The Press SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1957. Auckland Retaining United University

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28257, 20 April 1957, Page 10

The Press SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1957. Auckland Retaining United University

The Canterbury University College Council would be wise to examine again the progress it can expect to make in the move to Riccarton in the light of the experience of Auckland University College. The Auckland council has now had to abandon its proposal to move either to Ardmore (where its engineering school is already situated) or to an area to be reclaimed in Hobson Bay, principally because this would divide the college between two sites for too long a period. Instead, it will expand on and round its present site in the city, although this is not altogether suitable in several ways, either to the Auckland City Council or to the college. The college council, from its knowledge of the Government’s difficulty in doing more than a strictly limited amount of university building at any one time, feared that it would be many years before it could reunite all its departments if it began to move to a better site. Much the same must be true of Canterbury College, except that its present site is not indifferent but superb and that no plans to make good

use of it for any other purpose have been devised. The financial situation has become much clearer since the college council made its original decision to move to Riccarton. No-one now can expect the State, with all the demands that are made on it, to concentrate scarce financial and material resources on a complete new university at Riccarton while it has good accommodation for perhaps 1500 students in the handsome old buildings on the present site. If the hard choice between dividing a university for years or doing without a new power station were to be left to the central government, it would almost certainly prefer the power station. University authorities will probably have to use some persuasion to maintain even the current programme of building. Possibly the college council has some assurances that were not available at Auckland. If so, it would, of course, be wise to press on with the plans that are already under action. If not, it would be worth the council’s while to consider whether it is still possible to cut its losses and avoid the danger of dividing the college for many years.