Roskill’s Fate Decided To-Morrow

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 187, 28 October 1927, Page 14

Roskill’s Fate Decided To-Morrow

POLL ON AMALGAMATION INTEREST RUNNING HIGH WHETHER Mount Roskili f , will amalgamate with the city or continue as a separate entity will be decided to-morrow, when the ratepayers will vote on the proposal. In all, the number entitled to vote Is 2,461, or about half the population. Interest in the proposal has been very keen, and has been fanned by visits of considerable numbers of well-known speakers. Mount Roskill has an area of about 5,000 acres, with an unimproved value of £1,048,457, and an improved value of £2,150,076. In the event of the amalgamation being carried Newmarket would lose its present distinction of being a city within a city, for it would have company in that Mount Albert and Mount Eden Boroughs would be wholly surrounded by city property. Whether Mount Roskill will join the city remains for the ratepayers to say, but it is anticipated that the amalgamation proposal at the best will not have the overwhelming support that Tamaki and Avondale ratepayers gave to it. Polling on the Mount Roskill issue will commence at 9 o’clock to-morrow and close at 6 o’clock. It is expected the result will be known by 6.30. The polling booths are as follows: Chamber of Commerce, Swanson Street, city; Road Board premises, Mount Albert Road; Methodist Hall, Pah Road, Greenwood’s Corner; Mrs. Brown’s shop, Dominion Road; Mr. J. Pascoe’s residence, Richardson Road; Mr. Cantelin’s garage, Pah Road, near Mount Albert Road. “WORST ENEMIES NOW ITS GREATEST FRIENDS” AMALGAMATION QUESTION MOUNT ROSKILL AND CITY “I come with no mandate from the City Council, but as a resident of Auckland and because 1 believe in Greater Auckland.” In these words Mr. Oscar Mcßrine, a member of the Auckland City Council, opened his speech at a meeting held at Royal Oak last evening in connection with the proposed amalgamation of Mount Roskill with the city. A small community like Mount Roskill could not have the trained services such as the city possessed, he said, He dealt at length with city finances and rates. The question, said Mr. H. A. Darrow, was whether progress was wanted in the district or not. In Avondale the city valuer’s figures showed that there would be a decline in rates on all classes of property, and they would be approximately halved. The speaker could not say whether Mount Roskill rates would go up or down if they joined the city, but he knew that if they did join the city rates would be stable. If the rate-

payers stayed as they were the .rates would go up. Asked if Mount Roskill was not progressing at the same rate as Epsom, Parnell and Remuera, Mr. Darrow replied that these districts were much better than other outlying districts. He knew that the bitterest enemies of amalgamation in Point Chevalier were now its greatest friends. There was criticism regarding the city valuer at the previous night’s meeting and it was stated that the official was not fair, said Mr. T. B. Arthur. He proceeded to deny this. An element of opposition waS present from certain people who had evidently obtained what they wanted and who were not considering the whole of the district. Mount Roskill could not be compared with other suburban areas because the other areas were developed and Mount Roskill was not. Mr. E. F. Jones, chairman of the Mount Roskill Road Board, who presided, stated that he was pleased to see by the attendance that the question of amalgamation was not on the wane. He also said that the disturbers of the last meeting were not ratepayers of Mount Roskill. Mr. J. W. Shackleford postponed his speech because of the late hour.