THE FIRST SALE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 240, 11 July 1928, Page 9

THE FIRST SALE

KILBIRNIE SECTIONS

The first auction sale of Kilbirnie sections took place on August 23, 1877, in Mr. It ,1. Duncan’s auction rooms, Panama Street. Mr. Duncan’s auction was situated on the site of the D.I.C. building. The following account of that sale appeared in a newspaper of the day:—“Mr. Duncan’s sale yesterday was a great success, with regard to the number who attended the luncheon and the auction, the large amount disposed of, or the satisfactory prices obtained. It was truly a public sale in the most extensive sense of the term. Over 300 persons were present during a considerable portion of the time the sale was proceeding. The sale commenced at JI o’clock and continued until 4 o'clock, with an intermission of 30 minutes for luncheon. Wellington and its suburbs have evidently become

I more than a fishing village, as prom- , The last paragraph probably refers , to the opinion expressed by Auckland i men of affairs at that time, who did not i seriously view Wellington's growing ; importance. A report of the prices paid . for these sections followed, and ranged from £6O Io £145 per acre for 115 seclions' sold in the north block, and £2O Io £5O per acre for four sections of the south block. At least two sections were sold prior to the auction, and one at the corner of ’Wellington lloild and Hamilton Road was bought privately by the la|e Mr. Bourke, who used it for a wool scouring business. That business to-day is still being carried on by thc family, although the actual scouring process is carried on at I’etone. Thc hotel site was the oilier block sold prior to the auction and bought by Mr. C. Moody, who erected the Kilbiniie Hotel on it. inept politicians used to describe it. . .”

Parks and Recreation Facilities

The facilities for the * playing of games and other recreational activities of the people of the eastern suburbs are particularly good. Parks, reserves and beaches are there in plenty. The various football codes and the cricket association have the use of all the municipal playing areas. At Kilbirnie there is a reserve, a'fine large area fully availed of each week-end. When the late Mr. J. C. Crawford donated this reserve to the citizens of Wellington it .was a smaller area, but from time to time the City Council has added to it by reclaiming portions of the Evans Bay foreshore. Anderson Park at Lyall < Bay . provides more ground for footballers and cricketers, while in the near future a larger area, extending from Anderson Park towards the city bitumen plant at Rongotai, will be ready for use. A great deal of preparation in the levelling of the sandhills was done last winter as a relief work.

Miramar, too, is well provided .with playing areas in the Polo Ground, CraWford Green; and the new purchase made recently by the City Council from the Millar Hardwood Co. Close to Miramar is the ground of Scots College, which of course is not available to the public,' but nevertheless provides facilities for the lads of the college and the teams they meet. Seatoun has its park, too, and is beautifully situated, although its area is limited. ■ •

Lying between Miramar and ,t he eastern end of the Lyall Bay sandhills are the links of the Miramar Golf Club. Two years ago the New Zealand championships were played on this course and it was said then that it was one of the finest golf courses in New Zealand. . . .

Tennis enthusiasts are well provided for in the municipal courts at Miramar at present leased to the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association. Yachting has many devotees around the eastern suburbs and Evans Bay provides a fine stretch of water for yachting or for a pleasure trip. t Near the bathing sheds there is a very safe anchorage for the boats. Bathing facilities are provided at Lyall Bay, Evans Bay, Seatbun and. Worser Bay, and in the summer time the beaches are crowded with carefree bathers, young and old. A Great Marine Drive. A large part of Wellington’s wonderful marine drive, and its most varied part, skirts the foreshores of the eastern suburbs. At week-ends and even on week days there is a great stream of motor-cars on this part of the drive. A good portion of the drive is bitumensurfaced and as time goes on and the whole of.it is surfaced it will be claimed as one of the best.

A Kilbirnie Pioneer

The late James Coutts Crawford, one of fhe early owners of the land now comprising the eastern suburbs, came from Sydney to JVellington in the schooner Success in October, 1839. He took a leading part in public affairs and was a member of the Legislative Council and a resident magistrate. He was a man of good vision, a keen botanist. and of a benevolent nature. The Kilbirnie Reserve was one of his many gift's of land to the people of Wellington. After many years of service to New Zealand he returned to England and died in'London in 1879 at the age of 72 years. Members of the. family still own part of the estate, chiefly round about Miramar.

Early Residents

The following family names are a few of those which figured in the early history of the eastern suburb: Bourke, Lamberg, Jorgenson, Bradbury, Glover, Randall, Compton, Zohrab, Williams, Rhodes, r Alexander, Taylor, Higginbottom, Moody, Trice, Maxwell, and Hart of “Happy Hours,” JEvans Bay, Tasker, McEwen, Dawn, TonkS, Mcßeth, Preston, McLennan, Huggins, McLeod, Johnston, Mills, Lyon, Beere, and Howard. ’ ' The memory of several of these early settlers has been perpetuated by the names which have been given to streets in the eastern'suburbs, and descendants of many of the first residents are still in the district. ... . >