A HILLSIDE SUBURB.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 545, 28 June 1909, Page 6

A HILLSIDE SUBURB.

COLDIE'S BRAE DESCRIBED. ITS MUNICIPAL WORRIES. | . SO MB ARCHITECTURAL OBSERVA- , . TIONS. . (ByX.) Some people, when you mention Goldio's Brae, thiiik you mean Golder's Hill. To suoh the controversy about the rates which property at Goldio's Brae is or is not to pay in respect of tho Wadestown tramway must bo a darksome mystery. -A philanthropic desire to' enlighten them and to bring some inches of tho daily papers within tho circle of their intelligence may servo as an oxcuso for a littlo discourse whoso' real reason for 'existence is that this terra (almost) incognita is a pleasant place with a tivo history.' Goldio's Brae (when telegraphing you may make it ono word—Goldiesbrac—and quote municipal authority) is a little hillside suburb at the extreme northern end of the city. It occupies a steep spur which rises from the Thomdon. tramway:' terminus, to ■ Mrs. Rhodes'a residence; or, to take it' another way, it lies between Qooen'e Park and tho kerosene stores on the.Hntt:road. Its name was conferred by the, late Drv.-Johnson, who owned tie whole spur and btrilt the first honso on it. This building Etui stands, it' is still called "Dr."Johnson's old house," and it appears likely to prove a long-enduring monument to his memory. It k also an embodiment of. a • certain great, but, sadly-ne-; glected, principle in architecture. ' A Curious House. , : '.-- The worthy doctor had ideas, and he had theNmoncy to carry them out. Midway'up tho spur, ho cut a deep notch into the slope, and threw out the spoil to form a wide, level lawn. Tho almost perpendicular waHs of his cutting curved round to form witlr tie.lawn something like a gigantic easy-chair; Then, building'his pne-story house back under shelter': of cliff,, ho. 'made it •. follow the same" curve. Its ground plan may be described as a'quarter of the ciroumfercnoe of a : circle, with a.short piece of a radius attached at onb end.; The description is rot, of course,. of Enclidean exactness, for the two ; lines —the curved and the straight— have breadth enough: to contain rooms and a verandah. Deep-nested thus on the wirdy Brae, "Dr. Johnson's old house" is ; bat lightly ■ touched by blustering. northerly or southerly., ','.';•'-.' ' People say it looks "funny." They mean that'thoy'have not-seen anything like itbdfore, but there' is in Italy a, villa (in the classic iense of the word) which so much resembles it that it may'with probability bo regarded 'as its prototype.' Staring' down upon it from the road ]nst above (notched out since the doctor's time)j.and observing tho level lawn in, front of it, the-strollers w,onder if it'is the pavilion; of some bowling or,'croquet club. If they are late arrivals from England, they surmise that it is a row :of'almshouses. ~ -',-'< '..';■-.' Artlstlo Fitness. , a. ; , i ; ,-'■ ":'/'■' ~ But Dr. Johnson's design, .though unusual, is artistic. Owing to the curvature of the plan, there-is no point of view, except far across lie harbour (whence the whole house appears, but a little .spot),', from which 'the long level roof is Been: as... a straight line. Thus without >any sacrifice of .the-; genoral effect of stability, the depressing excess! of the horizontal is beautifully avoided. ; Then, instead of gables, the roof-61108 in sweeping semi-circles that shelter great bay windows. There are no parapets,. pinnacles, .finialß,- or turrets. Such things are well enough on summits or.' plains, bnt -this houso 'is on a hillside, .and its rounded, and, sloping lines, making a perspective 'from .which tho horizontal is almbst absent and the vertical ,not over-emphasised, harmonise perfectly with its setting. -.- Wellington has plenty of,houses on hillsides, but very littlo hillside architecture. Dr. Johnson throw into ; lasting form the great principle that a dwelling, to,bo truly artistic, must suit its natural environment. How few of our later builders have profited by his'}example'l ; ' t ' ; V '.■>"■)' : :-!.\':y,:':',':\U': 'dr.' Johnson's; Pigs'. ■, '■: ■':■/■ W;'; Present-day architects might .learn much from Dr, Johnson's ideas, but it. woula be idle to suggesVthat they should follow them closely. To a degree that would 1 bo culpable, if it were not artistically'.successful, he was lavish of expenditure.: to dojrs''when timber wis still cheap, he built in , concrete, he brought quantities of glass . 'for .his long vorandah and slates for his roof :fronv,oversea, and he formed, his plan in costly curves; His outbuildings were of the'same substantial character as the residence itself.' Some of them are said to-be floored, like the. long, bow-shaped verandah, with'mosaio of coloured tiles.,~The very pig-styes' 'are-;'of 'notable Apretty cottage-villa nowoecupies' their site, but' to scatter their massive oancrete walls was no light task. ' The-present writer does not, know if they had; tessellated floors. One is reminded of a story. Woodstock Park/was; '.being-' laid out for the great Dnke of Marlborough; a massive stone bridge was built','over. a : little stream,,,-Later, the stream 1 was enlarged to a lakej but not until a wit bad written: .'■■•■...' :-..-"-..''

"The minnows, as beneath this arch they pass, , Cry, 'How like whales we seem, thanks to your- Grace'.". A similar oxaltatian 'of; soul, must have been, experienced by Dr. Johnson'spigs; Controversies and Negotiations.

The history of Goldie's Brae is the history of a thousand suburbs of a hundred cities. The spacious grounds of. the . tince solitary mansion are Isold'and cut up into building: lots,: and amidst the smart modern houses, tho 'grey walls stand in pensive and diminished dignity. ..With ; tho new'order of things come all the, problems of local government. Under what board or council, and by what schemes of engineering and financing, Bhall the mushroom suburb ■■' get its drainage, its water-supply,-' its : lighting,' its rapid transit to and from the city? GoSdie's Brae..was made a part of the' borough of Onslow, but Greater Wellington bit it off in the same mouthpiece ' with neighbouring l Wadestown; It has Deen involved m'.asarios of controversies and negotiations concerning its municipal rights and obligations.,' The Wadestown tramway scheme ,is the latest cause of dispute. The rating involved in it was proceeding more or less smoothly towards a settlement, on.a baiis of a route along tho main Wadesb^wn.Road, when ,the Brae- was thrown into a hew excitement by the appearance of corporation surveyors taking • levels; and distances for a line through tho very midst of the little suburb. Some of the residents on the higher parte of.the hillside may like it well enough, but others'do .not welcome the idea' of flio cars roaring and screeching just below their windows or abovo.their roofs. And if they have to pay rates for it—but this artaole' is not the place for. controversial statemente. Among the Stars.' ' There is, at any rate, no ground for controversy in the assertion that Goldie's Brae is a pleasant place: It'is' not wanting in tended lawns and gay flower-beds, and the careless intervals are happy with,their more brilliant gorso and broom; Beside it, shaded by pines: that through the sunniest iours hold ■ midnight in ; their arms, Queen's Park, under careful, tendance,' grows fairer every year. From the park,: or from a bolder vantage point on tho Brae, you may see pictures always new., In this'wayward climate,..tho colours and shadows in tho great basin of hills and harbour change almost as freely as in "that inverted bowl we call the Bky." Most mysterious, enchanting, is the outlook when darkness and the.lights of tho city and its enclosed waters, in fines and clusters and scattered groups, compote with the lights of heaven. Said a small but>ißo visitor to the grey house:-"Auntie, it's, like living among the stars." .