HOUSES OF EARTH

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 547, 9 July 1920, Page 1

HOUSES OF EARTH

THOUSAND YEARS OLD. An old resident of New Plymouth, conversing with a Daily News reporter on the question of house accommodation in the town, said that in the early davs many of the houses were built of "cob/' material which was not unlike the "pise de terre (earth-constructed dwelling). The walls were 12in to 1-1 in thick, consisting of led earth, well rammed. The inside was washed with lime, procured trom the Mokau, and the roofs were thatched with swamp grass uf raupo. They were, lie said, very serviceable houses, cool in summer and warm in winter, and very durable. As the town grew they were pulled down for more modern dwellings. They were very cheap to construct, and perfectly sanitary, and the informant saw no reason why in these days of house famine ana clearness of' building similar places should not be erected. "Cob'' houses in France have been known to last over a thousand years. "Pise de terre" dwellings built in Mexico hundreds of years' ago, still stand to this day.