THE BULLER ESTATE SUBDIVISION.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 June 1911, Page 3

THE BULLER ESTATE SUBDIVISION.

QUESTION OF ROADING. DISCUSSION AT THE C'OI'NTY COUNCIL. At to-day's meeting of the Horowhenua County Council the following letter was read from Air 11. S. Abraham, Managing Director of the firm of Messrs Abraham and AYilliams, •auctioneers, Palmerston North "Mr Loo Buller, representative of the late Sir AYalter Buller, has requested us to sub-divide and offer by public auction some 900 acres of his Papaitonga .property at Ohau. Tll order to carry this out effectively, it will be necessary to form and metal various roads on tho boundary of the property, and to construct a new road through the centre. I would, therefore, ask voilr Council that 1 may be permitted to wait upon it at its next meeting, when I hope to be able to lay a plan of the property with the proposed roads and sub-divisions, and to ask them to declare the whole property, consisting of some 3000 acres, a special rating area. It has been arranged For Air Sea ton, of Seaton and Sladden, to meet your engineer and obtain his approval of the plan. T propose to ask the Council to raise a sufficient sum by way of Government loan, under their powers conveyed by the Local Bodies Loan Act, 1908, to construct, and metal certain roads which will be shown Oil a plan to be presents! to you—(a) district road 011 tho western end, between State Farm and Papaitonga; (b) district road on the eastern end, between State Farm and Papaitonga ; (c) new road running through centre of property; (d) Air Boiler is willing that the Arapacpae road should be carried through the property and constructed under the loan on condition : (a) the "inland road" (a piece of abandoned road running through the property of Air McLcavev's house), to he conveyed to him in exchange for the Arepaepae road ; (b) that the Arapaepae road 1 , from the property to the Council's metal reserve, be at once metalled, so as to give access thereto, and the contractors for the work be allowed to take metal therefrom, (c) as the continuation of the Arapaepae road will necessarily alter the original plan of sub-division and necessitate smaller sections, some of which will not be watered by existing races, that, if possible, provision bo made under the loan for the deviation of the races .so as to water certain sections. ,Tt is suggested that the Council should themselves take, in hand and carry out the necessary roading and work required. As the number of ratepayers concerned does not exceed four, we propose that the loan should be raised by petition."

'Tll connection with this matter, the county engineer submitted the following approximate estimate, for the construction of the roads and water-races required for the subdivision of the Buller Estate, according to the scheme submitted by Mr Seaton, surveyor, of AVelllington : — Eastern Side. £ s. d. 158 chains clearing and forming at 30s. ... 237 0 0 Metalling 100 chains, at 565. 280 0 0 Metalling 58 chains at 725. 208 1G 0 Water races and culverts 110 chains at 7s. ... 38 10 0 AVestern side. - Forming and clearing Buller road, GO chains at 36s 108 0 0 Metalling GO chains at 80s. 210 0 0 1112 6 0 Railway crossing ... 120 0 0 Total C 1232 G 0 Mr Abraham now attended, and said that the proposal was that the council should take the matter in band and raise the money required by the Local Bodies' Act, which could be done by petition. The roads proposed were the formation and metalling the road in between the State Farm and the western end of the property; the formation and construction of a new road through the centre of the eastern end of tho property. ' It was suggested that the water races should be deviated and he believed Air Malcolm said that that could be done. He believed the whole thing would 1 be of advantage to the district. Air liuller was anxious to get on with the work. People who would buy the land would imostly bo farmers, and it was desirable that they should get on with their buildings. Ten or fifteen families would settle on the estate instead of one man with a few sheep. There was also the question of the Arapaepae road, and he thought it was to the advantage of all that the property should be dealt with. After some informal discussion.

the following resolution, moved by Or. AlcLeavey, seconded by Cr. Prouse, was adopted:— That the clerk tako the necessary steps to

raise a loan of £1350 over the property comprising tho Buller Estate for the purpose of roading, metal-

ling. and deviation of water races. And that pending the raising of such loan an indemnity be accepted froro Messrs' Chapman, Skerrett, Wylia and Tripp covering the amount of the loan, to indemnify the Council in the event of the loan, till rough any cause, not being granted by the Advances Department; and that Mr Buller guarantee bank interest for all money expended by tho council until receipt of the loan money. It was also decided, on the motion of Cr. Richards, seconded by Cr. Prouse, that the council agrees to the proposed exchange with the Buller estate of the combination of the Arapaepae road through the property of the estate for the road as shown on the plan as the Inland road. Other resolutions dealing with the formation of roads were carried. i"" 1 " 11 1111 g"