. The colour scheme throughout all the units bas been admirably blended, and each one differs from the other. Floors are all well finished and stained, while interior fittings, such as electric shades, door handles, and catches, are of the very best. Whatever criticism that may be levelled at these homes (and, indeed, the individual who could criticise would be hard to satisfy), it cannot be said they have been erected with shoddy material. They are compact and natty to the last detail. Each unit has its back door leading out by a concrete path to drying green and revolving line, and each has ample space for a garden of sufficient size to occupy the time and energy of the male pensioner. To every four units there is a washhouse with fuel copper, and each contains four lockers, one for each tenant. Some have coal or fuel bins to them, while others have what might be termed small cellars, readily accessible. There has yet to be built on the grounds of each"four-unit block a four-unit shed, to meet the requirements of out-of-doors work.

Well-nigh perfect inside, from an exterior point of view these blocks of pensioner-couples homes are all that could be desired, and look just what they are, modern bungalows in miniature. A reproduction elsewhere in this issue will verify this. Needless to say, all the eight units have been eagerly snapped up, as no doubt others will be if the Government decides to build more of them.