News and Notes

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 59, 1 June 1927, Page 12

News and Notes

For 1926 a record amount of building was carried on in Sydney, statistics showing that for the whole city and suburbs 10,844 buildings were erected at a cost of £13,128,722.

Supplementary to the big building scheme in progress at the Wellington Hospital, the Hospital Board has accepted the tender of the Fletcher Construction Company, at £20,495, for a new kitchen and laundry block, and of Messrs. J. J. Niven and Company, at £IO,IBO, for the engineering service.

Point Chevalier residents recently advised the Education Board that they had brought down a recommendation to the school committee that it approach the Government and suggest that all new schools should be built in brick or concrete or something more dignified, in keeping with other suburbs of Auckland.

The policy of New Zealand timbers for Hew Zealand school buildings is subscribed to by the Minister of Education, the Hon. R. A. Wright, and the heads of his department. In a letter considered at a recent meeting of the Wellington Education Board, Mr. Wright referred to complaints which had been made against the use of imported timbers in school buildings. “1 shall be glad,” he wrote, “if you will arrange for your board to instruct its architect to specify New Zealand timbers for school buildings where there is only a small difference in price between these timbers and the imported article, and when the use of seasoned New Zealand timber will not mean an undue delay in building operations.” The Minister added that he would be glad if the board would also consider the substitution of locally-made tiles for imported tiles or other roof coverings. The board has decided to endeavour to give effect to this policy. Several Melbourne builders have lately been making costly experiments in the use of inferior concrete on their jobs. Since the collapse of the BritishAustralasian Tobacco Company’s building while in course of construction, the building inspectors of the various municipalities have been very industrious in testing the concrete used in buildings. As the result of tests made of the concrete used in a church which was being built in a Melbourne suburb, the builder was heavily fined, and ordered to demolish and rebuild a certain portion of the church. Since then other builders have been similarly dealt with in connection with the concrete which they were using in a number of private houses.