Modern “Domesday” Survey

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 920, 13 March 1930, Page 10

Modern “Domesday” Survey

HOW AUCKLAND IS MAPPED “AND after very deep speech with his Witan the King n caused to he made a great survey ia which was set down all the land of England.” So reads the historical record of the Domesday survey instituted in 1080 by A\ illiam the Conqueror. And likewise, after talk with the Parliament of New Zealand in 1927, the Director of Town Planning and his board have commanded through legislation that a survey be made of the towns and cities of this Dominion.

In compliance wiUl the Town-Plan-ning Act, 1928, the Auckland City Council began its civic survey in March of that year. The work has been going on quietly and comprehensively, and today a vast amount of data has been collected and transferred to paper by the city townplanning office supervised by Mr. C. Putt, under Instruction of the City Engineer, Mr. J. Tyler. Mr. Putt has a staff of seven out on field work or poring over draughting boards. Like the conqueror, the director of town-planning, Mr. J. W. Mawson, has made most detailed stipulations. After Mr. Putt had run through the director’s requirements it seemed that he would have saved effort by listing what was not wanted in Wellington. To begin with, the city office has to prepare what is called No. 1 map, which, completed, will measure 10ft by 20ft. On it will appear every road in the city area from concrete highways to private rights-of-way. All communication routes, whether served by bus or tram or almost anything with wheels, legs or propellers, will be indicated. Harbours, navigable rivers, canals, recreational or ornamental reserves, every parcel of land vacant or built upon, airdromes, and everything that can be town-planned land it appears there is little that cannot be) comes under the eye of the board in Wellington. Mr. Mawson has a particular interest in buildings. He classifies them as industrial, commercial and residential. Industrial are described as heavy, noisy, dangerous, offensive, and so on. Heavy industries are those .from whose' doors are hauled at least 200 tons of manufactures a month. Offensive factories are “repugnant to the humanitarian sentiments of the community,” or more intelligibly, which smell or smoke. “Noisy” industries speak for themselves. “Dangerous” are benzine stores and explosives magazines. Light industry is the classification of that form of endeavour which does not detract from the desirability of the neighbourhood. Domestic industries have to do with bakehouses, laundries and concerns which minister in a small way to the personal comfort. Not content with all this, the Act

asks for the position of all buildings in permanent materials which are defined as those likely to stand 20 years. Wooden houses need not be shown in detail, except in special instances, as churches, hospitals and schools. Everything is portrayed in colour notation. The portions already complete look like a piece of Joseph s coat of many colours. Reference to the map reveals immediately what kind of building, if any, stands on such and such a section. No. 1 map tells further the value a foot of all land in the city, and in the case of the sparsely-populated parts of Avondale. Tamaki and Orakei, whether the country is hilly or depressed, wooded or clean. Here in a word, is a civic encyclopaedia. The notation being uniform throughout the country, the Town-Planning Board will be able to see at a glance that it Is a hotel which occupies the corner of a particular Thames street, or a billiard saloon on that spot in Karangahape Road. A second map gets right down to the job of city lay-out. On it will be delineated all contemplated improvement schemes, such as traffic outlets, land proposed to be taken for reserves or street widening, zoning, and the dozen and one ideas practicable and impracticable, conceived by ingenuity of the City Fathers. A final map, known as No. 3, will be got out when ratepayers have had opportunity to object, as ratepayers sometimes do,, to the acquiring Of parts of their property. It is in reality a plan of Auckland, as town-planners would have the city. The whole survey is supposed to be completed by January, 1932, bat it is yet impossible to say whether the work can be carrier! out in the period the Act prescribes. As the Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, told a meeting of local bodies recently, the Auckland civic survey has even now cost citizens some thousands. Since the work was begun the council has voted its town-planning department two annual grants of ,-£3,000. Not all, however, has been spent on Mr. Mawson’s “Domesday” survey, part of the money being used on work merging with other city engineering schemes. C.T.C.W.