THE MOUNTAIN
THE PROPOSED HOTEL. THE QUESTION OF SITE. . At the meeting of those interested in erecting a hotel on the northern .side of the mountain on Thursday evening, the following report on the site available was submitted by the honorary architect, Mr. G. F. Robinson: After carefully inspecting the suggested sites and obtaining the necessary date, for the report, I am of opinion that the following, in tlie order I have played them, are tlie essentials in regard io the position of the proposed hotel: 1. That the area available for the site of the building should be not only suitieient for present requirements, but admit of extension in the near.future; and that the cost of excavation and other preparation of the site should not be excessive.
2. That road access for motor cars and other vehicles should be obtainable at reasonable cost, the grades and curves of the road being at least, equal lo those of the existing road. 3. That a permanent supply of pure water should be obtainable, sulliciciu not only for ordinary purposes, but also lor sewage; and, if'possible, that in the future it could be utilised for generatiii" electric light and heat. 4. That the view from the site should embrace from the Sugarloaves in the west to the Tongariro range in the east, and of Mount Kgmont in the South, without further destruction of bush, or with a minimum oi bush-felliag. 5. That there should be a fair amount of shelter from the prevailing wind—the westerly. 6. That the cost of stone or gravel for concrete should not he excessive. , There are, of course, other essential requirement pertaining to a suitable site for a mountain hotel, but I think those 1 have named are the principal ones. 1 propose to describe, the upper site: _ 1. This is situate on the mountain side of the present house and about 10 chains higher up; is on a spur lying to the westward side of the old clearing' and a small gully, and is about HiOft higher than the present house,. The longitudinal surface of the ground lies at an angle of about lOdeg.; tue cross section slopes down about 2deg. to the eastward. It will be necessary to excavate a base upon which to erect the building, the spoil being used for levelling an approach in front and for roadways at the sides. Assuming the hotel to have a frontage of SOtt, and to be built of concrete, it would be necessary to have that length (across the spur) Jf! solid ground to build upon; the ground in front could be built up with The excavated material. A depth of about SO to 100 ft would be needed for the build-' mg, for sheds, and For yard at the b.u-k, so that an excavation 'fully 80ft square would be needed in addition to the area gained by the deposit of spoil in the embankment. A width of about lhrft across the spur can be obtained. The cost of the necessary excavation and stumping would be about £l2O. This would give a liivt-class site upon which a concrete building could safely- be erected. And further cxacavation at the back would permit of building extension in that direction.-
2. The access road would leave the end of the present metalled road at I Inwestern end of the existing house, would pass through a strip of bush for about 111 chains, coming out in the old clearing on the eastern side of a small gull v. It would follow up this gully for a further nine chains, then cross and work backwards and upwards to the upper site, a further five or six chains. The grade from the existing house and up the gully would be about 1 in .10, and from thence to the hotel site about lin 13. The gullv should he spanned by a rough log brid"e, covered with earth 'and metalled, so '"as to ensure ample water way in storms. The length of the road would be about 2.) chains, and including fellin», formation, metalling and the bridge, would cost about £250.
". There -is no permanent supply of water within the immediate vicinitv of the upper site-the contractor could not obtain even a sufficiency for concrete making, excepting in wet'weather, or bv carting or sledging-but at a distance of about 100 chains and at a higher elevation of about 1100 ft a permanent supulv of pure water is flowing from a rock lace, and could be brought in a pipe to a small reservoir (to hold, say, 10,000 gallons) excavated on the same spur on which the hotel would be built and about l.)oft higher. The pressure on a closed pipe with a head of 1000 ft would be too great, but the flow could be continuous into the reservoir, thus reducing the pressure to a safe margin, and ha vino the further advantage of preventing freezing, the friction in the pipe suMieiii» to keep the temperature to about the same as the outllow from the rock face The pipe would therefore need only .sufficient, cover to prevent damage from rollin" boulders, etc. From the reservoir the water could be conveyed to the hotel in the ordinary way. As the water would be continuously flowing, I think a lin diameter pipe, with a larger entrance
pipe at the head, would suffice, to the reservoir; from thence to the hotel, a sliojt distance, a larger pipe could be . used. The probable cost of the reser- ' voir, bringing the water to it. and from, 1 thence to the hotel, would be from £450; I to £SOO.
i 4. It will be noticed (hat I have placed I the matter of view the fourth on my list, as 'I consider the three first mentioned are absolute necessities, without which the view would be useless. To obtain tlie best, view from this site some bush would have to be felled in front, but this could be done without destroying the shelter on the west side; some would also have to he felled at the rear to obtain a' full view of Mount Egmont. Were this done a very line view could be obtained to the north and east, but none towards the west. 5. The violent and damaging gales are from the westward, and are severely felt at the existing house, the verandah having been unroofeu several nines. At the upper site a fair amount of shelter is obtained from a strip of standing bush on the western side of the site, and this should not be interfered with. G. Gravel for concrete shows on all the spurs in the vicinity, and should not cost at the hotel site more than about Gs per cubic yard.
' PROPOSED LOWER SITE. 1. The lower site is on tlie east side of the existing metalled road, and about Pi'chains to the sea side of the present house. It is about 80ft lower in elevation. The kmgitudindl slope of the ground i.s about Bifc«.™he cross section falling slightly towards the east. There is ample room, with but little excavation, for the erection of the proposed building, and for subsequent extensions. An area of bush 'about 2'/, chains wide, from west to cast, and about 4 chains long, from south to north (about 1 acre), would ha.ve to be felled and cleared. The cost of the necessary felling, clearing- and excavation would probably be about £(i(). The site is an excellent one and could be utilised very quickly. 2. Access to the hotel would be from the' existing metalled road, the cost of making the service road, including felling, formation and metalling, being only about £25.
3. A temporary water supply for building purposes could be obtained bv laying a pipe from the concrete tank at* the existing house, or by carting or sledging, but' the permanent supply must come from the, same source as' is mentioned for the upper site. Roof water and the present concrete' tank might serve for the first season.
4. The view from this site- would, I thinkvbe quite as extensive as that from the upper one, though the bush between the hotel and the mctalledroad must be left standing for shelter purposes. But this would not interfere with the view from about the sugar-loaves to the west round.to near Stratford in .the .East. ' 5. As the land' falls slightlv towards the east, the strip of hush left between the hoti ! l and the road would act as shelter from the westerly wind, and 1 think would give nearly a's much shelter as is obtained at the upper site. G. Metal for concrete could be obtained from tlie pit in the Xgatoro Gorge, and should riot cost, delivered, over Gs per cubic yard.
I 'think the above descriptions show that the lower site could be prepared and biiilt upon at a much lower cost than the upper one, and the • advantages of the 'position a.rq, 1 think, nearly equal, excepting as regards temporary water supply, in which the lower one'has the advantage.
But before finaljy deciding on the site I would recommend the committee to carefully examine the site obtainable at the old Government clearing, about 12 chains to the mountain side of the present house. The elevation is nearly the same as the upper site, the view'both seaward, eastward, and of the mountain is better. There is a metalled road to it, which coulit be re-graded and improved at low cost. There is ample room, with a little excavation and management, for present building requirements and for extensions. The water supply and gravel supply for concrete are at least equal to those obtainable at the upper site. .The bush and spur of the latter would giv.c shelter from westerly winds without impeding the view towards the Sugarloaves; and the removal of a few trees to the'front, which would not spoil the strip of bush to the rear of the existing house, would open up a magnificent panoramic view, extending from the Sugarloaves in the west round to near Stratford in the east. In my opinion, it is the best site obtainable in that vicinity, and would bo bv far the cheapest to prepare for buiiuing purposes. r
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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 234, 11 February 1911, Page 3
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1,710THE MOUNTAIN Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 234, 11 February 1911, Page 3
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