FINE RELIEF MAP

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 125, 29 May 1930, Page 11

FINE RELIEF MAP

PORT AND ENVIRONS

EIGHT MONTHS' WORK

There has been completed for the Wellington Harbour Board by Mr. G. N. Sturtovant'after eight months' detailed work a particularly fine relief map of the port and environs, and the board members wore last evening warm in their commendation of the work. Eight months of close application, suggests a lot of work,, but just how much is not realised until the map is inspected. Not only are all the natural features and port facilities, roads, public spaces, railways, etc., included, but all aro built up to. exact scale. So that tho relief shall be sufficiently bold to be impressive, however, two scales have been used, a "horizontal scale of 660 feet to an inch and a vertical scale of 300 feet to an inch; thus heights are about doubled, but to the eye they seem about right. So much detail is included that oue starts to look for things left out, and as a matter of fact there are some; there is no elephant at the Zoo, for instance, but nothing much bigger than an elephant has been passed over. Only an enthusiastic and finished' craftsman would have tackled the work in such excellent detail and exactness. Measuring nine feet long by two feet six inches wide, the model includes all tho area of land and sea extending on the east from the mouth of the Wai-nui-o-mata Eiver and' Baring Head northward to Waterloo Railway Station and across the Hutt Valley by White's lino on the north, and extending to Johnsonville on the west, thence south to Ohiro Bay and Cook Primarily intended to show the port of Wellington, it will be seen, however, that the greater part of the city, that eastward of Wadestown, Kelburn, Brooklyn, and Island Bay, is'shown, as also are tho suburbs on the Main Trunk railway as far away as Johnsonville, Petone, and those on the eastern bays are also included within its scope. KOUND THE HARBOUB. Standing before the map one conceives that tho city and port of Wellington viewed, as from an aeroplane, lie revealed below him in all their beauty of summer-tinted grassy spaces, dark woods, and sunlit sea. The city lies immediately beneath him. Lambton Harbour, where from the beacon at Jernirigham Point, round past the cityfront to Kaiwarra, no detail seems omitted, claims first attention. Making the circuit from Oriental Bay, his eye cheeks ofi the band rotunda, the sea baths, and boat harbour. Clyde Quay Wharf is tho first of the wharves to be seen, then Taranaki Street, and all the rest, until Pipitea Wharf is_ reached. Tiny little ships, a bare nich iv length, represent the great liners of many thousand tons, that berth here. All the buildings and sheds of the Harbour Board lining the waterfront or built on the wharves are shown. Beyond tho wharves, are the new seawall and, near to Kaiwarra, the new floating dock, expected to be here and in position in 1932. It looks diinrjuitive, moored to the new wharf to be provided for its use, but the scale shows it to be well over 500 feet in length. RAILWAY AND HtTIT VALLEY. Passing the suburb of Kaiwarra we decline a trip up the Main Trunk railway, with its seven tunnels en route to Johnsonville, but before arriving at Ngahauranga the Tawa Plat deviation detains us, the rails passing over the road into the first tunnel, to reappear 'by a viaduct across tho Ngahauranga Gorge, entering at once the second tunnel, which, about two miles in length, .continues under Johnsonville; its northern portal is beyond the area of the model. On tho Hutt road the striking truncated spurs along the Tina-kori-Hutt fault scarp are plainly-shown. The head of tho port is reached in Petone's two miles of sandy beach. The racecourse, Gear Island, and tho estuary of the Hutt Eiver and its tributary, the Waiwetu, 'are finely realisod. Further north are the eastern extension of the railway to Waterloo and the new yards and workshops. A now road beyond tho racecourse leads to the Point Howard oil wharf, and on the road two sets of large oil tanks have been passed. Near here, the Wainui traffic tunnel, under construction, is shown. ■ , Along the eastern shores oi the port the numerous bays extending from Lowry Bay to Eastbourne and Muntai with wharves at Day's and Bona Bays may be mentioned. Somes Island, with its light sending a white guiding ray through the port entrance, is an engaging feature. The real guides for the incoming seamen are Pencarrow and the two leading lights within the entrance, the rear leading light being that near Ward Island. • .■.,', Besides all the details ot land surface on the model there must be about 40 miles of coast line that may be ex-, amined showing in ' varied textures sandy beach and rocky prominence, pm-naele-roek and towering cliff. In representing these an ingenious use is made of sand, crushed rock, and other material. The hills and mountains are to scale measurement. The Kaukau, 1465 feet, is well realised,, although it soars but a few inches on the model. Mr. C. M. Turrell suggested last evening that as the model would be of interest to a great many people it should be exhibited at the Whiter Show. The chairman, Mr. J. W. M'Ewan, agreed that it would boa big attraction at tho Show, but it would have to be handled very carefully in transport. If the Show people cared to make representations to the board it might be possible to come to some arrangeAs'there are some finishing touches to be given the casing and mounting ot tho model it cannot yet be made available for public inspection. ■