Housing work at Chathanis

Press, 7 April 1978, Page 18

Housing work at Chathanis

Carpenters will leave Christchurch for the Chatham Islands next week to begin work on a Government housing programme there. They are employed by Fraemohs Industries. Ltd, a Christchurch firm which has been awarded a $293,600 contract to build seven houses at Waitangi, the main settlement. More than 100 tonnes of building materials, including 12 tonnes of cement, has al-' reads been shipped to the islands aboa r d the coastal freighter Holmdale. The hou-e, will be built foi P st Office. Education

Department, and Internal Affairs Department employees. Each will cost an average of §41,600. The contract includes the cost of shipping all materials to the Charhams and the construction of garages, paths, driveways, and fences. Each house will have solar water-heating and solid-fuel space-water heaters. They will be fully insulated. including the floors. As Waitangi has no power reticulation, generators and fuel have had to be shipped there for the construction programme. All the houses will be pre-

fabricated. The material which has already been shipped to the Chathams is for! foundation work. The houses will be ship-; ped later this year, four ini May and the remaining three! a month later. The ship- ■ ments will include complete! sets of carpets and furnishings. including curtains, re-j frigerators, stoves, washing machines, and freezers. The work is expected to be completed by the end of; August. The houses will; eventually be linked to a 100-household sewerage sys-j tor Waitangi which will! be built by the Ministry of 1 Works and Development.