THE WATERFRONT RAILWAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 61, 12 March 1915, Page 4

THE WATERFRONT RAILWAY.

Wβ hope that onr readers -will examine with some care the plans which appear elsewhere in this issue bearing on the proposed construction' of a railway line along the waterfront. It should &c generally known that Mr. H3ey*e scheme, which hae already' been approved by Parliament, provides for a railway running along the Waitemata eastward from King's Wharf,' cutting through Campbell's Point and across Judge's Bay to Point Resolution, and thence across Hobeon Bay, giving an •outlet to our traffic on that side of the city. The effect of this scheme will be to block off the whole of the waterfront on thiß side from the city, to deartroj? CbmcbHl's Point, admittedly the most attractive feature of tUe picturesque Waitemata landscape; ; and to fill in Judge's Bay, thus depriving the city of one of its best yacht harbours and most beautiful beaches, and at the same time defeating the" chief object for which Gillies Park was purchased. It seems to ue that such wholesale destruction of scenic beauty would need very urgent reasons to justify it; but so far we have been unable to discover them. The people of Auckland, who are chiefly concerned, eeem to know little or nothing about the matter; at all events, they have never been consulted. Presumably the Harbour Board and the City Council were taker. into Mr. Biley's confidence b uorc this, extraordinary scheme saw the light; but they have certainly never askaj the con,-, tern of the citizens of Auckland for tlic whottalc destruction of s'oiue of' the - most beautiful features of our haracir coast line. It seems very remarkable, that a city'which is justly proud of itsharbour, and which has displayed a certain amount of enthusiasa ever itg own beauti Scat ion, and 'the town planning proposals submitted to it, should be expected to acquiesce' quite willingly" in this rutb,le^ J *J«(k*fe l T» n 4*fel»- *£»ie we repeat that we are still at a loss to understand the reasons put forward in support of. Mr; Hiley's scheme. Apparently,.tia. , Railway Department fusions" to fill in the'wnolc'of St''Ge'orgc*s ' Bay btcautfe it wants'a ■'•«*fsh«lfing ; yard "to concentrate the- whole of iW; rolling eiock near the •city. But :t is i certain tbat the space available here would not be sufficient to meet ail requirements long, and that sooner or later Hobson Bay will be utilised for this purpose. But if Mr. ■ Hiley'e project u> carried out in the meantime Campbell's Point ajid Judge's Bay will have been destroyed irreparably and permanently. As to the plea that Campbell's Point and the coastline generally ought to be sacrificed to the Harbour Board's plan of. running a broad picturesque esplanade along the harbour point, that 13 entirely misleading. Foreu<H tftiftßrit w»8 Mitn&iitelj mtffe attractive' WfMHwele 1 rduntf headlands and bays, following the natural irregularitee of the coaet, than if "it ran in a rigid etraightJine from Queen .Street, to Orakei.' Bat tfle strangest' feature of the whole businees is, it seems to us, that Mr. Hile.v's Tail-way can he carrrad out of •the city by a *different rojlte quite "easily »nd economically without injuring the harbour foreshore anywhere. The plane | we publish to-day show that the line could be carried through ■, from St: George's Bay to Hobson Bay by means of a tunnel only 30 chains long, and we hare reason to believe that neither the' engineering difficulties nor the expense ot this construction would be formidable. In this way Campbell's Point .and Judge's Bay would ba left intact; one of the most beautiful portions" of our lovely •harbour foreshore would survive to give delight to future .generations; and Gillies Park would remain what it was meant to be, an approach to the most jkcrfeet and best-protected of' all 6ur harbour beaches. -We hope that:these arguments will carry weight with the' citizens of Auckland, and arouse them to a sense of the injury and los 3 which they are now in imminent danger of suffering. We should be able to appeal with confidence to those public men who» like the Mayor, have already denounced the proposed demoliti6n of Campbell's Point and advocated the purchase of Gillies Park as the natural approach to Judge's Bay. Whatever can be done should be done quickly; .but we believe that a vigorous "and "unanimous expression of opinion .from the people of Auckland would carry weight even with the Bailway Department, and might induce the Government to ' refrain .from the wanton and needless spoliation of our city and its eurrounding3 which Mr. Hiley .now/contemplates.