USEFUL RELIEF WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 98, 27 April 1932, Page 7

USEFUL RELIEF WORK

TEENTHAM STOP BANK

BETTER THAN GRASS

CHIPPING

CO-OPERATIVE SPIRIT

A. work that is attracting a good deal of interest in the Upper Hutt is tha erection of a stop bank above Moon-* shine Bridge. This is nearing comple-

tion to the point it is proposed to carry, it at present, but^ so satisfactory £» job has been made at such a reason-' able cost that the hope has been expressed that a similar work will be done from Maori Bank to Silverstreanu Those who seen the new stoj? bank are struck with its advantages iS

an employment scheme as compared

with chipping the.grass off roadsidesj' which is' a staple industry in many boroughs now. jf.

There are special features about the way in which the job is being done that should give the authorities and owners a hint for similar operations | elsewhere. The shingle and soil ate being given free by the owner of tha pit, and.all ttie work is costing is cartage, labour, and supervision. It is * short hauL Carts have been used foif most of the transport in preference -to' lorries, aa the horses beat down the spoil as it is carted, consolidating th« bank as it rises. In places depressions; have been filled up ten feet, but most of the bank is three feet six inches above grass level. 'Altogether some twenty chains, ten feet wide, have beeii built'in, a very short 7 time. The turf" was taken off before the spoil was laid^ and will be used to face the bank; To bind it, the footpaths within, easy reach of the locality have been, chipped, and the drippings; consisting chiefly of grass roots, are being spread on the top of-the bank. Bamps have been made for cows to pass, and for the kauling of shingle. When the job is ione, willows will be planted along the river side of the bank.

Part o£ the work is being done by the Upper Hutt Borough, in response to a recent requisition by the- holders of sections in the Moonshine subdivision, the requisite majority of whom signified themselves as willing to have the settlement declared 5 a special fating area. This is, however, only about -a fourth of the whole bank. This portion is being put in under the No. 5 Scheme with relief labour. Threefourths of- the bank was put in by Mri B. W. Cottle and others interested. Thia part of the work, which' is practically; finished, was done under the 46 Sehemei PURPOSE OF THE WORK. V:,

The Hutt Kiver, below the affluence of the Whakatikei, takes three courses in flood time, though in its normal run it follows bne> '•channel.-:* Two of the flood channels run to the east of the ma^n stream, join, and swing aerosi the end of Newton street at practically a right-angle.'■"*• It is not - t£e main stream which it is proposed ia check by the bank, but the; flood water which spreads over the flats to the east. The depth of the water which overflowed the flats was variously, estimated to average from lft 6in tor 2ft, though it was undeniably mo-re in ihe hollows, and though in the; big Easter, flqiod the water overflowed the sections in the borough from the mam s.tream which parallels Newton street^ in the preceding floods in November the water, over-ran the\ sections 'Pby ' the back door," entering where the bank now stands. - \

The first proposal was. merely a bank to prevent .this, "back-door" flooding of the sections, but, largely-. through the efforts of Mr. Cecil Palmer and Mn E. Cottle, other people were'interested in extending the bank back towards the main road, safeguarding ~land which they will now be able to cultivate without fear of any ordinary flood. .Owners below" on the Trenthain and Heretaunga flats adjoining - -the river were interested. Much of the' damage to bridges on; the, Heretaunga golf course at Easter was thought to be due to the swelling of the streams, which, rise further up, by flood, waters which covered the flats at Moonshine to within a few hundred yards of thi main road, and followed old watercourses till they reached the streams running through the golf course. Contributions were either made-or promised by these, other persons, and Mr. Cottle started' the work, which now links up with the Hutt Borough job;" T Though a good deal of eonvineiajjt was necessary at first, a pleasing fgar ture of the undertaking is the spirit of co-operation shown by the local body, the owners who have given land and .spoil free, the section holders,, and the people down the river who, realisf ing the value of the work, have collar borated. It is.an. instance of what; can be done to provide useful work through private owners, dabbing together, and it would not be surprising if ultimately the bank were extended np and down the river, provided that the- same willingness to pull together is experienced. Much will depend on what the river thinks of the; new feature,. but if it proves ■ successful in withstanding floods, and certain area from the loss of fence! and the trouble of cleaning up driftwood, the object lesson will no doubt appeal to those whom, it does not protect, and induce them to co-operate 'for the completion, of the job, until the great: majority of the flats of tlui Upper Hutt Biver are made safe. '