PARLIAMENT HOUSE REPAIR WORK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 25, 21 April 1927, Page 13

PARLIAMENT HOUSE REPAIR WORK

MANY YEARS TO GO MODESTY OF A MINISTER (From Our Resident Reporter.) W ELLINGTON, "Wednesday. There is a great deal of unusual act . iyi .* y about the old Parliamentary Building, which is accepted as an indication that the reconstruction of this portion of the House of Parliament will be indefinitely postponed and the present structure will have to serve its purpose as Ministerial offices for many years to come. This is no surprise, however, for the Minister for Public Works, the Hon. K. S. Williams, stated in the House on October 1 of last year that with the state of the country’s finance at that time, the money available in his Department could well be expended on more productive works. Ministers’ suites are being renovated and altered, expensive soft carpets taking the place of the worn floor-cover-ings which graced these places before, and whichf bore evidence of over 20 years This is the first time the pldce has been done up in this manner since the lire in the building in 1908, when Lord Plunket offered the wing—then the Governor’s residence — for a temporary House of Parliament while the new place was being erected, and himself left the city to stay with Mr. Strang, of Palmerston North. At that time the beautifully stained kauri of the building was shown to advantage in the brightly-polished floors, but during the Plunket regime the fashion for white enamel was in- , troduced, and Lady Plunket had the doors covered in the prevailing style. The wood in the building, however, is as sound as it was on the day of erection, and, like the Government Buildings themselves, will serve for a great many years yet. A STUFFED ALBATROSS It is characteristic of the Minister for Public Works that he has authorised the renovation of the suites of the Minister for Internal Affairs and the Minister for Education before his own. Both of these have been luxuriously fitted, while the office of the Minister for Agriculture is well on the way; but the office of Mr. Williams remains as it was when the late Mr. Massey occupied the suite and later Mr. Coates was domiciled there. No coat of paint has brightened the drab walls; no kindly cleaner has removed the stuffed albatross which has remained with spread wings over the private secretary’s desk since the days when the late Prime Minister was ascending the ladder of political fame. In addition to these renovations the old wing is being altered by the construction of a new tube to allow members and Ministers more convenient access to the House itself from the old building. In the past this has been extremely difficult. It is considered, however, that the old building has served the country well, because it was originally designed for a residence and not a House of Representatives. As the Engineer-in-Chief of Public Works remarked today: “There is not a rotten board in the place.”