RAILWAY ACROSS HOBSON BAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15728, 1 October 1914, Page 4

RAILWAY ACROSS HOBSON BAY.

Sir,—" A thing of beauty is a joy for —until such time as it is destroyed. Such seems to mo tho pending fate of that beautiful a.nd unique part of Auckland's harbour front—Orakei Basin. Here jit would seem as though nature had, with la final touch none too much or less, prepared the basis whereby man could build his island of enchantment. Nothing could ; bo more perfectly adaptable whereby man | could satisfy his professed and deep-felt sense for the possession of beautiful surroundings. It had occurred to me, but then realisation seemed far off, that the silted-up crater should be dredged slightly and converted by means of gates into a perennial lako at high water mark. Now that it is proposed to run a railway embankment across the bay, a second lako or boat harbour could bo formed. Around the second lake a considerable margin' could be reclaimed and embanked, on which, behind a broad esplanade shaded by trees and shrubs, could be residential sites, built on according to modern plans. Spare future generations from the prolongation of the present waterfront scheme, lumber yards, and foundcries, and make some effort to preserve, if not improve, the beauty of our much-vaunted harbour. J. Attwood.