THE ORAKEI SUBURB.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 136, 10 June 1924, Page 4

THE ORAKEI SUBURB.

[ The creation of a suburb on the slopes •of Orakei, and the building of a waterfront road from the city to Orakei, have ibcen talked about for some'years, but 1 the conference between the Prime Minister, the Auckland City Council, and the Tamaki West Road Board has ■brought realisation nearer. The whole , thing is a very attractive idea. For , those who like to live near the sea, j there is no part of Auckland more alluring than the Orakei block. ; The form of the block and the fact j that it has.all come or i 3 coming into the Government's hand 3, provides a .unique opportunity for laying out a ; ! model suburb, of which Auckland would ,__' proud, and which would give the ■ town-planning movement ainuch needed ; impetus. This country is behind the j ; times in the planning of. new suburbs,' and here is material for a bold experi- , jment. It is reported that the Govern- ! ment has bought the land cheap. If so, jit may be able to afford to provide ' housing for a considerable number of (wage earners at a reasonable rental, 1 without adopting poor styles of .architecture or sacrificing the general beauty of the settlement. In planning this suburb (the needs of the poorer classes should [be considered before those of the more .fortunate. Orakei should not be a pre I serve of the wc..i:to-do. The GovernIment should at once begin to prepare its plans for bringing this land into use. It should consult architects who have studied town-planning, and not . simply hand the block over to departmental officials to road. The Government should also consider very carefully the tenure on which the sections will be occupied. Mr. Massey already realises that in this property the State has an [asset of increasing value. The new road ; will be an expensive work, but it is needed. It will be possible to open up ■ Orakei without it. but eventually this shorter route will be And [quite apart from the communication 1 needs of the residents of Orakei, Auckland, as a whole, will benefit by havin',' (go fine a seaside promenade. So much Jof our waterfront has been given up jto commerce, .that it' is time we preserved more of it for general access 'and enjoyment.