STATE SUBURB.

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

STATE SUBURB .

HOUSES AT ORAKEI. i i STEADY PROGRESS MADE. VARIETY OF DESIGNS. Auckland*!* model State suburb on the hills of Orakei is steadily growing and : expanding. A few of the new houses ate, I Hearing completion and foundations arc! 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 I • been placed hi position. I

Thirty-one of some -212 '..omes which it is proposed to build there arc well "on the way up." am' last week the foundations of av ither 14 were begun.] Owing to the uncertainty of the weather! it is difficult to estimate when the first i house will be completed, but all accurate! idea of the appearance of a finished State home should be offered ill about three weeks' time. Already the variety of designs is evident, and th's feature is accentuated by the varied styles of the tiling. One roof, almost completed, is 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 11> the east of the housing site a comprehensive view of the activity is gained. It is a busy scene. In the shelter of the big administration building officers of the contracting firm pore over blue-prints and specifications, while outside men are laying bricks, setting up timbers and nailing 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 homeseekers and the interested public continues—to such an extent, in fact, thai 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.)