NEW ROOF ON BUILDING

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28539, 19 March 1958, Page 14

NEW ROOF ON BUILDING

Preparations For Big Job

Preparations for re-roofing King Edward Barracks—the biggest sihgle iron-foot ih ChilriChufch—began yesterday, But tn 4 Ministry of Works reported that it had not yet been advised whether the inoney—rbnnifig ifito many thousand* of poufida— Would be available to go through with the job immediately. Prelimihkry wbrk will involve the drawing of the supporting girders accurately. This has W be done to determine the exact shape of the barracks so that AM quantity of iron to be used and the shape it has to be rolled are known before it Is ordered. The Army said the barrack* had been the brainchild of a private firm at the beginning dt the Century and no Government plans existed. The building wtl to have been the first bf many throughout New Zhalahd but tM barracks building was the only one ever erected.

With the SoOtt by 120 ft near fiodr space cleared of private cart in the afternoon, army engineers add Ministry of Works surveyor! brought in a big mobile crane to reach tip to one of the *0 40ft high girders and drop plumb lines from various points. Angles were taken from the ground with theodolites. “Let of PatchingA Spokesman for the Ministry of Works said much of the original Iron still remained but a lot of patching had been done during the Second World War with substltute materials and these had Worh very efficiently. However, there was continual expensive repairs and maintenance and the department bad come to the conclusion that it would be better to preserve a valuable indoor square fcet—by re-roofing' file building completely. The barrack* buHd*M has held Christchurch's biggegt indoor gatherings for M years. The greatest crowd ever assembled there was 18,000 persons ter an election address given by • the Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage) In 1938. By comparison, the Theatre Royal hold* 1870 persofis and the capacity of the Civic Theatre is 1170 persons. King Edward Barracks' was built in 2S days. The foundation stone was laid by the Prune

Minister (Mr Richard SeddMl on July 13, 1908, ahd the Opening parade was held On July N. At that parade—according to Lieutenant-Colonel H. Slater in "Fifty Years of Volunteering"— it was said that the barracks had been built in 25 working days "and was probably the most expeditious piece of work that had been accomplished In the colony.*