Covetous Eyes on Orakei

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 114, 4 August 1927, Page 10

Covetous Eyes on Orakei

Costly Sections in Model Suburb

THE eyes of prospective home-builders have long been on Orakei.

Purchased by the Government some years ago, the block was subdivided as a model suburb, ostensibly for the working man. But at the prices the sections are likely to fetch, most working men will have to be content with looking at them from a distance.

r jpHERE is history in Orakei. Its sunny slopes and sheltered beaches were the retreat of the Maoris when the pakeha came to Auckland, and it was from the descendants of the native families that the Government acquired the 600-acre tract. Its remoteness from Auckland was one of the factors that precluded earlier settlement. Hobson Bay, biting deeply into the land, added miles to the distance by road. But when the waterfront road project was adopted, the time was right for a definite move.

Then was evolved the model suburb plan. Mr. R. B. Hammond, now director of town-planning, was the winner of a competition for the best lay-out, and on the plans he formulated the roading of the estate has been in progress for some time.

At the crest of the rise above the Purewa creek is an open space from which arterial streets will radiate, and the promontories giving the locality its insular atmosphere will be traversed by semi-circular streets conforming to the curve of the shore. There will be no seafront sections, as at Herne Bay. Instead, a fine parade will skirt the estate. Laid out with such care and forethought, Orakei should be one of Auckland’s most pleasant places. Its natural advantages rank it as a choice residential locality. Most of the building lots command magnificent views. The city. North Shore, the harbour, and the glorious vistas of the gulf, are in the sweep of its daylight panorama, and at night the sight is magnificent. Orakei in the evening is girt by a spangled horizon. On every hand glow the lights of Auckland and its suburbs. WORKINGMAN’S PRESERVE Such is the lovely preserve set apart for the working-man; but at a cost. With Auckland at its doorstep—the waterfront road will bring the city within a few minutes’ walk —Orakei will be in demand. Sections may realise up to £I,OOO, perhaps more, and the average price will certainly be high. Speculators, the Government has proclaimed, will be barred from negotiating for sections, and the sale will be conducted on the Lands Department’s strict lines, whereby there is no such element as fictitious bidding. Even so, prices are sure to soar. Easy terms will invite competition from men of moderate means. Under the Lands Act a deposit of 5 per ceDt., with balance in 34£ years at 5£ per cent., and a 1 per cent, sinking fund, is stipulated. The terms are certain to be no more severe than those. Selling outright, however, the Government may find problems in the way of the model suburb aspect. Only town-planning legislation, which may be regarded as irksome, or a special Empowering Bill (as was introduced to deal with a similar block in the Hutt Valley) can prevent a man from doing what he likes, when he likes, with a section of which he has the freehold title. UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT Originally it was proposed that Orakei should be lent a further charm, and this of an academic variety, by the establishment there of the Auckland University. There is now a suspicion that the Lands Department, which operates on business lines, will not yield the 50-acre university endowment unless it receives payment from the Education Department. Hence Auckland’s University may remain in Princes Street. Such problems, however, are in the meantime, premature, for the Government is showing unexpected tardiness in putting the Orakei sections up for sale. Last year it was imagined that some would be offered in April of 1927. April came, and enquirers were informed that a sale would be held in a month or so. Now it is August, and there is no likelihood of a sale this year. From the successive postponements many will infer that the Govrnment is waiting until times are better and higher prices can be realised.