Riccarton Council’s New Building Opened

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 5

Riccarton Council’s New Building Opened

The new administrative building of the ' Riccarton Borough Council in Clarence street was officially opened by the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr Seath) on Saturday afternoon. Guests included the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr G. Manning) the Deputy-Mayor (Cr. H. P. Smith), the member of Parliament for Riccarton (Mr M. A. Connelly), past and present councillors, and representatives of local bodies and the Transport Department.

Mr Seath said that because of the growth of the country, local government was facing its greatest challenge. If the past was taken as a guide, in 40 years New Zealand would have a population of five million, and this growth would continue to -strain the resources of local government. Because of the expansion it was time for everyone concerned with local government to do some hard thinking. , The Mayor of Riccarton, Mr E. J. Bradshaw) outlined the history of the council which, he said, was established in 1913, primarily to evict the saleyards from their Deans avenue site. The saleyards were still there, but the borough had also been able to withstand the torrid battles of the early days. The old council building had been put up by the first council, and had been in use for nearly 50 years. It had become inadequate, and 10 years ago the council of the day had decided to embark on a three-stage building programme.

The first stage of this programme was the rebuilding and renovation of the town hall, the second stage was the erection of the new administration offices, and the third stage was the provision of new buildings for the works and electrical departments. No Loan Money

The town hall was finished about three years ago, and now the culmination of the second stage was marked with the opening of the new administrative offices. These two stages had cost about £50,000, all of which had been provided out of revenue. For a borough with a population of about 8000 this was as achievement. The third stage, of the building programme would follow “pretty soon.” Emphasising that about £50,000 had been obtained from revenue, Mr Bradshaw said that the borough was about a twentieth of. the size and value of -the city area, and if an equivalent amount was raised in the city it would be £lm.

Mr Manning congratulated the council on the new building and on the building of a town hall. Local government was an important and integral part of the government of New Zealand, he said. Mr Connelly said the council had taken a wise step in erecting the building. The public had a duty to provide reasonable accommodation for those who served them, he said. It often resulted in improved services to the people. The council was setting an example which others might well follow. The government placed great' value on the work of local government