STATE SUBURB.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 155, 2 July 1937, Page 3

STATE SUBURB.

HOUSES AT ORAKEI. STEADY PROGRESS MADE. VARIETY OF DESIGNS. Auckland's model State suburb on the hills of Orakei is steadily growing and expanding. A few of the new houses are Hearing completion and foundations are being laid for the erection of others. Within the past few days splashes of bright colour have been added to the busy scene where red priming h:is been applied to woodwork and roof tiles have been placed in position. Thirty-one of some -212 '.lomes which it is proposed to build there are well "on the way up." am', last week the foundations of ai> ithcr 14 were begun. Owing to the uncertainty of the weather it is difficult to estimate when the lirst house will be completed, but an accurate idea of the appearance of a finished State home should be offered in about three weeks' time.

Already the variety of designs is I evident, and th'a feature is accentuated by the varied styles of the tiling. One roof, almost completed, i* of a striking blight blue. Brick facings are rising, and weatherboarding is beginning to cover timber framework. As this progress is made the* introduction of water, drainage, electricity and. in some cases, gas fittings will be undertaken. From the long ridge to the east of the housing site a comprehensive view of the activity is gained. It is a busy *eene. In the shelter of the big admin'-] istration building officers of the con! trading firm pore over blue-prints andj specifications, while outside men are lay-1 ing bricks, setting up timbers and nail- j ing weatherboards. Conditions to-day were not pleasant, for the wind was bitter and the ground churned into mud. The work goes steadily on. however, and the cluster of future homes rises and spreads. The week-end pilgrimage of home*eekers and the interested public continues —to such an extent, in fact, that it has been declared something of a nuisance. Xow prominent notices are displayed, requesting that the interest of the visitors be not so close. (Picture appears on Page 5.)