A CITY IN THE MAKING

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 32, 8 February 1915, Page 16

A CITY IN THE MAKING

NARROW LIMITS OF FLAT LAND The original city of Wellington consisted of 1100 town sections of one acre each, and each purchaser of 100- acres of rural land from the New Zealand Land Company was entitled to one town section. When the surveyors began to lay out the future city they experienced some difficulty in finding enough land within the area circumscribed to make up the 1100 town acres, with the result that the width of the streets had to be I considerably curtailed. Had the purchasers been content with a lesser area in their town sections, wider streets could, have been laid off, but as the company had guaranteed the 1100 town acres, these had to be provided somehow. As a compensation for the narrow streets very liberal provision was made in the laying off of a Town Belt around the embryo city. The belt, as originally set apart, consisted of 1234 a2r 13p, but when. It was conveyed to the City Corporation by the Superintendent of the Province it was only 1061 acres ; and by various excisions since the area has been reduced to about 983 alr 7p. In consequence of the narrow limits of flat land in the city, longing eyes were cast otj the magnificent sheet of water known to the early settlers as Port Nicholson. This contained an approximate area of 20.000 acres — sufficient for the anchorage and manoeuviirig of a great portion of the British fleet—with depths of water varying from six to fourteen fathoms, and an entrance of 3600 feet at its narrowest part, with a depth of seven to eight fathoms. The waters of Port Nicholson had a shoreline on the western side of Lambtonquay; where Victoria-street is now covered with warehouses was the back sea entrance to the business places in Willis-street; the sea came up to the back of Mr. George Winder's premises at the foot of Cuba-street ; and those whq had areas fronting Willis-street, Manners-street, and Courtenay-place had water frontages at the back. MAORI PAS ROUND THE HARBOUR. 'A large Maori pa occupied a considerable area, of the foreshoie between the

Taranaki, and Tory streets, and continued there till the eaily 'eighties, when the pa had to gi\e way to the reclaiming policy. There was another Maoii pa at the top of Wood ward -street, and there was a thiid one at Pipitea Point. AREA RECLAIMED AND COST OF WORK. To ascertain the exact quantity of land reclaimed from Wellington Harbour, and its approximate coj,t, together with the areas set apart for streets, reclaimed land now held by the Haibour Board, City Council, and the Government, was the task set before the wiiter. who had been informed that the history of the great reclamation policy had yet to be written. He entered into the task with some zest and a light heart, but it soon dawned upon him that it was an exceedingly difficult matter to get a correct estimate of what had been done. The reclamation was commenced as far back as 1852, in the days of the "New

Munsfcer Government," New Munster being the original appellation of the Noith Island of New Zealand, and reclamation has continued, more or less intermittently, to this day. What LieutenantGovernor (afterwards Sir George) Grey then began was continued by the Provincial Government, the City Council, the Harbour Board, the Public Works Department, the Railway Department, and the Wellington-Manawatu Railway Company; while the Oddfellows, Foresters, and a citi/.en or two did a little reclaiming on their own account. The approximate area reclaimed is probably not less than 260 acres, but the actual cost is impossible to deteimine. It may safely be asserted that e\ery acre reclaimed has been at least quadrupled in value, some of it considerably more so. Not only has the reclamation enlarged and enriched the city, but it has given wide thoroughfares and a multiplicity of quays, wharves, and stores, for the constantly growing trade of the port of Wellington.