HUTT WORKERS' HOMES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 51, 28 August 1926, Page 10

HUTT WORKERS' HOMES

COMPLETED SPECIMENS

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AT

XI 2S 6D A WEEK

A l' MANY-SIDED DEVELOPMENT, ...» ;'. '■ " ■ ■'■

"Wellington hardly realises the big things which are happening—which, in the factory sense, Save already hap-pened-—on. the several hundred acres of flat grass land, lying between Petono »rid 'Lower, Hutt (partly west of the yiyer). and eastward between the river an(l the eastern hills. An article could be.Written on.one of the factories alone, and to make one article cover, however gketchily, air the activities in hand or projected between the mouth of the Hutt and Waterloo! road is: something pf;a task. , ' <.

This .Greater Hutt scheme, in its enJirety includes :—

; (1) A worker's dwelling area, in which complete homes are to be sold on: long-term' purchase conditions; (2) A series of subdivisions, the unbuilt-on. sections of which are to ( be gold for cash or upon terms, with guarantee of modern streets, full. drainage and water services, reservations of open, spaces, etc.; ■ .(3) An; industrial scheme* under which two. factories' aro already ♦re'cted or in progress, and which deludes a-large industrial'area,, on part ■of which the: Government railway workshops site is being prepared; tOjSsay nothing of the double- track railway which' will run. from the HuttPe'tone railway. across; the river, and thence northward in a straight milo itietqh to Waterloo ■', road, and which, with a spur line leading ultimately to in ; deep water ■ berth at Howard; Point, will give the whole area passengers and gobd's service. Big 1 credentials in the project are the" better utilisation, of the old Hutt • Park Racecourse i'and the possible transformation of green Gear Island, in ;a; sports ground..

rioW RIVER AND TRAFFIC ARE J DEALT WITH. The.. flit '■.laid!:makes' for,easly;rail-way-construction; but the cost of the railway • ■will be increased by the > sev-eral-streams to, be bridged, including itreams' of traffic "(about five of -these) and the Hutt: Elver. Consideration of existing traffic- greatly increases the coit of a-railway in a closely-settled area; and whether the railway goes over-a river,'or whether it goes under • ■ street by erecting' a " ramp," the bill is necessarily ■ a heavy one. • The new Hutt railway bridge now, approaching ; completion, is carried on. stout reinforced piles and; cyclinders not only through the present bed of the river, but right through- its' flood extension area":on the'eastern side; it'is of the kind of solid; construction that takes no.\ risks. All. this concrete: work, of course, means 'money. , ~ Biyer-im^rovement is another. of - the big; incidentals. The grab-dredging operations of .the Public "Works Department at 'and above, the bridge site have already had a profound effect, on the'river. For: instance,'.the first rapid was near- the'bridge-site; now it is much more.than.quarter.of a mile high up the river. By creating a deeper channel and flattening out. the fall it is. hoped to. train, the.Hutt. River in the way it should go, and the shingledredging operations nearer..the mouth, and the work of the: reclamation dredges inj the estuary, are of assistance. The building-up, ofa new area at the mouth of,'the .river is in the hands of" the B^v.er .Board., .

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES. In the industrial section, the Government railway • workshops have as yet nothing to show, save: some: spadework on the site, but; the Public Works Department's steam navvy is now tearing down the toe of the hills at'a point convenient for 1 trucking'out the spoil to: provide formation for the extension of;the " industrial" spur railway, which until lately had been formed with shingle' trucked from the river; The utilisation of day spoil from the hill for formation represents less ■ transport and a saving ;of the more valuable .shingle. On the otherwestern)-- side of the river are the great structures' of steel and glass comprising the 'works;of General: Motors, Ltd. Without.: attempting to ' measure^ all: the works'.that this oversea firm has . dbne in a short'time, it may be mentioned 'that on!'sth May; the Petone, Borough Council' began to form the street, at.the back of the premises, and' onlTth May the company began to 'erect its:first column. Since then, at a cost running into'six figures, the huge edifices of steel'and-glass have been i; completed, have. been.equipped with plant, and now cover 140; employees (in factory) and 50' employees (in .office). But the other morning the Petona Borough Council was still forming the.same.strip of .street at the back of the works, and a.> motor vehicle was being, dug out. Tie. comparison indicates two .ways of iSoing a thing. . ' .

.'About the middle of this month (Augtist). the General Motors'- assembling wtirfcg came'into -production (the start Wuld have > been ; earlier but for delay; infthe.arrival of air-compressing plant), and,the production of assembled vehicles ' was' sixteen last week and : will J>e about forty this week. If oversea people coming to the Hutt Valley find ■tupe to be. a vital, factor, the idea Mt'ay spread. There .is therefore, solid jevidence not only'that things are being idoie quickly, but that they will conjtinue to be. . '

important industrial development that can only be touched on in •svbrief survey is that of the Porcelain Enamel Company, whose works are covering an increasing area on a site' (adjoining that of General Motors, and who plan to be manufacturers as well M'enamellers, making cooking ranges (gas and electric), \ baths, and enamelWare generally.-.- The furnaces are build- 1 ing, and raw-iron for. the manufacture is i: already, on i the site.

■Both these,industries are: expected to 'diraw on the local labour market for, almost all their workers. The imported personnel of ' General Motors is numerically of the slightest. '.WORKERS' HOME BLOCK HAS :' TAKEN SHAPE. JTrom industries to workers' homes is it natural step, so it is in order to glance at, another achievement—the transformation of "Mandel's Block" from an open space into a compact collection of neat houses, fronting on a main street rounded into sweeping curves. The rectangular idea is departed from in the ■tape of sections, as well as in street ebntours, and the whole plan has an »ir of distinction. '

Hero stands one of the new homes awaiting its tenant—no, not tenant,' o:wner. The successful man —there ,are hundreds of applicants—will be lucky. The .front fence takes the form of a l(J.w concrete structure, and behind it is -planted already a hedge—in fact, tfiere are hedges newly planted on the ! flanks also, to; : reinforce the wire-net-ting side fences. Passing through, the front gate, you step on to a white concrete path by which you can proceed dry-shod not only to the front dpor but round the house, where the back yard is concreted to full width. There is already more ■ concrete convenience about this worker's home, and better outbuilding convenience, than can bo found in most of tho high-rontod dwellings in Wellington. ■ Inside you will find three bedrooms |

on one .side of the passage, on the, other side the usual front room, and behind it a far more than usual.kitchen and living-room, ■ well fitted up. That makes five rooms, and in addition there are under the same roof a scullery, a bathroom, and a washhouse. The outside buildings include a coalhouse. Convenient cupboards in the kitchen invite use; hat-racks are provided; the "hotpoint?' is ready .waiting. Tho degree of finish and;the.amount of convenience to be; found in such a home, just out of the builder's'hands, is startling to anyone acquainted with the actualities of focusing in: the last dozen years. The section also is ■ ample in breadth and in;rear space. And this home, within five minutes of the new railway, can be .bought for 22s 6d a' week, for much less than ai Wellington rental!

The/first instalment of suclr homes numbers, fifty, and tenders have/been called for' seventy others.

That, represents the effort to house the-worker:bn-a good standard and at a: cheap rate. -.-The remaining, element in the housing.scheme ,(the sale of certain : sections for. c^sh or upon terms) is intended tb' make the' most of the market, and is open to any buyer. Such buyer, will be, free from the restrictions that naturally'are. put on the instalment buyer, on him who,buys the worker 's -home: as outlined above.' The selling of the; other; sections by auction forcashiOr upon special, terms; is proceeding; contemporaneously with the building of the .home* for porkers; the; two prinolples-Hjales to" worker and' sales, ..to', the, : general public—are, of. course,;utterly distinct, but theidea is that they i co-ordinate -in the scheme, siniee'.the railway pro jeet isbased on' betterment,' and the greater the better-; nient recoverable from '■ high-value' sections readily saleable in'the open market, the "sounder the position of the project must be, and ■ therefore the more able to-provide liberal terms for the: workers'' home section ■of ■ the undertaking.- ' .- i.■ :.•