WELLINGTON

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12008, 10 December 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

WELLINGTON

A RECORD OF PROGRESS MAYOR WRIGHT’S VIEWS. The oatstanding piece of work which lias been completed of late is the Orongorongo tunnel, the contract for which had jnst been signed when he first took office. The new pipe line from Orongorongo to Karori and the reticulation of Karori. and Onslow are well on the way, so that as soon as they are done the city will derive revenue from the connections made. "Water has always paid its way," tho Mayor added. . IMPROVED TRAMWAYS. 1 With regard to tramways, large sums had been spent Sn duplication work at. Island Bay and Thorndon quay, the latter now nearing completion, and with the tracks which have been renewed and the improvement, along Jervois quay, tie service was now very much better. The- Johnson street loop had relieved the presure at the- Post Office terminus, and the day might not be far off when the tenninus there would be abolished. Hie Wakefield street scheme mould effect another, great improvement when carried out, while the Wallace , street-John street diversion,, now well in hand, would pro-, vide another avenue for conveying the people bo and from, the suburbs. “Hie trackless tram . has given' great satisfaction,’'.’ said the Mayor.'; . BSE OF ELECTRICITY. . In respect ; to the - change, over, and the advent of increased power from, Mangahao, the Mayor anticipates * a boom jndhe .city’s; electrical-undertak-; mgs.' ffc pointed out that the people; have not been tfllring kindly to electric cookers, but that has been due to the fact that the voltage has hot been high enough to make their effect,. "When the change over from. UO t0.23(> volts takes place things will ;he different, for the ovens will then do all that will be required of\them'.”- He spoke of another city where the power! is adequate, and the electric cookers'were appreciated to such an extent that they would never go back' to gas oven again." EVERYTHING BY. &OYQR,' ' Mr Wiight proceeded, to. visualise the day when the. housewife .would, be able to get through most, of her work with the aid of the “juice” 'in half the time and more, effectively. The electric vacuum cleaner was' a boon, he- could speak personally of that, and there were the electric iron, heaters, separators.' to say nothing of -the uses .to which small motors could be put, such cs operating a sewing machine,, etc. ‘‘Electricity is goiiig’to make home Kfe far more pleasant, and reduce drudgery to a minimum, and that day w not so far off as. you may think.” Conceding that the installations of electric ovens is rather expensive, the Ci ty Council would try and help in - this direction by providing for payment by instalments. It would fay the City Council to do this, as they would thereby get an increased. number of consumers. and the mere current that was sold the cheaper it could be supplied. GOOD ROADS. Now that the new Act had been passed, they would soon begin on the new scheme of bitumen roads, which include the greater portion of the marine drive and the principal streets. It would not be long before Thorndon quay was completed. One of the plants would he working on the extension to Upper Hntt. and the other would be employed in the city. ‘‘Beyond this a good deal of surfacing work has been done which has put most of the to ads in splendid order." He did not think .it would be long before some attention was given to Constable street, but with regard to the plans for improving the roads in and around the city he considered money would he welt spent, and woul, in.fact, be effecting real economy, , aa the roads would last longer, and the wear and tear on motors would be considerably less. BETTER RESERVES. '

Several reserves have been added to the city, and the council had taken over the soenio reserve at Haywards, presented a few months ago by Mr, George. Negotiations have also been completed for the purpose of. the late Mr Chapman’s property at 'Wadestown, adjoining Wilton’s Bush. Mr Wright spoke of the provisions which had been made for tennis and croquet, the new swimming pools at Thorndon and Khandallah, the great advantage which the new cricket pavilion would be at the Basin Reserve, and the fine effect which, would be achieved with the completion of the aea wall at Oriental Bay. Hie new road between Seatoun and Lyall Bay would also soon proceed a step further,, as the property owners were contributing to tho cost. PERIOD OF PROSPERITY. Now that several of the large undertakings were nearing completion they would soon be revenue producing, the new water supply would be working next year, and most of tho first year’s . interest on tlie loan would be paid out <k the loan. Proceeding with reasonable care along these lines he thought Wellington had a period of prosperity before it, and the times of financial 4tress through which they had passed would be of great value to them in the future. He was auite optimistic about the progress of tna efcjr is c yoa.'a tm awse.