A New City Drive

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 4, 26 March 1927, Page 17 (Supplement)

A New City Drive

(Written for THE SUN.)

A smooth, winding ribbon of roadway, running between triple rows of bushy native trees and the feathery green of tall eucalypti. Such, in a few years, will be Auckland’s new avenue which leads from Manukau Road to Cornwall Park. The approach to the beautiful new drive from the eastern end is by way of Campbell Crescent. At the back of the Campbell statue there is an imposing sweep of low stone wall, flanking the entrance to a smooth stretch of bitumen road, which runs in a straight line for about quarter of a mile, and then winds past the Show Grounds, coming out on to Green Lane, a hundred yards or so belowthe present entrance to Cornwall Park. Nearest to the roadway, on either side, there are two rows of puriri, and one of acmena. As the position of the drive is an exposed one, three distinct varieties of eucalypti have been planted as a protection, making six rows in all. Even in a few years the avenue will be a beautiful one, but when all twelve rows of trees have attained full growth it will be truly magnificent.

To obtain the result aimed at no less than 3,000 young trees have been planted. As well as those actually bordering the roadway, spaces have been cleared at either end, and in these practically every imaginable variety of native flora has been planted. In addition to the bushy and symmetrical puriri and acmena along' the road, there are kowhai, kauri, karaka, puketea, pohutukawa, totara, titoki, miro, and rewarewa. The blaze of colour that will charm, the eye when the flowering varieties of these trees are in bloom can well be imagined. Already a roadway of rare beauty, the drive will in time become one of the show places of the city, and one of the finest avenues in the Dominion. No trouble has been spaced in the planting. For 60ft. on each side of the road the rich volcanic soil lias been ploughed, dug and raked into two long garden beds. Ample space has been allowed between each tree to permit rapid find healthy growth. It was; thought at first tfrat seme of the eucalypti might have to be removed as the trees grew bigger, but this is now considered unnecessary. Thus the more delicate native trees will be provided with an effective sheltering wall of green until they have attained full growth. The .eucalypti grow quickly and in a comparatively short time should present a picturesque sight. Already tlie trees have made considerable progress.

To add to the attractions of this charming spot, it is proposed to form part of the old road which runs along outside the belt of eucalypti into an attractive garden walk. Beds of rhododendrons and other colourful blooms will make a pleasing show, and it should be a popular place on warm summer afternoons. For those who desire a shady stroll, footways six feet wide have been formed on each side of the road. The present wire fence that divides the road from the growing avenue is only temporary, and will be removed as soon as the trees are big enough to no longer need its protection. Apart from the scenic attraction of the new drive, the most exacting motorist will find all that he could wish for in the smooth bitumen surface of the road itself. The track is 30ft. wide from kerb to kei'b, and its length, from Campbell Crescent, near the end of Market Road, to Green Lane is 51 chains. To make the entrance from Manukau Road one in keeping with such a picturesque drive, the One Tree Hill Road Board is co-operating with the trustees of the Cornwall Park Estate — under whose directions the present

work has been carried out —and proposes to plant Campbell Crescent with trees as well. These, with the'already attractive gardens surrounding the statue, will make a particularly fine sight. The restful atmosphere of the drive will not invite speed, but for those who are really in a hurry to reach Cornwall Park through the new avenue, a short cut is being formed from Green Lane to meet it at a point directly opposite the Park entrance gates. Attractive as the scheme, so far as it is completed at present, may seem, it is really only the first stage of what will be one of the finest drives in the world. The delightful run through Cornwall Park, around the slopes of One Tree Hill, is well known to every Auckland motorist, but the scheme that the park trustees have in view will eclipse even that.

It is proposed eventually to continue the new drive from where it ends at present in Green Lane, straight on into the park, continuing on around the foot of One Tree Hill, forming a continuous drive from Manukau Road to Campbell Road. The last section of the new drive, the stone entrance from Green Lane which is an exact r-eplica of the one at the Campbell Crescent end, is now practically completed,- and it should only be a matter of a few' days at the most before the avenue is open to the public.