Plan For New City Near Porirua

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31499, 13 October 1967, Page 26

Plan For New City Near Porirua

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, October 12.

Long-term plans to develop a small village near Porirua into one of New Zealand’s largest cities have been brought to life by a $l2 million project to open 4000 —residential sections at Pauatahanui.

A consortium comprising the Fletcher Trust and Investment Company and the National Mutual group of companies has bought 2300 acres south-east of Golden Gate. Preparation of sections will begin within two months.

Wellington planning officers see this subdivision—the biggest in the country’s history—as the first suburb of a fast-growing city. They think it likely that within 20 years Pauatahanui will have;

A population of 70,000 to 100,000.

Industrial floor space of not less than 4m square feet,

compared with Wellington’s present figure of 6.6 m.

A university and a general hospital. A freight and suburban railway linking the city with

the main trunk line and the Hutt Valley. A square mile of scenic reserve. Outstanding facilities for aquatic recreation. Confirmation of the Pauatahanui development project was given in a joint statement yesterday by the managing director of the Fletcher Trust and Investment Company, Mr J H. Churton, and the manager for New Zealand of the National Mutual group of companies, Mr S. R. Ellis.