The Eastern Suburbs

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 240, 11 July 1928, Page 8

The Eastern Suburbs

Forty Years’ Growth

A Remarkable Achievement.

The wonderful progress which has been made the last few years in the Eastern Suburbs makes it difficult th the scenL which unfolded itself to the eyes of those pioneers who climbed over the rough hill-track.s through -tree and heavy manuka to look down on that large area of land we know to-day as one of Wellington’s principal suburban districts. ’l’o do so requires an effort of the imagination for of course there were no streets, bitumen roads, and rapid transport facilities, or other conveniences we look upon now as absolute necessities. Forty years ago there was scarcely a house in the whole area, ft was then more or less a barren waste of sandhills, swamp, and flax covered valleys. In all probability it was regarded then as hopeless for anything like closer settlement— although the then owner. > the late Mr. Janies Coutts Crawford, saw its great possibilities as an outlet for the extension of the city’s residential areas, these enterprising settlers of a day long since passed were of. an optimistic disposition and brushed aside the difficulties which were part of a pioneer’s life. In a few years they payed the way for the great and rapid development of recent times.

/I'he majority of those grand old settlers have, passed on, Imt'in the district I here'is st lit to be found a. number of those early pioneers spending the evening of eventful lives in quiet. repose. Chatting with several of these early : . Riers, a “Dominion - ' representative gathered that they had had immense faith In the possibilities of the district, but admitted some surprise at the almost, phenomenal growth which had been made in the hist quarter of a century. From a mere -handful of families 40 years ago .I he population to day has risen beyond all expectations, until it. now represents a big percentage of Wellington’s total population. -X , ' Going pack about. 45 years ago, the laud upon which now stand the Hue shops, residences, and public buildings of Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, and Miramar was a sheep and cattle run. It was owned at that time .by ; a. former Wellington Magistrate, the late. Mr. James . Coutts Crawford, who had purchased it some years before from the Luxford estate. The .woolshed was situated where the Kilbirnie Reserve is now, just there N0.,1, pitch is situated, and instead of cricketers and footballers, sheep and cattle made an entirely different scene from that, which presents itself to our eyes to-day. The licensed hotel, a two-storied wooden building.of those days, was close by, and to-day is still standing, being situated at the corner, of Wellington Road at its junction with Kilbirpie Crescent, and is now used for an entirely different purpose. Ono of the lirst dwelling-houses t bo erected was built near.-the Kilbirnie Post Office by a family named McEwen , and consisted of two rooms with a stone floor, similar to that Often seen in the* North of England some years ago. This house, too, is still standing and occupied by descendants of the McEwen family. Between the back of this house and what is how Coutts Street, there was a small plantation and swamp, where Paradise ducks have been shot. Another of . the lirst houses was the station manager’s residence, which was situated near the present site of the Kilbirnie Presbyterian Church. The names of two of the first estate mami'gers were Robert McKay and Symon McLennan. Another early building which is still standing, is the old blacksmith’s shop in Duncan Terrace. The original blacksmith, Mr Ogden, is

still alive, and resides near' the old smithy. Another interesting fact revealed by an old settler was that the strip of land between Onepu Road and liongsdale Crescent, near the Evans Ba v power house, and Hanked by Sea’louu Road and Coutts Street, was at one time used as a rifle range. The tiring mounds were about where Onepu Road is, and another at the junc-

tion of Queen’s Drive aud Crawford Road. The targets, huge iron ones, were sot against the hill, over which Lonsdale Crescent anil Tirangi Road now run. As evidence of this, one c>f the residents in the area, while working in his garden some time ago, dug up a number of cartridge eases. That hill was popularly known then as “Rabbit” Hill.. As previously stated, part of the district was of a swampy nature, ami particularly round about Miramar, where the problems of storm water drainage even to-day, arc exercising the minds of the civic authorities. Bridge Street, near the junction of Miramar and Kilbirnie, was once part of a lake, and when the street was formed, it was found necessary to put down a fairly large pipe to carry away the big volume of , storm water which gathered in the area. Fortunately,

the sandy nature of the soil has minimised to a. large extent any gieat danger to heal II i. Smaller Estates. The. lirst step in ’’ a development of the Eastern suburbs was inaugurated when the kite Mr. Crawford cut up his big holding into a number of small estates, aud offered them for sale.. These divisions were- further sub-divi-ded, aud in place of a few holders of land in the district, there were soon some hundreds, and so the suburbs of Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay, Miramar, and Seatoun came into being. Haitaitai in a northerly direction from near the tunnel, was part, of another estate owned by ft family named Jenkins, and was not sub divided for closer settlement; until some years later. Those early settlers were people of resource and energy, and out of a. waste oT sandhills and swamp, the haunt, of wild game, wonders were wrought, ami difficulties surmounted which we,' today, cannot fully appreciate. Kilbirnie’s Rapid Progress. The progress of Kilbirnie within Hie last few years has been remarkable. Immediately after the cutting up of the big Crawford estate, building was not particularly brisk, but once the road over the hill, following its present route, it followed two other routes higher up before that, there was 'in increasing flow of population to Kilbirnie. Its position geographically in relation'to the of., r suburbs comprising t'’c eastern district; naturally made it first: choice for building sites. Prior to 1903 Kilbirnie formed part of the Melrose Borough, and a Road Board, with hearquarters at Karori, was the controlling body. The amalgamation of Ibe Melrose Borough with the city brought with it extensive development of I ? Eastern districts. It was t, however, until (he coustrticUon of the Jlataitai tunnell in 1906-7 that the boom in building at Kilbirnie really commenced. The extension of the I ram way system to the Kilbirnie Post Office further accelerated progress, and

from then to the present day it has steadily forged ahead.

Looking Forward.

To-day the Visualising of the Kilbirnie of the future, with shops, offices, and public buildings of considerable dimensions, is not so ditlicult in the light of present day building. The new Kilbirnie cinema being officially opened this evening, and the fine block of shops and offices in Seatoun Road, and known as “Kilbirnie Chambers” are forerunners of a new era, and set a higher and more ambitious standard of business aud public building construction in the suburbs of Wellington As there are not a great many building sites now vacant for the erection of residences, the progress in Kilbirnie r will follow more on the lines of industrial and business expansion.

.Notes on the District

Lyall Bay. From a sandbill waste a. few years ago, Lyall Bay, has developed into one of the, best-planned suburbs of Wellington. Attracted by the splendid beach and bathing facilities, visitors aml citizens flock in thousands to Lyall Buy during the summer months. It is purely a residential area, aud the well-kept; homes leave a very fine impression on the visitor. Seatoun. Happily situated on the flat near the entrance'to Wellington Harbour, Seatoun, once part of the Crawford Estate, is now a favourite residential suburb. From less than a dozen settlers in 1897, there is now a population of several thousands with a fair area of land available for still closer settlement. Seatoun, with the splen-. did Worser Bay beach close handy, is a. popular holiday resort in the summer. Industrial Activity. The eastern suburbs, or at least two of the districts, Kilbirnie and Miramar, have provided sites for a num-, her of large concerns. Tlie timber industry is particularly well represented *in Kilbirnie, no less than three firm carring on operations in the district and "provide employment for ninny men. Near the old boundary line of the Crawford Estate are situated the Wellington Patent Slip Company’s works aud the Union Steam Ship Company’s laundry. In course of erection and almost completed is the huge tramway workshops, adjoining the Kilbirnie tram sheds. Here the. operations in the building and repairing of tram cars and other work incidental to a tram service will be transferred from the Newtown workshops at an early date. Another municipal concern is the Evans Bay power house, which proved its need so conclusively last summer when the power from Mangahao was inadequate for tlie requirements of city services. At some future time these will be added to when the proposed reclamation of a large area at the head of Evans Bay is carried out. s. .

At Miramar the post-war industrial activity has been rapid. There several of the largest concerns in New Zealand have their works and stores. Early in 1915 Hie Wellington Gas Company commenced the manufacture of gas at their works ou. the. Miramar, site close to the Miramar Wharf. Today the gas consumption has reached the huge figure of nearly 600,000,600 cubic feet and 210 miles of reticulation mains are required to carry it to consumers. Two large oil concerns next followed and the storage tanks of both occupy a considerable area. Oil tank steamers are an almost everyday sight at the new Burnham Wharf to-day. There is still a fair acreage of land available at Miramar for the building of homes and industrial purposes. On the eastern/side of Evans Bay aud overlooking Miramar the range of hills stretching to Point Halswell is capable of providing building sites for many families, and in the not too distant future it is more than likely that it will be closely settled. At the present time it is not too easy, of access, but once quick transport from the city is available a large addition to the population of this district will' follow. Educational Facilities. The children of 40 years ago were not so fortunate as those of to-day in regard to schools within easy reach of their homes. Kilbirnie School, erected in 1880, was the first public school opened in the eastern suburbs. Mr. Geo. McDermld was the first headmaster. >ln addition to the many public and private primary schools now in the district, there arc two i secondary schools, the recently-opened Bongo tai College and Scots College.