DOOMED LANDMARK

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 122, 27 May 1925, Page 5

DOOMED LANDMARK

PETONE STOP-BANK TO GO

SPOIL FOR NEW RAILWAY

ONE-TIME BARRIER TO FLOODS.

One of the favourite promenades of Petone, especially for those whose courting days are not over, is about to be demolished to make way for progress in the shape of the proposed railway deviation. For many years past tho Petone stop-bank, once vital to the very existence of Petone as a borough, has ceased to servo its original utilitarian purpose, though there are not wanting residents who state that, in spite of having a first line of defence in the Hutt River Board's protection works, the Petono ba'uk should be retained as a second line.

The proposed railway line, running parallel to Wakeh'eld street, will cut right through a portion of tho west end of the bank, and already a breach has been made in the line of 'the route.

PURCHASED By GOVERNMENT.

In pursuance of its policy to purchase all the land adjacent to the railway, the Government secured not only a Ion"----stretch of tha stop-bank from the Pe°tone Borough Council, but also purchased land from Messrs. Percy Bros, and Mr..P. Sharpe. A portion of the latter's property will be handed over to the Petone Council in exchange for portions of the stop-bank and the recreation ground.

Tho spoil from this portion of the stop-bank will be used for the necessary railway embankments. It is expected that arrangements will also bo made to secure the spoil from that portion of the bank still in the possession of the Petone local body, so that it is only a. question of a few months when "the whole of the bank will disappear. The, balance of tho land secured by the Government, and not required for railway purposes, will be subdivided, roaded, and sold. Plans for this subdivision have already been submitted by the Government to the Petone Council for approval, and incidentally it may be mentioned that each street intersection is provided with rounded corners

HISTORY OP ORIGIN. During its early history Petone was very subject to floods. It is well known that, had this not been so, Petone would have been the sito of the capital city of the Dominion. A particularly heavy flood occurred about the year 1892 This stirred tho residents of the then rapidlvgrowing borough to consider means of defence owing to the heavy damage occasioned by tho flood waters which almost completely submerged tho land in tho populated portion c-f the borough. There aro many residents of Petono who still remember a boat being sailed irom Jackson street and aloirn- Nelson street •to Udy street, where it was stranded on a wire fence. Several people ; indeed, enjoyed a swim in Petone's main thoroughfare. Mr. R. C. Kirk, one of the most farseeing and progressive of Petone's citi-' zens, was at this, time Mayor of -the borough. After the heavy flood, a council was elected to office pledged to a ;"drainage, and. stop-bank policy, and' for this purpose a comprehensive loan was raised.

HU.TT DECLINES UNION. The Lower Hutt Borough was- approached, and a suggestion made for ioint action, in which the Hutt County was also to be asked to bear a portion of the cost of a comprehensive scheme but the proposal was turned down. Just here, perhaps,, it might be said that a few years, before this, while both distacts were controlled. by town boards, it was proposed by a' member of the Lower Hutt body, that a borough, comprising the whole district, including Petone, be formed, but even at that early stags.there evidently was a Petone-Hutt | question, and nothing came.of that early amalgamation proposal. _ Oh the failure of negotiations for a joint scheme, Petone set about safeguarding its own interests, and a storm-water-drmage and stop-bank policy was outlined. The drainage scheme was 'inaugurated first ,and while it was in progress a minor flood occurred but did little damage. In 1896 the stop-bank was commenced. Tho first idea was to run the bank along the southern side of White s line, the boundary of Lower Hutt and Petone, but this was abandoned for two reasons : First . Lower Hutt strenuously objected to having the flood waters dammed back into its borough; and, secondly, the engineers considered that a direct east and west bank would place too sudden a barrier to flood waters, and. would be liable to be washed out. The line chosen was one which, running from north-west to southeast, would present a diagonal line to. the advancing flood waters. HOW IT SAVED THE BOEOUGH. The borough secured from the owners a strip of land 33ft wide and 48i chains long running from the high land near the corner of the Hutt road and White's hue (now called AVakefield street) to ii natural ndgc, which continues the bank to tho river from Cuba street, a . cw chains north of Jackson street. The bunk has an average height of 7ft; its highest point being 7.i|'(, ;I | JOV[ . lllu ;u |. Jiiceut land, ami is 211'fc wide at the base, layering to 7ft wide at the top. Hie spoil for the- bank, some 12 000 cubic yards, was obtained from Hufrgins Gully, m the western hills. The work winch cost about £1700, was carried out by contract by Messrs. G. and \V. Cudby, and occupied about ten months ' Immediately after its erection it was severely tested, the water reaching to within 10in of the top. Mr. Smithies then engineer to the .borough, had an anxious time during the flood, and to prevent the newly-filled earth being washed away, had a wire fixed just a lew inches below the top of the bank, which held a fender ot rushes, and certainly assisted-in preventing the soil being eroded. This is the bank which is now doomed to make room for progress. Its passing is not without regret by many of the old residents, who remember wiJn gratitudo the stormy nights when they slept in safety, secure in their confidence that the bank would not fail them. Since then, too, many of their boys and girls have happy and perhaps more sentimental recollections .of tho bank, which has long been known as ''the lovers' walk."