TEE NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 2939, 3 October 1878, Page 2

TEE NEW GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.

The contractors, Messrs. Borry and Newman, having so far oompieted the-New Government Buildings, oa' the Market Reserve, .as- to enable the officers of the various departments to occupy the rooms in it, a migration of the officials from their old rookeries on Mount Eliot and elsewhere has been taking place during the present week. Although w e cauont speak in very favourable terms as to its architectural beauty, or as to the internal | arrangement of the roojnis, the edifice has I been erected in a most workman-like manner, and is a credit to the firm that built it. " i The building is/of two stories, the front of j which faces* Queen-street.* There are two j wings; the Eastern one facing Robe-street, I and tho Western one a continuation of Queeustreet. The height of the edifice from the ground plates to the cornice is twenty-fbur feet : and it is erected Upon a block of groiiud about 120 feotby 52 feet. The width of the main building is 74 feet, and the wings 23 feet each. Thp entrance tb all the offices, with the exception of the Postal Department and Court house, is by r means off'avhall in the centre of the building which is ; IO ! feet wide, and leads iuto a corridor 74 feet long by 6 ijeet wide, and fac.es a flight of stairs leading to ihe upper story. -In turning" to" the right, on eutoring the corridor, there are two rooms: iv tho ftont portion of the building, oue 17 feet by l3feetmarkedofff6rtheAssistantEngineer and the other 12 feet by 13 feet for the Resident Engioeer. Facing tbe former is the stroug room, the walls of which are 2 feet 3 inches in thickness, leaving an open space of about 8 feet square iv tho centre. They go right through tbe building, so that the offices on the floor above are provided with fire proof rooms as welL as those below.* These rooms are fitted with iron dpors, having on them Chubbs' Patent Locks. Opposite tbe Resident Engineer's room ia a room for the Chief Clerk in the Post-office, which is 17 feet by 13 feet, Passing along, the corridor into the .vest wing of the ouilding the public will enter through two glass swing doors into the public room of .the Post-office, but; as tho portion of the building we have described is to bo re-arranged wo may, , parenthetically, as it were, shortly describe the proposed alterations. It appears that the strong room has been made to open iuto the corridor and would entail a continual locking up and unlocking of the heavy doors every time a book was wanted, for it could not be left open with safety in a place where fihe publio are continually passing. By a peculiarity in the arrangement of tbe offices, those departments that would! not require, strong rooms were put near them, aud, those that did (such as the Registering of deeds, Stamp department, &c.) had rooms allotted for them at the other cud of the bunding up stairs. It is proposed, therefore,, that the Resident and Assistant

Engineers shall change rooms with the Rt»gis«trav of Dgeda^Birtu&'^Mamages, Deaths, Stamps, &c, and* that .the, corridor leading to the left of the bdikling be boarded up and an entrance opoueebin tho hall to the rooms to the right and -left.. ' This will be a great improYeinent r -besides being more convenient to the public. '- The- BtttTOTicßi-ifl-itte^post-t)juice- is-at the side of the, w,est wing* .the, roqm facing the entrance b&rigk&e^timea: ' l»6stbias-ler's 'apartment, a^ room abou^twelve^^ feet square^ "Tormng^V tße™!^ "'access ' iB ODtaraeiP-to the publio room'^oT Che posT VSffice, which is cut Off from the mail ropm by a handsome counter, and behind are. fixed the, pigeon holes for the letters and newspapers for persons calling for thehi. This room' is fifty feet deep by twentythree feet wide, and the fittings &h&> arrangements are a vast improvement, , on, the window at which the public used nervously %o tap,and which was too often slamcDfed back in the face with " none," to the questiou timidly nslced of "^y letter for vie?" „Mr. Roso^ i he 'inspector .of Post-offipes,,. has been here during the pait fortnight' arranging the fitting up of the offices', and he has certainly not^lef t anything undone that cbuld'b'e done in order to afford the utmost convenience to the public. Of course.. Mr,. Rose .hod, nothing, tq do. with putting thor fipst-office , in, the right wing instea'dof the letft one';' thai «ftl'fe iwWb£ the, architect, who no doubt itnagin r ed "the oufei-, ness part of the town lay to the west instead I ,of,,as it,doeß,,along way past. The private { boxes are., at the. back of;, jthe^post-bfiice, ajidJ to get to them, and also the box for 'post ing the, letters, thepublio have to go round the outside of the building. The rooms to the east 'side of the centra^ outrance hall are very ;almilar' to'Hndse we have described on the" Stest. The first room iv the f roul ,6f tHe building] td the left af te^ entering, is the Registrar of Deeds Department,.^ feet by 13 feet; .thette^Ao-it.is the Collector of Customs room, 17 feet by 13 feet, •and. adjoins the Otfstoma.JbQ.ng,YßoOmDip.' <jbe wing, w-hkhjis .bjf; On t}he south side of the building there is a .rpo^ |or the Agent for Curator of Intestate Estat«B,jl4 feet by 18 fe'etv diid one for tfire Registrar |of District .Court,, 14 feet by 13 feet. „The, l^tjter room communicates with' a Cou'rtf-fdora, the public entrance to J which" is only obtained . througitru porch ,ia Robe-street. The Courfrbom is 35 feetjby 22. fept, and thirteen feet high, being tjwo feet higher tho.uany of the rest owing to the floor sunk two feet.j Having described, the, ground flpQrs, we will now ascend the . stairs, where we find the building;planued off much, in the same manner as below. Facing the stairs in the fnont, pbr-, tion of the building to the west is the Education, -OBp&rjl :Bodm, V 2B. leetiAßjr/13,, fqet. Adjoining is the private, -apartment of the Commissioner of Crown Lands' which coran^unicat'es 1 with "the Btiatd Room' of thd Land' Office (22 feet by. 16 feet ),', and the Secretary. to the Boards Room (18 feet by 12), which occupy the northern portion !of the wing, rooms to the south are, r occupied, by the Chief Surveyor, '(lS feet '^uare) and' 1 the surveyors draughting room 22 feet by 17 feet. Facing tho < Commissioner of Crown Lands apartment, is the public room of the Survey Office, Iwbich adjoins the straog/ room*: ; Uf on this story to the, right in ascending the stairs will be the offices of the Resident and Assistnot Engineers, , and Publio Cotttr&Qt., Office, occupying three rooms; the fourth room, as we shall - show, : beiug made ;nße<iof . by the Telegraph Department. With the exception " then of the thrteiroomS' \*6! have mientioned, the whole of the-FOorogrOnthe east side of the staircase will be devoted to the Telegrejph Department.^ The publio room will her 15ft.jby 13ft. forming part of the Cbunteir'6levk3 roq'ra, the two being divided by/ia co/an;teP)like\that in the Post-office. . A.dacided impfp^ementjon those < 'harlequin"-'l)k;«3rap doors, which tejnd to rile persons tempers when shut quickly jin their face more 'titan- -any thing we know of. At tb*e back of rthe Counter Clerk^ toom will be an apartment fWthe' despatching o.flic^rs. The instrument room (22 feet by 19 feet)' adjoins, and^ ,hap a^southerly aspect, whilst the manager's room "(18 feet by" ll feet) faces Robe-street, and'the Inspectdr's 1 'room (22 feet by 15 feet) the- sea. The entrance) to the whole of these rooms is by me^ns of the corridor. : , All the rooms are eleven feet high, with the exception of the Court Room, as we have, stated, that being sunk two feet gives the height thirteen in the clear. The win; dow3 on the ground floor are! 6 ft?. 6 in., by 3 feet, and in the, upper story a foot less' in length; and the' glass in them 260z. sheet., The roof is of galvanised/.iron -placed oyer tarred felt, and all the rooms are lined ,with timber.. A large number of air gratings are inserted in the building, so -that plenty of ventilation iagiven to those whdare to decupy the rooms. The iront doors are of Baltic deal, with eight panels in ttietov The main portiod' of the" timber in the building 1 is reniu, but for different portions totara, kauri, and. deal have .been used./ ><: ; ..' At tbe back of- the building a block of land has • been fenced i'jtt She whole: jwidth of (he building (116 feet) and running back'fiftytwo feet. Within this enclosure is erected the necessary ou^t-offij^es required; tmd access to which are obtained from "tHe Tjuilding through' .porches* fixeil at th^cttcners where the wings cross "the main portion of the edifice. Over these portions are fixed iron tanks, and the guttering round the.^hqle.building carries ■ the water to them from the roof. Within thisbencloaure hjas iM be,eji\ erected a &hree«roomed cottage for the custodian of the place to live in. Every room, we> think, h,T)fs a firo-place — with a registered grate fixed iv it, and very neat mantel- piecesj .- , ; - • > We must congratulate Messrs. ' Berry" and Newman on theiVisuQeegsftri completion of one of the largest -buildings erected ia New Plymouth:;, and when thepWjpQst-offtce is removed from the front, and a neat railing put up, that, although it ipiU'.'DOtpcorapare with tbe Bank of New Zeaiaud for architectural beauty, yet it >vijl be a, subfttantiaj a,qd useful building, al though i somewhat inconveniently situated for a large portion of the commnnijty-r-