DEVONPORT'S INTERESTS

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 305, 26 December 1928, Page 10

DEVONPORT'S INTERESTS

LARGE DEFENCE AREAS.

ANNUA!. LOSS IN BATES.

DEPUTATION TO MR. WILFORD,

Questions affecting the progress of Devonport, and the completion of the road on Rangitoto Island, were brought under the notice of the Minister of Defence (Hon. T. M. Wilford) on Monday afternoon, when a deputation representing the Devonport Borough Council was received in the ministerial rooms at the chief Post Office. Mr. A. Harris, M.P., introduced the deputation, which was headed by the Mayor of Devonport, Mr. E. Aldridge.

Referring to the Vauxhall reserve of 28 acres, lying between Cheltenham and North Shore beaches, Mr. Aldridge said the unimproved value of this area was £56,000. At present the borough received only £450 a year in rates in respect of all defence'areas within its boundaries. That amount was the maximum Government subsidy available, but the borough was a heavy loser. Were the Vauxhall reserve subdivided, a further £2000 a year would be made available to the borough in rates.

Nearly twenty years ago Lord Kitchener condemned both North Head and the Vauxhall areas, as obsolete for defence purposes. It was contended both, were out of date, and it was thought) particularly undesirable that they should be situated within a thickly-populated residential suburb. Large quantities of explosives were stored at Vauxhall for naval purposes, and although naval experts said there was no danger, the fact remained that a school was within a few hundred yards.

Heavy gunfire at North Head, said Mr. Aldridge, was undesirable, as it created a considerable annoyance to residents. In addition, property -was endangered during firing by continual reverberation. It was requested that the Minister should take into consideration the disabilities under which Devonport was suffering through the existence of defence facilities within the borough. It had to be remembered that a very large proportion of defence facilities for Auckland were situated at Devonport.

Mr. Aldridge said the Rangitoto Tsland Domain Board, which was the Devonport Borough Council, regarded

Rangitoto as a national asset, and it was their object to make it a Dominion tourist attraction. Sir James Parr and the Hon. F. J. Rolleston, former Ministers of Justice, had subscribed to this view and agreed to provide prison labour for developmental purposes. A total of six miles of carriage-way had now been completed on the island, and when the entire' roading scheme was finished, Rangitoto would be accessible to large numbers of visitors..

At present prison labour was engaged in connecting Islington Bay with the wharf, between which lay one of the most desirable parts of the island. Last August the Justice Department threatened to remove prison labour from the work, but following representations by Mr. Aldridge the work had been continued. Funds' at the disposal of the Domain Board -were limited, its only sources of revenue being a levy on ferry tickets, totalling about £70 a year, and rent from huts, amounting to £250 a year. All this had been expended on the provision of explosives, tools, water and housing accommodation for the men. As the board considered it was carrying out an important work, it was asked tVat the Justice Department should continue to regard the island favourably as far as the provision of, labour was concerned.

The Minister promised to visit Devonport, and to give a definite reply on all three questions before leaving Auckland.