POINT CHEVALIER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 20 November 1926, Page 15

POINT CHEVALIER.

NEW LIBRARY OPENED, j LINKED UP WITH THE CITY.' I RECENT GROWTH OF DISTRICT, j Point Chevalier's new public library i was opened this afternoon by Miss Ellen i Melville, chairman of the Library Com-! mittee of the Auckland City Council. The Mayor (Mr. Geo. Baildon), who' presided, made reference in a brief Sad-1 dress to the recent growth of the dis-! trict ,and spoke of the advantages that: had accrued to Point Chevalier since its | amalgamation with the city in 1921. He I said that the total expenditure on works i during the five years was- £163,000. AI sum of £57,622 had been spent on street; improvements from loan money. £72.000 on drainage, and £38,000 on the paving! of the Great North Road, besides expen- j diture on land purchased for recreation I purposes, and also in connection with securing reserves along the foreshore on the Point Chevalier Beach, and the formation of roads. The council had on its estimates this year a sum of £1000 for the erection of a cottage for the caretaker of the Point Chevalier Park of 13 acres, and was taking steps to secure a section with a house already erected on it adjoining the park for that I purpose, as it would not then be neces- j sary to encroach upon the park area.! He described the reserve as a particu- l larly fine one, and said that it would be' developed gradually with the progress of j the district. ! The reserve at the corner of Great | North Road and Point Chevalier Road had been much improved in appearance during the past few weeks by the forming of paths and the laying out of the grounds, under the supervision of Mr. T. E. Pearson. I The Chain Completed. ! Miss Melville said the library com- ; pleted the chain of branch libraries ' established by the City Council throughout the suburban districts, which had I from time to time become amalgamated ■ with the city. There were now modern, I up-to-date Ibiraries at Grafton, Parnell, Grey Lynn, Remuera, Epsom and the Leys Institute, Ponsonby. She mentioned this as an instance of the advantages that outside districts gained by joining up with the city. In May this year, she said, a petition signed by 400 ratepayers of Point Chevalier, was presented to the City Council asking for a reading room to be provided in the old road board office that was attached to the public hall. It was not then contemplated that there should be anything more than a few newspapers and magazines and perhaps a small lending department, the work of supervision to be done by a voluntary committee of residents. Out of that request came the scheme which had now reached fruition. Point Chevalier had been provided with a substantial and well-equipped library building which it was hoped would serve the needs of the district until there was a sufficient population to warrant the erection of a building in permanent material. A trained librarian would be in charge. The total cost of removing the library from Remuera, where it was formerly located, to its new site at the corner of the Great North Road and Point Chevalier and completely remodelling it would be £575. Increase in Valuation. In a brief reference to the progress of the district, Miss Melville said that in 1021, the Government's capital valuation was £252,000, and in 1920 the valuation was £750,000. In the former case the rates were £12,000, and the rates for the current year were £37,000. She said that Point Chevalier was now recognised as a charming and up-to-date residential suburb. She hoped that the residents of the. district would make full use of the library facilities that had been provided. There was now in the centre of Point Chevalier a group of public buildings which was a credit to the district. Miss Melville was then presented by the Mayor with a silver key, suitably inscribed and enclosed in an ebony case with Maori carvings as a design. The building was then formally opened.