HILLSIDE SHELTERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 62, Issue 84, 20 January 1942, Page 2

HILLSIDE SHELTERS.

PRECAUTIONS IN AUCKLAND. BIG TUNNELS TO BE CUT. (P.A.) AUCKLAND, January 19. < A scheme to provide a deep air-raid shelter for more than 20,000 people in tunnels under Albert Park and Constitution Hill is to be submitted to the Government by the Auckland City Council and the Auckland central committee of the Emergency Precautions Services. The Mayor and Chief Warden (Mr J. A. C. Allum) said that various proposals "were under discussion. Plans for the scheme prepared by the works technical group committee were nearing completion, and an early decision nvas expected. The scheme is complementary to one recently announced for making public shelters in 35 buildings in the central city area. If it is accepted by the Government, the State will provide 75 per cent, of the cost under the provisions of the Emergency Shelter Regulations. The proposed shelters consist of three systems of timbered tunnels, two under Albert Park and one under Constitution Hill, with about a dozen entrances distributed so as to give easy access from various directions. The scheme provides for linking the two groups of tunnels under Albert Park with each other and, by long connecting tunnels, with the Constitution Hill erroup. This arrangement is meant to ensure that if some of the entrances were closed by bomb explosions, a number of others would be available for egress, if necessary at a distance. Mechanical ventilation, sanitation, and electric lighting are important features of the scheme. The steepness of the hillsides ensures ample head cover at a moderate distance inside each entrance. As a preliminary to converting the old Parnell railway - tunnel into a shelter, tracks have been cut leading to both entrances from nearby streets. The first work required to be done in the tunnel is to move certain electrical wires and cables that now run through it.