SOME FURTHER POINTS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 121, 25 May 1933, Page 12

SOME FURTHER POINTS

MR. HISLOP'S VIEWS

Today the Mayor (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) made a statement setting out some further points. "In view of'the prominence given during the last.few days to portions of the available information submitted by Mr. Campbell and Mr. Hoigate to the council.and the Fire Board it appears to me necessary to pass on to the public the balaneo of the essential facts in my possession, and to correct at least one inaccuracy in Mr. Holgate's report, '' said Mr. Hislop. '' But before doing that it seems to be necessary to state that mountains are being made out of molehills, and it is time a due senso of proportion was restored. Surely it is not seriously suggested that there is any difficulty to the modem engineer in designing a three-storey building on any part of Wellington, including the reclaimed land, to stand up to a very severe earthquake. There are many examples of 'buildings of modern rigid design in San Francisco and in Tokio of twelve or more storeys, which stood up to the recent big earthquakes in those cities with very little or no damage occuring, although constructed on soft alluvial deposits and made ground. . • "A committee- appointed by the American Society of Civil Engineers to investigate the effect of the San Francisco earthquake •of 1906 stated that 'the damage to buildings, while large, was confined to those faulty in either design or construction.' "Leading authorities in America and Japan (such as Freeman, Omori, Suyohiro) consider that safety against earthquakes depends on the! rigidity and strength of the building more than on the nature of the ground, and it is asserted that in the great Tokio earthquake of September 1, 1923, the average percentage of damage, to rigid buildings was much less on soft alluvial ground than on more rigid ground. GEOLOGIST'S REPORT. "A great disservice may lie done to the city by creating a feeling of insecurity in the minds of persons who have or may contemplate having buildings erected around Wellington harbour, and by suggesting the presence of earthquake fault planes where they do not exist. Members of the public bodies should set an example in coinbating these rash statements whero they are not backed up to the hilt by geological facts," said Mr. Hislop. "Air. Holgate's report of May 12 gives as hia reason for preferring the.school site to the corporation yard site:— The distance between bores B and F is only about 20 feet, and yet rock was not reached 36 feet bolow the surface at boro B, This points to the factr of the rock having an almost vertical face between these two bores, and suggests in th© past, in njy opinion an earthquake shear plane. "That rather alarming statement called for further investigation, and I decided to seek the advice of Dr. Marshal], geologist to the Public Works Department, who is New Zealand's outstanding earthquake geologist," continued the Mayor. "Dr. Marshall lias inspected the locality and the borings, and has given me a full report, in which he states:— The steep slope suggested by the bores mentioned is not an earthquake scarp, but a normal feature of shore line abrasion. The suggested site in the yard of the Clyde Quay School shows an outcrop of greywacke rock interstratified with shale and inclined at a high angle. This rock has been subjected to the same shattering effects of great pressure and earth movements, which are to be seen throughout tho Wellington district. ■ I can see no difference between tho features of rock structure in the two suggested sites, etc. "Moreover, further boring by the Engineer's Department, what Mr. Hoigate has called a 'steep slope' and an 'almost vortical face', reveals it to be quite an easy slope, the distance between bores B and F is 40ft, and not 20ft, as stated by Mr. Holgate, and an intermediate bore, 11, reveals the presence of hard brown rock only 10ft below that at F, in addition to which the brown rock is overlaid by a compact layer of greywacke shingle. The south-western corner-of the proposed building can therefore be supported on rock of the same quality as the rest of the building, and no unequal subsidence need be feared. GIVEN ITS QUIETUS. "Mr. Holgate's false alarm has therefore bedn given its quietus by Dr. Marshall's report and the additional bore, 11, which confirms Dr. Marshall's opinion completely," said Mr. Hislop,. "I ani at a complete loss to understand why certain people, including even some councillors, are ready to jump at conclusions to the detriment of the Corporation, property, but accept, without putting down one trial pit in the school site, the assumption that there is uniform rock there, the yard is covered with asphalt, and if there is a sudden change in the rock in one corner the main building may rest on materials of different compression values. TRAFFIC CONSIDERATIONS. "I have also received reports from Mr. Drake, chief traffic officer, dealing with the 'got away' and traffic question, in which ho states his apprehension with regard to the proposal to

adopt the school site and to rush fire engines along Wakcfield Street. Ho says:— I am of the opinion that in ten years' time Wakelield-Street will be one of the busiest streets in the city, due, as before mentioned, to the increased tramway traffic this street will have to 'carry and the increasing market area. From what, information I havo been able to gather, it ..appears to me that Herd Street, Chaffers Street, .. and Cable Street will be the quicker routo to the north end of tho city. At tho present time normal ' traffic .along AVakcficld. Street is fairly heavy during, the-mornings, and I think it is safe to assume that in a few years' time conditions in this street would bo a serious hindrance and danger to the movement of ■ the fire brigade motors, etc.. , "Mr. H. Tait, who was a member of tho Wellington Fire Brigade, for twenty-five years and.in charge of it for fifteen years, and whoso ability as a firefighter cannot be disputed, has also written' in giving his opinion on tho relative advantages of the two sites ,from tho . standpoint of ' get away' and quick arrival at a fire. Speaking of the traffic iii Wakefield Street, he says:— The latter traffic on cither side of the thoroughfare compels the moving traffic to use the centre of the roadway, where a double line of tramtracks exist, and the presence of the general markets in this area considerably aggravates the: cross-traffic to and from Allen, Blair, . Tory, and Taranaki Streets. The increase each year of this menace'is so obvious that emphasis is unnecessary, but the obstruction these conditions offer to the safe progress of the brigade: cannot be emphasised too strongly. On the other hand, the get-away from the Corporation yard site opens out into comparatively- neglected thoroughfares. . . . While it is all important that delay in arriving at a fire should be reduced to a minimum, it is also imperative that tho machine does arrive at the fire without accident. Therefore, the site at the Corporation yard . minimises the risk of delay and accident, and is of quite equal situation to the school site, and will be much superior in the event of the formation of the Cable Street, extension. :. "I havo received voluntary offers from engineers and . architects and others to use their names in support of the council's site,. and I think that the council's contention is' unanswerable, that a thoroughly satisfactory fire station can be erected on land already belonging to the citizens who pay for the upkeep of the Fire Brigade, at about £5000 less cost-than a similar one on the school site," concluded Mr. Hislop. "Moreover, although, the council will have to contribute half of the interest and sinking fund charges in both cases, if the Corporation yard site is chosen the council will receive approximately £19,000 in return, but if the school.site is chosen the council will receive nothing.'?. .