NELSON NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 77, 1 April 1933, Page 13

NELSON NEWS

THE ZIG-ZAG SEAT

RIVER BANK PROTECTION

(Special to "The Evening Post.")

NELSON, March 31,

At a meeting of the City Council a fortnight ago fears were expressed that if the teak seat presented by their Excellencies Lord and Lady Bledisloe was placed, as requested, on the top of the Zig-Zng, damage from vandalism would result. The Mayor put the position before his Excellency, and in a communication to the council the Governor-General says: "As regards the actual destination of. the feeat, although the thought of such a gift was undoubtedly evoked by the extreme beauty of the scene from the summit of the Botanical Hill and the someivhat poor seating accommodation now provided there, we will, in view of what you say regarding the danger of injury from the penknives of youthful visitors, leave it entirely to you and your councillors to place the seat in whatever position .within the confines of .the. city may be deemed most appropriate."' When a report by the City Engineer regarding riverbank protection work along the Alaitai in the vicinity of the Trafalgar Street bridge was submitted to the council last evening, the Mayor (Mr. W. J; Moffatt) expressed the opinion that the whole job of straightening up the river from the bridge to the mouth, should be gone on with. He suggested that a consulting engineer be called in to see what could be done both below and above the bridge. He would like the matter cleared tip of whether the river could be straightened out by groynes or otherwise. Councillor Gibbs said that in other parts of New Zealand groynes had been put in with much success, and should be better than a wall. He moved that application be made to the Minister of Public Works to allow the Resident Engineer to collaborate with the City Engineer to advise us to the best method of river protection work from the, Collingwood Street bridge' to the sea. Councillors Page and Moynagh supported the motion. The . City Engineer said that the council was under a misapprehension as to the cost of a,road from the Trafalgar Street bridge to Haven Road. The unemployed were filling up the mudflat, and he suggested that instead of doing that they should build a wall, along the river. The residents along the river-bank must do something to protect their property or they would have none left. Councillor Gibbs's motion was carried.