PROGRESSIVE ELLERSLIE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13456, 8 April 1907, Page 7

PROGRESSIVE ELLERSLIE.

GROWTH OF AN AUCKLAND SUBURB.

THE HOUSING AND TRANSIT PROBLEMS.

The growth of the suburbs around Auck--1 d is one of the first things that strikes visitor returning to Auckland after a '" e or less long absence from the city and district- Where only a feu- years ago there pro broad grass paddocks, there are now Arable neat, well-built villas, with • gardens. In the country to the west f Mount Roskill Road there is a very J' f * e are*, all open paddocks only three or four years ago, and now coveted with l w houses. The same, rapid growth , noticeable in Grey Lynn and [.arts 'f Ponsonby. Kingsland is a com•irativelv new suburb, and there has '» Len steady, and, apparently, permanent, growth at Remuera and Epsom. Some seers have predicted an almost, house connection between Auckland and Onehunga, and the remarkable progress one may see on the train route through that district alone would seem to indicate that the prophecy is nearer fulfilment than even the prophet* themselves anticipated. The growth has not only been from north to south, but from east to west as well. This is especially noticeable at Ellerslie, where a large an.mint of work of various kinds is going on at present, the township appearing to be exceedingly busy, -but there is a good deal of muddle, however. Here piles of splintered rock, there stacks of timber, and close by excavations and partially-finished stonework. There are between 35 and 40 men employed upon the railway duplication works alone, and the rearrangement of the station, the construction of the bridges, and the alterations of the line generally will take another ye ' ir ' THE WORKERS' HOMES. At the Lawry Settlement, where the Government -workers' homes are situated, four new houses are being erected. One of the others is '" to let," but the rest are all occupied, and most of the gardens are in good trim, flowers and vegetables appearing to do very well. Scoria roads and footpaths traverse the settlement, but it is thought by some residents in the district ' that the Mount Wellington Road Hoard— tie local authority— have made a better job of the, roads than the Government has done, and that at a much lower cost. The tar-and-shell footpaths in the district are certainly easier to walk upon than the scoria. The Government intends to erect a, number of cottages on the laud already laid out on the Panmure side of the line. These cottages will be somewhat more modest in appearance and size, and will be let at lower rents than those already in occupation. Mr. Woburn Temple, clerk of works for the Government, has prepared designs ; for the new cottages, and it is probable that they will contain some of the special features introduced by local architects in existing workers' cottages. It is expected that the water supply system for Ellerslie will be completed in about a month. This will render householders independent of rainwater tanks. The supply is being derived from the Manukau Water Trust's service. Special attention has been paid to the supply for fire extinguishing purposes, and when the work is completed Ellerslie will be as ■well equipped with water for all purposes as any residential district, around Auckland. A RESIDENTIAL QUARTER. The situation of Ellerslie as a residential quarter has very much to commend it. The older residents declare that the air is much more bracing there than in Auckland. The steady breezes from the Manukau Harbour certainly lend some colour to their assertion. Up" to the present there are, no industries employing considerable ( numbers of men nearer Ellerslie than Otahuhu, and the indications point to the district becoming a favourite residential quarter. That being so the first question that must be considered is that of transit. A 'bus runs through to Panmure and Howick, but most people.travel by, train. The cost of weekly railway tickets is 3s second-class, which, of course, must be added to the rent paid by those whose business lies in Auckland. The train service at present gives residents a choice of two trains to the city in the morning, at twenty-two minutes past seven and twenty-seven minutes past eight, arriving at a-quarter to eight and twelve minutes to nine, convenient for those wishing to reach their business at eight and nine o'clock. Other trains arrive in town at eighteen minutes past nine, half-past nine, and twelve minutes to eleven. The convenient trains stopping at Ellerslie leave Auckland at five minutes past four p.m., a-quarter past four p.m., five p.m., twenty minutes past five p.m., twenty minutes past six p.m., and' twenty minutes past seven p.m. The last train out from town leaves at twenty-five minutes past ten p.m. except on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when there is a train at a-quarter past eleven p.m. Sunday trains are few, and would not permitas several of the Sydney and Melbourne trains permitresidents to come into the city lor church and out again in time for lunch.

The details of train services are given for tlie purpose of showing Ellerslie's position in regard to transit. Complaints of the trains have already been made by a deputation from the tenants of the workers' homes to the Minister for Lands. One member of the deputation stated that lie had had to refuse a good situation in Auckland because be could not get into town by half-past seven. The train fares, also, were said to be too high, and it was suggested that Is 6d would be a fair price for a, weekly ticket.

CHEAP FARES AND HIGH RENTS.

When certain British railway companies running into London reduced their thirdclass rates by issuing very cheap workmen's tickets in consideration of the Government exempting them from the payment of duty on passenger receipts, it was thought that here was a way out of the overcrowding problem. But what really happened was the enhancement of the value of suburban properties, made more accessible by fast trains and low fares, and although the suburbs progressed, and notwithstanding that they were much better places to live in than the congested quarters of London itself, the rents, to thousands of the very poor, whom it was designed to relieve, were too high, by reason of the enhanced value of the land. Moreover, the overcrowding of London itself was only transferred to the outskirts, for in many three and four-roomed houses in such new suburbs as Edmonton, South Tottenham, and Walthnmstow two, and sometimes, three families were found to be living. Again, before the " twopenny tube railway carried passengers at 2d any distance between Shepherd's Bush and the Bank of England, a distance of six miles, houses of all classes were easy to obtain at Shepherd's Bush. When the tube" was opened, however, rents were enhanced through the quick means of travel by from 25 to 30 per cent., and in some cases 100 per cent. In considering, not only Ellerslie, but also other equally desirable suburbs of Auckland as residential localities, it may be as well to bear in mind the fully proven fact that the value of suburban properties, and, therefore, the rates of rent, always increase with the cheapening and improvement of the transit between them and big cities, and that the object sought to be Obtained by cheap fares and quick trains 'or business people is thus often frustrated.

The rents for the Government cottages at Ellerslie u«p> lower than for similar houses in the locality. On the authority °» Mr. March, the officer who is in charge of village settlements, the rents range up to lis 4£d per week, plus all charges. It this is so then it is decidedly cheap, considering the class of house and the amount Of land upon which it stands; but when the weekly rail ticket for one person comes to 3s—also not excessive lor six daily journeys of 10 miles out and in—it brings the, lent Dp to 14s 41 a week. As a fairly comfortable five or six-roomed cottage can often be obtained in town for 15s a week, many people who would certainly prefer to live well out of .Auckland, at" Ellerslie, Avondale, or elsewhere, find it more advantageous to remain in town.