HELP WANTED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 546, 26 December 1928, Page 16

HELP WANTED

DEVONPORT BOROUGH AFFAIRS DEFENCE MINISTER APPROACHED The attitude of the Defence Department toward its holdings in the borough of Devonport was discussed oa Monday when a deputation headed by the Mayor, Mr. E. Aldridge, approached the Hon. T. M. Wilford, Minister of Defence After Mr. A. Harris, M.P., had introduced the members of the deputation, Mr. Aldridge referred to the Vauxhail reserve of 28 acres, lying between Cheltenham and North Shore beaches. He said the unimproved value of this area was £56,000. At present the borough received only £450 a year in rates in respect of all defence areas within its boundaries. Were the Vauxhail reserve subdivided, a further £2,000 a year would be made available to the borough in rates. Large quantities of explosives were stored at Vauxhail for naval purposes, and although naval experts said there was no danger, the fact remained that a school was within a few hundred yards. Heavy gun-fire at North Head, said Mr. Aldridge, was undesirable, as it created considerable annoyance to residents. In addition, property was endangered during firing by continual reverberation.

It had to be remembered that a very large proportion of defence facilities for Auckland were situated in Devonport. Mr. Aldridge added that the Rangitoto Island Domain Board, which was the Devonport Borough Council, regarded Rangitoto as a national asset, and it was their object to make it a Dominion tourist attraction. At present prison labour was engaged in connecting Islington Bay with the wharf, between which lay one of the most desirable parts of . the island. Last August the Justice Department threatened to remove prison labour from the work, but following representations by Mr. Aldridge the work had been continued. The Minister promised to visit Devonport and to give a definite reply on all three questions before leaving Auckland.