Will Whangarei Law Courts Be Completed?

Northern Advocate, 27 October 1949, Page 5

Will Whangarei Law Courts Be Completed?

FOR just 11 years Whangarei has awaited the completion of its Law Court buildings in Bank Street. For 10 years the concrete foundations, surmounted by their steel rods designed to provide the link with the superstructure, have been a doubtful ornament to the town.

Now, with the relaxing of it might be anticipated that the will be started.

building restrictions imminent, long-delayed work of completion

It was on October 3, 1938, that the Minister of Justice (Mr Mason) laid the foundation of the new Law Courts building in Bank Street, just above the Hunt Street intersection. SECOND SCHEME.

~ , i joining premises and the projecting steel rods are given protection. Despite the years of weathering, depreciation has been negligible and the only damage has been to a few of the concrete rods which have been bent or broken in testimony to the prowess of strength-testing vandals.

Previously there had been a scheme of enlarging the existing court buildings, formerly railway buildings, in Station Road, to provide for both Supreme Court and Magistrate’s Court and appropriate offices.

STONE PRESERVED. It was perhaps as well that the Public Works Department took the precaution of safeguarding the foundation stone laid by the Minister’. The stone was laid when the foundations of the buildings were practically non-existent, the first concrete being poured at. that time. When the work was suspended, leaving the stone without a surrounding concrete or stone protection, it was necessary to preserve it against the time when construction should be re-started.

This scheme was abandoned in favour of the Bank Street proposal, a railway residence being removed from the site.

When the Minister laid the foundation stone in October, 1938, little preparatory work had been completed beyond establishing the levels for the foundation work. After the foundation stone had been laid with due ceremony, the Public Works Department proceeded to finish the concrete foundations and basement up to ground floor level, and tenders were then called for the building of the superstructure. Apparently tenders, which were called from Wellington, never reached acceptance stage. WAR INTERVENED.

To that end the stone was removed and has been stored awaiting the day when it will again be placed permanently in its place. FUTURE ATTENTION.

During the four years which have followed the ending of hostilities in Europe and the Pacific, building restrictions—imposed to conserve materials for purposes designated as urgent—have prevented work such as the completion of the Whangarei Law Court buildings from proceeding. When the promised lifting of the building restrictions is an established fact, Northland litigants, lawyers, and police—now required to journey to Auckland for Supreme Court hearings—will expect Government attention to be given to fulfilling a longfelt requirement in Northland's progress.

In September, 1939, war interrupted departmental plans for public utilities and resources were diverted to an even greater extent to defence measures which, even before that time, had occupied much of the department's facilities. Thus, for 10 years there has been no work on the buildings apart from maintenance. . Each year a small amount of money is expended on cutting grass to avoid fire risk to ad-