THE MIRAMAR HOUSES

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 63, 8 December 1920, Page 8

THE MIRAMAR HOUSES

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING . DOWN THE COST Partly on account, of the statements mado by Mr. 6. Mitchell, M.P., in his report to tho Progress League on Monday, Mr.' 11. E. Moston, Deputy Housing Superintendent, yesterday described to a Dominion' . reporter the present positfon at Miraniar. where the workers' dwellings allocated to Wellington are being erected. Mr. Moston made it quite clear that Wie criticism of Mr. Mitchell was not in the least resented, but he said that Mr. Mitchqll had failed to mention tho difficulties that beset itie Department in its endeavours to complete the building programme. At present, he said, seven houses were completed and occupied, while six others were in the finishing stages, and would be ready for occupation by Christmas. They would have been completed 60me weeks ngo, but tlw work had been held up on account of the difficulty of obtaining plumbers. While the hold-up due to the shortage of plumbers lasted, the other tradesmen ongaged on tho houses had been employed ou other dwellings. In addition ] to the thirteen houses already mentioned;! there were thirteen more, which were in j an advanced stiage. The Department , hoped to have tlie.se ready for occupation ' shortly after the' holidays. At tho pre- j sent time work on them was proceeding ; smoothly, though there was room for a ! few additional carpenters and plumbers, i the walls and chimneys for another l •fourteen dwellings had been erected, j Contracts for the carpentry work on them had been let, anjl the work would ! be proceeded with next Mo«r.iy. j All of the houses so, for mentioned were ! being buihi by contract (labour only), j lhat was to say, the plastering of sev- ; oral houses was let as one contract, the ! plumbing of several houses as another contract, arid so on. Sixteen dwellings ' were being erected by. day labour, and i w«o m various stages of. progress. Onwas ready for the roof, and the foundations of several others were in. Wovk on foundations and walls in general at! Miramar had been retarded by the short- • age ot cement. Almost all the •contractors at tho prcseirl timo were entirely I without cement, but the Department expected to,receive part of a shipment duo to arrive lio-day, "There is no doubt," said Mr. ilosto;, i!i 110I 10 - work vrould h® less diffioult, and that it could be speeded up considerably, if wo wero not bound by a statutory maximum of eosir-namely .£IOOO in the case of brick or concrete dwellings, and i9OO in the case of wooden dwellings. It will be readily understood, nowover. that tho cost must be such that tho instalment! payable by the worker who is to occupy the houso is not too great. It is found that by letting the work by contract (labour only) we can get it done much, more cheuply than by (lay labour.- This policy is adopted at Miramar. The various contractors nro now making, good headway, and Mie Department and they aro satisfied with the result of the system, which is better and quicker work. . Cost is the chief factor in tjhe whole matter. By purchasing our materials cheaply wo are enabled to keep the figure down. The bve-roomed dwellings already in occupation were erected at a cost, including land and administration, of .£930. The instalment jMiyable by the occupants of tee houses is £1 Is. lid. a week, which includes fire insurance. "A difficulty which we were faced with a few weeks ago. but which we are overcoming now, was a shortage in the supply of seasoned timber. Now wo havo from Westhaven a fair quantity, which has been lying on the skids for some months. We are landing our timber on the sections ail Miramar, and it is costing ns 255. ed. a hundred feet, while-the nilmg price is 335. 6d. "We ar.e letting a large number, of contracts for the erection of dwellings to applicants who are tradesmen, and are prepared to build for tihemeelves. this appkes to the Dominion generally, not to Wellington in particular." ROWING ■ 1 WELLINGTON REGATTA. The executive of the Wellington Amateur. Bowing Association has decided that the annual Wellington regatta shall bo held on February 12 next. They expect to receive large entries by reason of the fact that many crews will probably compete on their, way to thj Now Zealand amateur championship regatta, which will be held at Picton on tho following Wednesday. A very attractive programme has been drawn up, comprising senior fours, pairs, double sculls, and sculls, junior fours, pairs and sculls, maiden fours, pairs and double s lulls, and youths' fours and double sculls. Tho association will make donations totalling Mi!) to successful clubs, and the senior and junior sculls carry the Pearco and Bridson challenge cups. In our advertising columns the association notifies a general meeting to discuss details for the regatta. PETONE CLUB'S ACTIVITIES. ■ A general meeting of the Pelone Bowing Club was held last week, the club captain (Mr. W. Hume) presiding over a large attendance. A report showing the financial position of the club was read and adopted, after which interesting "chats" relative to the care of tho club's plant ,etc, were given by the 6anior members. It was mentioned during tho course of a general discussion that the rate of eubscriptSon required from members was, perhaps, on a lowei scale than that required bv any other similar club in New Zealand. During the weok the final of the Club Handicap Sculls was decided betwie.n J ' Brady (45sec.) and I. Te Puni (30sec), I the result being a win for the former b> [ about two lengths. ! The race for tho Club Pairs, althbugr, . evenly fought out, was robbed of niucl; ! of its interest by the choppy sea run , ning. J. Weatherly (str.) and J. Levi (bow) secured the verdict over L. Boyt , (str.) and A. L. Warden (bow) by i f length and e. half.