WELLINGTON'S RAPID PROGRESS.

New Zealand Mail, 3 December 1896, Page 51

WELLINGTON'S RAPID PROGRESS.

It will be of interest to take a glance at tti ■ in-ogress made by Wellington since the last Kxldbition was held here. The day has long -inee passed when the capital of the < 'olor.y was looked upon as little better than a fishing village by the people of Auckland, Dunedin and » hristchurch. This was in the days ot provincial jealousy, when every man worked for his own district, regardless oi the interest s of the Colony as a whole Men arc imbued with a larger spirit of cat.ioti-m now-ads-ys. and recognise that, he pr..s ( cnly and progress of a part tends to t he weltare o ' be whole. Business men in the other centrehave for years recognised the importance ..I Wellington as a distributing centre, s . that the motto on the city coat d arms .S '/enim

a Si I a —is no boast, but literally true. \\ ithin the past few years many ot the leading firms in Hie South have shown their faith in ihe solid progress of the city by KKMi IVIXH Til Kilt II KA IKgUA RTKKK lIKKK and building ollices ami warehouses which are alike a credit to the owner- and a i ornament to the city. Tliere can be but, little

doubt that a great deal of the progress of this city lias been due to its beautiful harbour and the excellent, wharfage „ ccom uodation ' 'nr Harbour Hoard lias not oi. ly kepi pace with tin; times, but it, lias kept ahead of them, flic Hud our Hoard lias deserved wedo: the nt /, -ii- of - \ i • 11 i i ’ g't in in the enterpris(, disp aye i by it. but, then no ; nail a u m.t ol

that ere lit. is due to the able engineer of the Board, Mr \V. Furgnsoii. A SOLID PROGRESS. !t, is most to note that the progress of t.he City has not. 1> -en dll** t.o a 11 V t.e-uporary l>m m or artdie.ial causes, Imt is ot a solid (-hi rad er, firm and enduring, and ha.-ed on the development of the powerful

me limn, com neree, winch has contributed so large y to the weal'll of the British Umpire. and lias left its mark on the British neopie. Booms may coma and go, ' lit commerce i- solid and lasting In many other places 11 10 progress is of such slow growth t* a - it i- only one who lias been absent for a time who can notice the improvements that have been carried out during Ins absence. In W el line ton. however, the progress and extensi n of the city have been so marked that the most indifferent observers cannot help being struck with them. Fverywt ere on i secs residences, warehouses and shops being eomplet. d. or in various stages of erection, whilst the absence of that legend of deep import “ To Let ” is a guarantee that the city is not being over-built, and that trade is in a- he.iltliy and tl lavishing oondi- • ition. A tiip on a tram-car to Newtown, or on a drag to Island Bay, gives one a splendid opportunity of seeing the progress gong on on nil .-ides Looking towards Island Bay one may see Tilt CITY GROWING LIKE A T HAILING P LA XT' up the sides ol the hills, over the summits, nlll l eveil down towards the vailevs : ,t tin* other side, (doming nearer honi". in the cent t e ot the city the growth has been even more marked. This has been notablv the ease on the reclaimed land between Victoria street nml Jeivois quay, where warehouse after warehouse has sprung up within a few years. A peeuli r teataiie about these buildings is that on their sites, a few short vears ago. y aelits sailed, tinihor hookers came into shore and small craft lay at anchor. But all this has .>een changed, and before another half a decade ot years lias elapsed it is safe to predict that still greater changes will have taken place. (’n every hill-side one sees houses in various stages ot building’, warehouses and shops are rising in all directions, mnl th we is always a throng of masts, yards, funnels and hulks among the broad jetties of the port. 1 u fact, there is to he seen everywhere solid | roofs that Wellington is doin.r well. 'l'll K city's \va rkhousks. bur wa' chouses are not of the colossal proportions peculiar to Melbourne, or even .-sydney. but there is this feature about them, that they have been erected to meet, the requirements of the growing business of the proprietor-, and not for speculative purposes. They are the result ol the steady increase of flu* commerce of the port, and our merchants ha v - i ceognised that f lic city, like a child, must walk beL re it can run. SOM 10 I KI'KNT PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The numerous buildings greeted from de-igns !>y one firm of architects Messrs < lcic. Kit /.i Jerald and bichmond alone, within the past Sot- lO years, would not he a bad lor this city. They were the architects lor those substantial premises of .Messrs Baimatyi c and <’o.. in Hunter street, the Acadcmv of Fine Arts, the Mills' Friendly Society’s b u i b i i n g. t h e Harbour Board office's at the corner of .b rvoisqnav and the (.Queen’s Wharf, the < iovernmrnt Insurance Buildings, erected at a cost, ot PTi.dmi. which arc a nist.inrt. ornament to the architecture of the city: Messrs sharlaml an l U'o.’s premises, the f lee rie i igh t t * I ioll <>ll the »*eidaimed land the new wharf ofliccs and stores erected for the Harbour Board, the cost of which was somewhere about L’l'i.dd:). These are only a few of !h" priiicip.il wo ks carried out aec..riling t,, tic dc.- ig i. s and under the super-\i-iou of thi- fir in. A new wing has also

been added to the Hospital, the contract price being about .£4OOO. Among the improvements at the Thorndon end of the city may be mentioned the additions to the Royal Hotel, which were carried out at a cost of about .£3OOO. Coming along Lambton quay one may note the fine private hotel just completed for Mr Bodley, which is a standing evidence of the proprietor’s enterprise, and his faith in the future of the capital of the Colony. most recent addition to the architecture of the city is the substantial and striking premises now nearly finished on Lambton quay, to be occupied by Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs. Messrs Thomas Turnbull and Son are the architect' for these premises. This firm has designed several of the principal buildings erected in Wellington of rec nt years. The Nkvv Zealand Times and the Evening Post have gone into new premises since the last Exhibition. In Willis street, handsome and commodious premises have been erected by Messrs Wardell B os. and higher up the same street are McGill’s Buildings. On the reclaimed land warehouses have been erected, which would do credit to the architecture of older and more pretentious cities, for Messrs Sargood. Son and Ew*-n, Ross and Glendining, E. W. Mills and Co., Briscre, Mac Neil and Co., Kempthorne, Prosser and Co., Sharland and Co. 1 lie Public Library is an institution which is not many years old. Running between Panama an 1 Brandon streets are the commodious premises of the D.I.C , erected within the last half dozen years. The additions which have iust been made to the Royal Oak Hotel reflect credit on the enterprise of the proprietor, Mr S. Gilmer, and the architect, Mr W. C. Chatfield. In Hunter street a neat and commodious building was erected not long since to house the Commercial Travellers and Warehousemen’s Club, the architect of which was Mr Charlesworth. The building is of two stories, constructed of brick with cement facings. The Club is one of the best of its kind in the Colony. Among the other public buildings which Mr Charlesworth has designed within the last 10 years are the Home for the Aged Needy, Adelaide road, and the new Thorndon baths, which will be superior to any of their kind in the Australasian colonies. Since last Exhibition the Working Men’s Club, tco, has removed from its old quarters at the corner of Manners and Willis streets to new and commodious buildings in \ ictoria street, close to the Public Library. Another imposing structure is that immediately to the rear of the premises in Lambton quay, and lying between them and Wellington terrace. This is Messrs Hannah and Co.’s Palace Boot Factory, erected from plans prepared by Mr T. Turnbull anc. Son. Among the industries started in Wellington within the last half decade is that of the manufacture of matches. The industry, which is due to the enterprise of Messrs K. Bell and Co., of London, was carried on for some time in a small place in the centre of the city, but the firm, finding their trade increasing, erected a factory in Newtown, from designs by Mr Chatfield, the cost of toe building, &c., being about £3OOO. Perhaps one of the most striking and substantial buildings erected on the reclaimed land is that of .he Wellington Woollen < oinpany in the Renaissance style of architecture, from designs by Messrs Penty and Korde. The same firm were also the architects for the new fruit market and numbers of private residences,of which class of work thev make a speciality. They are also the architects for the glass manufactory at Newtown Many handsome residences in various parts of the city and suburbs have been designed by Mi J. O’Dea, whose ability in this class of work is well known. TWO NEW PARKS. Among the _nany impiovements now going on in the city is the construction of Kelburne Park by “ unemployed ” labour. Situate upon a commanding part of the Town Belt, and approached by good roads, either from the north by the Botanical road or the i-outh by Salamanca road, this park gives a most

magnificent view of the city and harbour. The history of the construction of this park is shortly as follows : During the winter of 1895 a lot of men Were in and about the city, and as They were not side to g- t work (and many of them had families dependent upon them) Messrs John Ross, ,1. W. Gale and Jas. Mcl.ellan took up the mat/erof finding work for these men. and canvassed the eity for funds with that object Consent was obtained from the City Council to put the men at work on the Town Belt. The land was surveyed and levels taken, and a large number of men put on to work in August of that year, after a committee had been elected from the subscribers, the Benevolent Institution and City Council, consisting of Messrs J. Boss, I'. J. W. Gale, K. W. Mills, G. H. Baylis, J 'aunders. 8 Lancaster .1. M. Hayward, Rev H Van >tavoren 5 t'nimcillors L. L Harris, George Ande r >on and J. 15. Harcourt, .Messrs J. McLellan. (lion treasurer). A G. Johnson. (lion secretary) and \V. Ferguson (hon engineer). I he work lias steadily progressed all through, afrer the gieatest efforts on the pare of these gentlemen to procure funds, these funds being subsidistd by 1 lie Government at the rate of 2fs in the pound. The work lias now assumed sueli proportions that its completion is in sight if the citizens will only come forward and generously assist

those who, while doing their best to provide work tor the ir less fortunate citizens, are also permanently beautifying the city and adding to its ereuit an asset in tiie shape of another sple'did lung, of perhaps £12,000 in value It wili be a resort for the young and the aged, the rich and the poor, and a splendid health re-ort for those who are in weak health and in need of pure air. The slopes of this splendid property have been planted with a vast number of young trees, and these are all growing vigo-ously and making qir'te a show The committee think there will be about six or seven acres of perfect level land when the work is finished, and they intend, if funds cemc forward, to grass the levels and slop s, to form an atnphii heatre with terraces at the north end. anu ere.'t a stand, so that sports taking plae • on the park may be comfortable viewed. I'here arc now 43 men on the works (supporting 43 women and 105 ohiidrea) an 1 money is urgently required to keep the work going. WHAT THE MUNICIPAL KKCOKDS SHOW. Pei hups the most convincing proof ol the solid progress of the H mpire oil y is to be found in the figures supplied by the city authority s. The revenue from all sources in 1885 was £4o,00(), and in 1895 nearly £70,000. The Corporation properties were valued in 1885 at £(135.000, in 18 5 at £857,000. J'urn-

it! of to the city valuations we find that if we go back only three years there has been a marked increase. In 1893-4 the ratable value was set down at £.-322,757, and in 189 G-7 at .£3Ol 71.55, or an increase, in round numof .£io,ooo. The first valuation of the city was made in 1870, when the amount of ratable pr perty was put «>t £171,980, so that in 20 years the valuation had increased by over £1290.0110. In 1891-5, 235 new buildings were erected, and in 18 *5-0 274, or over 500 buildings in two years. The population has risen from 23,000 in 1885 to about 40,000 in 1890.