OUR SUBURBS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5623, 24 June 1905, Page 9

OUR SUBURBS.

OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY., KILBIRNIE AXD THEREABOUTS. Look nil ho Wellington suburbs! It was such a few years ago that ouo or two houses were dotted here and there in places that to-dnv aro thickly populated. It was such a few years ago that those places were unrecognised hy . tho city, and to-day they have reared themselves to honourable recognition at the councils of tho city. They arq no longer tho little struggling outsiders " they aro Greater Wellington! Last week onr suburban article dealt with Brooklyn and Vogoltown. This week tho story is of Kilbirnie and thereabouts. Those who require no information of Kilbirnie will find it in an encyclopedia of Wellington. Therein it is stated that Kilhimio lies in that littlo valley which has its head on tho south side of Mount Victoria signal station and its outlet on tho southwestern corner of Evans Bay. Several other statements aro offered about nothing in particular, one of the most startling being that there is a cemetery in tho suburb! Now, who shall uso Ids eyes to see Kilbirnie stretching itself over tho hills, and south and north along tho edges of the bays, without smiling at tho encyclopedia’s gully, and—where is that cemetery? True, Kilbirnie and thereabouts has been a burial ground; for many .-y furious tribal battle was fought out there in the bad old days, and all battlefields are burial grounds pro tem. "All over th© peninsula and the vicinity (known as Hataitai, and meaning tho “ murmur of tho tide ”) there were pas—groat pas with palisades of heavy timber brought across from the Hutt Valley by tho Maoris. Rich in food supplies was Hataitai. Bush, thick bush, was there, full of all th© native birds that were soothing to the Maori appetite. Here it was that Rapuwai and Waitaha, who, as far as knowledge goes, were tho first people to inhabit tho shores of Wellington, hauled up their canoes. From then onward there was battle and blood-letting, and today ’tis no great effort of seeking to find bones of ancient warriors who died in following the gentle art of landgrabbing. All this is laden with interest, you say, hut —what of the suburb of Kilbirnie? See here, then. The suburb of Kilbirnie originally belonged to Mr Crawford, senior, dead these many years, and in 1876 was cut up and sold by public auction. Mr E. H. Beore laid out the town. Prior to th© auction some of the land was purchased at prices ranging from £l6O to £2OO per acre, and those were th© average prices at the sale. Some of tho purchasers held ou for a great many years, and lost money on the deal. Prices went down. Some purchasers held on for a greater number of years, even until the present time, and always shall the tient be rewarded. To-day land that was bought for less than £2OO Is up to £IBOO, and more. In South Kilbirnie they are asking £IOOO per acre for land which was purchased at £IOO. Of course, it is only within tho last five or six years that prices have gone, so high, and they are no doubt due to the prevalent spirit of land speculation. Land for dwellinghouses is.priced at from £6 to £9 per foot,. and five years ago it was priced at about £2 per foot. In one instance a resident bought land in the main street five years ago at 32s' 6d a foot, and. to-day would refuse to sell at £l2 a foot. Not long ago, too, a section of land was- sold near where the-tunnel mouth will be at £ll 10s a foot. Take another instance. It is the alleged intention to cut up a wellknown popular resort in the. township, and the best corner section' has been offered to a local storekeeper'at. £l7 a foot—as a favour! 1 That is what Kilbimie; land has been doing in five years, and if you want to go right'away back learn that in the fifties land was sold there for £7 or £8 an acre. Kilbirnio North was settled first, but it is Kilbirnie South,, or Jackytown, as it is called out' there, that is going ahead most rapidly, and it is there that land in the average is highest.

Tho oldest res’dent is Mr James Burke, J.P. He bought land in Kilbirnio in 1869, and went out to live there in 1572—thirty-three years ago. At that time ho was the only resident in Kilbirnie. It was not until the public sale of the land that people began to make homes for themselves, and the suburb began really to be a suburb. About -tho year 1877 tho hotel which stands to-day was erected by Mr Charles Moody, and considerable attention having been drawn to Kilbirnie in the city, more business was done by the then licensee than is done now. “Of course,” explains Mr Burke, “there was more liquor drunk in those days than there is now.” Even in those early days Wellington had a fair to medium reputation for the power of its wind and ono night the roof of the hotel was blown off before tho building was finally completed.

In the ’seventies, and for long afterwards, Kilbirnie was under the jurisdiction of tho Hutt Road Board, and oh’ residents speak with considerable disrespect of the state tho township byways and highways were in during winter months. “Working bees” used to be formed to out ti-tree, tie it into bundles, and lay the bundles along the main road, so that progress might be mad© from place to place. _ The track over th© Constable street hill was constructed by the Provincial Government, about 1871, principally to enable material to be taken over to the Patent Slip, which was then in course of construction. The old track over Mount Victoria was constructed later, the cost being borne by subscriptions, but it was a sort of white elephant, owing to tho steepness of the grade on the city side. In 1888 Kilbirnie became part of the Melrose borough, and in 1903 cam© in under the Greater Wellington scheme. Manufacturing industries have sprung up in the vicinity within tlie past few years, and the population has increased exceedingly. It is estimated that there aro about 3000 residents now and 70. dwelling-houses. Further than tnat. there are over thirty buildings— mostly dwelling-houses—in course of erection, and there is not a house to let in the place. Dozens and dozens of applicants from the city for houses have to go unsatisfied. Five years ago there were two stores only; now there are seven grocers, two fruiterers, two drapers, a butcher, a hollow-brick factory, and a furniture manufactory. There is more postal and telegraph Work done at the bureau in one week now than was done in 'seven or eight weeks two years ago.

The school has an average attendance of about.2so, and a staff of six teachers, but the building is not nearly large enough; and with the growth' of tho district, increased accommodation will hare to bo given.

The Anglican Ghuroh bias recently been enlarged, and. no longer leans upon tbo support of St. Mark’s Church

in the city. A clergyman is now entirely in charge of the suburban church, and there is talk of a vicarage being erected.

Hataitai, which joins Kii'birnio proper at fuo northern end, is, of course, only in its infancy, yet within a couple of years it has increased tiro price of its land by about 100 per cent. When the tunnel is through Mount Victoria, and the electric tramcars are running in ana out, Hataitai will practically ho as close to tho business part of the city as the Basin Reserve.

Maranui, at tho south end of Kilbirnie, is also in its infancy, but it is progressing favourably, as the hea! bulletins say. Five years ago but nine dwellings wore there 1 ; now there are over forty. Also there is a sand brick ■factory. Notwithstanding tho strides Ivilbirnio has the people are not gladdened beyond a small measure. In fact, they are very angry when they talk about certain things. For instance, they will tell those who will lend an oar that the roads aro very bad, and that only two roadmen aro given them, as against a “gang’’ at Brooklyn and other places. But tho loudest wail arises when tramways are mentioned. Where aro those trams? they demand. Whoie are the plans of tho tunnel, and what is tho matter with them that the Govornor-in-Council will not sanction them? Other , things—angry things—aro said about tho plans and about people—mostly about people. “What have wo got for coming into.this Greater Wellington scheme?” one ratepayer demanded of tho “Times” reporter. “Wo got nix—nothing—exa doubling of tho dog-tax.” Yes, lie admits, it was an advantage, certainly. It' resulted in half the curs of the district being done away with, but there aro other necessities than the abolition of mongrels! Tho trams will come all right, and Kilbirnie will grow fatter than _ ever There is room there, and it will lie filled.