FIXING THE CAPITAL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 32, 8 February 1915, Page 19

FIXING THE CAPITAL

CHOICE OP WELLINGTON BY AN AUSTRALIAN COMMISSION AFTER MUCH TRAVELLING Wellington was selected as the capital of New Zealand half a century ago tot because local influence was able to sway the Government, but because the recommendations of an impartial Australian Commission were adopted by Parliament. PETITIONS FOE A CHANGE: On 30th November, 1863, the Legislate ( Council addressed the following getition to the Governor (Sir George trey) i— " We, the Legislative Council of New Zealand, in Parliament assembled, desire respectfully to express to Your Excellency our strong conviction that the time has arrived when it has become imperatively necessary, for tho good government of the whole colony, and for the maintenance of its unity, that the permanent position of the seat of Government should now bo settled." "We are of opinion that the just claims and varied necessities of all parts of the Colony require that the seat of Government should be placed in a central position, that is to say somewhere on the shores- of Cook's Straits. "We desire that the actual site of the capital should be submitted to some independent tribunal by which the interests of the whole Colony may be impartially considered, apart from those"

local claims which are sure to bo asserted by the several settlements of Cook's Straits, in the discussion of a question so important to their respective interests. ETJURIOUS JEALOUSY. "Impressed with the feeling that continued delay in the settlement of this question will only tend to keep alive those feelings of rivalry and jealousy between different parts of the Colony, which seriously impede the action of responsible Government, and 1 which threaten at no distant period the dismemberment of the Colony, we respectfully but earnestly pray that Your Excellency will cause no time to be lost in giving effect to the foregoing resolutions in such manner as to Your Excellency may seem expedient." The House of Representatives recommended, in a similar petition, on 25th November, 1863, that the Governors of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania should appoint one Commissioner each. This was done, and the personnel was : — The Hon. Joseph Docker, member of tho Legislative Council, New South Wales ; the Hon. Sir Francis Murphy, speaker of tho Legislative Assembly, Victoria; Mr. Ronald Campbell Gunn, Tasmania. The appointments were formally confirmed by Sir George Grey, in a document of 29th July, 1864, and tha Commissioners were authorised to begin their work: THE REPORT. The Commissioners' report, dated 3rd October, 1864, issued from the Govemmenfc^Boildings, -Nelson* .jUted^-

v In order to guarantee a full enquiry and an impartial decision, founded solely upon a consideration of the advantages winch the different sites in Cook's Straits present for the administration of the Government of the whole Colony, the Commissioners determined to lay down a principle of enquiry, which should be rigidly applicable in the examination of every site submitted to their investigation. This principle comprised enquiries into :: — ■ ""L The central position of the site-: Ita accessibility, either by land or sea, from the adjoining Provinces of New Zealand, from the various British settlements in the Southern Hemisphere, and from Europe and America, and also the existing and projected means of communication. "2. The water capabilities, comprising character of the harbour. The approaches. Depth of water. Nature of anchorage ground. Protection from prevailing winds. Rise and fall of tides. Currents, their direction and velocity. Dangers, whether hidden or visible. "3. Land capabilities, comprising the extent of the proposed site. Natural formation of tlio land. Water supply. Facilities for drainage and sewerage. Facilities for the const ruction of wharves and piers. The sanitary condition of the site and neighbourhood. "4. The resources of the surrounding country. Its extent and character. Quantity of available land (whether alienated or unalienated) for pastoral or agricultural pursuits. Its timber for building materials. Mineral products. Roads and facilities of communication with proposed capital. i "5. Capabilities of defence — -from atfry \f,nA arH .nrft-

"6. Natural disadvantages. Whether capable of removal by the appliances of science.. Whether beyond control or removal. " The Commissioners commenced their labours at Wellington, on the southern coast of the North Island. They collected all the information that could be laid before them on these several heads of enquiry, and tested the information by personal examination, wherever such a course was practicable. "The Commissioners then proceeded along the south coast to Whangarel and personally examined the harbour and the surrounding country. "The Commissioners then passed to the opposite shore of the Strait, and directed their attention to Picton, and minutely examined Queen Charlotte's Sound and the Tory Channel. They then proceeded inland to Blenheim and (descending by the Wairau River) made a personal inspection of Port XJnderwood, represented to be the natural harbour of tins district. They also examined the pastoral districts lying to the south and oast of the Wairau Valley. _ "Leaving Picton the Commissioners examined carefully the Pelorus Sound, to the town of Havelock, and thence proceeded through the French Pass to Nelson. " They made a personal inspection of Blind Bay with its various harbours, including Croixelles on the east shore and Massacre Bay and Astrolabe roadstead upon the west, and visited portions of tho interior of tho country. "Having thus made themselves acquainted, as far as was possible, with the character and capabilities of both shores of Cook's Strait, the Comraie- , aionera _have-axrivcd^at- tho- unuoiiaioufl

conclusion that Wellington, in Port Nicholson, is the site upon the shores of Cook's Strait whioh presents ( the greatest advantages for the administration of tha colony." THE POST'S PROPHECY. . The change was completed in the early part of February, 1865. This event naturally put the young Post into a mood of optimism. An editorial of 13th February had these joyous passages: — "Some star is shining on Poneki, shining very brightly, too, and every day brings with it a clearer view of her future prospects. The arrival of the Government officials has given a stimulus to trade, and a large number of speculators having eeen this etar in tho East have com© to gain something from the favoured city. ..... The colonists of the North hay© long feared the title and advantages of metropolis would slip through their fingers ; they have attempted by citing their milder climate, their twofold port* of Waitemata and Manukau, their naturally clear land, and enlarging on our detrimentals, to draw a most unflattering parallel between themselves and this now rapidly rising city; in many instances they give but scant justice. Our trnly fine harbour, they aver, is unsafe ; its throat almost encircled with dangerous rocks ; that there is bad holding ground in the anchorage, and the fierce sudden gusts of wind rushing through the gorges of the surrounding hills bring constant danger to the shipping. "A great deal of truth, mixed up with a still greater amount of nonsense, has certainly been said of us by our detractors. .Thcy^ahako 'their .hoads, declaring

we are doomed. They enquire how a town hemmed in by impracticable hills, coveted with heavy timber, and having great difficulty in communicating with the Interior of the country, can expect to hold the proud position of the metropolis. . . . Without any interest in the matter — without an acre of land in the province — we can safely prognosticate a glorious future for Port Nick. Passengers via Panama will acknowledge the salubrity of its climate, the fertility of the splendid valley of the Hutt, and the beautiful vale of Wairarapa. The time is not very far distant when it will be universally acknowledged that we are in everything the Empire City. Geographically situated almost in the immediate centre of the other provinces, and boasting one of the finest refuges in the world for ships of all classes, from the humble coast cutter to a frigate, what will stop Wellington's onward course? She has already done much; ohe has the will to do more, and the will, as is proverbial, always clears the way."

"Not only are we indebted to Mr. Osgood for tho Empire Hotel, but also for tho stimulus ho has given to the other proprietors of hotels and bars in the town. No one walking down the beach can avoid being struck with the improved appearance of all the spiriting and beerizing establishments. The- old Crown and Anchor, for instance, has assiuned a jaunty juvenile appeai'ance. well becoming a/young rising town. We have been informed an energetic speculator is in treaty for Barrett's Hotel, and intends pulling down the old building, erecting o. handsome new one on the present site." —Evening Poat,_9tb, February, 1365.