GROWING URBAN CENTRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18566, 26 November 1923, Page 14

GROWING URBAN CENTRE

ACTIVITY IN BUILDING.

RECENT GREAT EXPANSION.

COMPLETE CIVIC SERVICES. The progress of the town of Whangarei in recent vears has" been arresting. Municipal services have been extended, house building to provide homes for the grow. ing population has gone forward on a large scale, the ' business area has been transformed by extensions and add-ons JW the 12 months ending April, 1922, f building permits representing, a total value oi £67.550 were issued; last year the figure was' £90,395; and for the eight months of the current year, £120,150: Before the vear closes on March 31 next, contracts shortly to be undertaken should raise the total to '£250,000. That is . .only one measure of the great strides being taken in Whangarei. -,-:- , ..■;■■ --?u : .,.^- In the current year's building programme, houses have accounted for almost one-half of the total cost, 60 permits having been issued, for the erection of homes for the inflowing population. Rotable m this direction was the Borough Council s scheme resulting in the erection of « workers' dwellings prior to the present year, another 11 being now in course of construction. Another scheme is to be undertaken bv the Railways Department for its employees on a splendid site of 50 acres near the new railway station. Some 40 houses, built in sections at Frankton, will be assembled here. Private subdivisions and building have also been proceeding- rapidlv and the borough had last year to take "over 11 new roads on this account. , , . , -~ , Premises in the business area are being erected on a large scale. ; One of the largest Contracts, is that for ...the Public Trust building of four storeys, now nearing Completion; next to the Town Hall. The Settlers' Hotel is another substantia! building, a new theatre is to be erected posting -about £27,000. and large sums ore shortly to be expended for bank, insurance and shop building. A new nurses' home at the hospital is to cost £12,640. So, large an expenditure and the '->. permanent nature of the buildings being erected are convincing proof of the confidence, not only of i Whangarei residents, but of conservative outside institutions, in the future of .', the town. ' •-• .-■■--- j ;: ,&.-»/' Well-formed Streets, i >■

Municipal services in the borough ara compete and ;■ efficient. = There are- 29£ wiles *of streets. of which 25 miles are formed "and metalled:, while all main streets are of macadam to their full- width. There are 31 miles of 'formed? footpaths. Crystal clear water is supplied from two sources 't by gravitation and the * whole of? the>bor-; cugli, except the hew area shortly to he supplied is reticulated. The pressure varies , between 100 and 1701b. to the square inch, on the higher and lower levels, which places a* most efficient instrument in the hands of the fire brigade. •" Cheap electricity for power, _ light and heating is generated at the Wairua Falls. The borough is completely reticulated, and there is practically ;no restriction on supplies. - Tne capital cost 'of*' the' borough's plant and reticulation * is £25,000 and the > net profit last year was £3481, which sum is being used for extensions. Gas is also, provided by private enterprise. ;' ]~&e'y ■'.'..'.■•■■ '* Y; ', *V. ■>■■', The town is served by a modern drainage system at a cost of £42,639, and connections to private residences are financed' by the" borough where necessary. An- : other important municipal undertaking is the Town Hall, which was erected in 1 . 1912 at a cost of £10,750, and has a seating capacity of 1000. It is now a payable proposition. In the building are housed the municipal offices and a good library, comprising reading and reference rooms and .children's and? adults' lending departments. t '..'''.v. \ / s > *< Community life is a ; feature of, this hospitable northern town. The spirit of progress everywhere in evidence " finds" expression in such 'bodies' as the Progress League and Chamber of Commerce. Bands, Orchestra, Male i Choir, V and .Amateur Operatic Society give v direction to ; musical effort ,"n the town. Many societies provide for social .amenities, including two men's and the women's club. The Y.M.C.A.. is an active institution and there are ; sports clubs of all kinds. An excellent • high school is taking rank among the: best secondary institutions in the country. , *' ] , '

;•; ; '' All Urban Amenities, j h • It is thus seen that Whangarei ' can offer all the amenities of a large town. Its residential advantages are almost unrivalled. Of. the climate, the Government meteorologist, Mr. D. C. Bates, has written:-" The conditions are almost subtropical and in summer, balmy easterly breezes prevail, \ and are responsible for delightful conditions." Snow is unknown and frosts are rare. Such ideal climatic conditions are attracting attention to -Whangarei' as a place of residence, offering in. addition cheap building sites in * a beautiful ! / countryside of hill and . vale, forest and fern, an ever-changing landscape. :•,-;■■ Viewed from an eminence, Whangarei makes a pretty panorama, red roofs clustering along the riverbank or by the widening estuary, and encircled by a ring of low. and friendly hills. To the business man, Whangarei is the town of opportunity. It has been expanding rapidly; its growth promises to be even more ,marked. Its position, the wealth and. extent of the country that supports it) the roads and railways and sea-arm that feed itall these are guarantees of a greater future and of rich rewards for i those who ; are ready to reach out and take*them. "- ; v I''• ':""'-