A DESOLATE AREA.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20298, 7 May 1934, Page 12

A DESOLATE AREA.

Cottage Homes Site at Sandilands. “MISERABLE FOR SICK MEN." A variety of smells, exposure to all winds, lack of space, the continual rumbling of the City Council masticator, and several other reasons make the bare area at Sandilands entirely unsuitable for the establishment of cottage homes for returned soldiers broken down in health. That is the view of practically all the residents in the neighbourhood on the settlement scheme adopted by the Christchurch Returned Soldiers’ Association, which so far has progressed to the extent of a good deal of levelling work among the sand. Inquiries into the position were prompted by a letter from a correspondent, who claimed that the smell of stale fish had been too much for many of the men working on the preparation job, and strongly contended that the site chosen was not one or. which men with enfeebled constitutions should end their days. The correspondent, Mr E. Braithwaite, wrote as follows:—“I desire to bring before the public and those responsible the undesirability of that portion of Sandilands where the soldiers’ homes will be built. In the first place, the land is used by the municipal authorities as a dumping ground for all the stinking fish that is collected by their lorries. The fish load is buried in the sand very near the surface, and about every half-hour the strong winds prevailing there bring with them the smell of the stale fish to the nostrils of the returned men working on the land. Just imagine their having to eat their food under these disgusting conditions. Some with delicate stomachs have had very often to throw part of their meals away, as they could not stand the smell. To make matters worse, the council’s masticator is adding to the general discomfort. Soldiers who were working On Sandilands have suddenly become ill and, in some cases, have been sent to hospital. This is a shocking state of affairs and should be remedied at once. Is there any connection between the illnesses of these men and the unsatisfactory sanitar> conditions prevailing? I should say the whole question is a matter for the Health Department or some such body before the health of the men is further undermined. Canteen funds and public money should not be used to place men on a site like this. Another Site Needed. 4 * Another site should be chosen more suitable to the health of the returned soldiers,” added Mr Braithwaite. “ Many of them have enfeebled constitutions, brought about by the part they played in the war, and they should not be allowed to end their days surrounded by the conditions prevailing at Sandilands. I was glad to see the stand taken on this matter by some of the returned soldiers at their meeting the other night. The Rev F. T. Read’s reply to these men was a poor one indeed, and a contrast to the remarks of Mr E. Orchard.” After explaining that the site chosen has, and is, being used by the City Council, Mr Orchard went on to say, “ I believe that the money should be used to provide work for returned soldiers at standard rates of pay.” He refers to Canteen Fund money and other moneys that the R.S.A. w’ill have to prosecute their pet scheme. “ If Mr Orchard stands by that statement I am sure it will receive the endorsement of all workers.” An uncompromising critic of the selection of the site is Mr George M’lntyre, of the well-known surveying firm of M’lntyre and Lewis, who has spent the last thirty of his nmety-one years living at “ Wayside,” 73, Cuff’s Road, which is a few yards from Page’s Road and not far from the area under consideration. “ Most Foolish Proposal.’* “ The place gets winds from all directions, and has no shelter at all,” said Mr M’lntyre. “ It is the most foolish proposal I have ever come across, and is an absolute waste of money. I cannot understand for a moment how people who are supposed to have brains could ever suggest and decide to carry out such a scheme. The site could not be good for the soldiers, who would probably lead miserable lives there. The scheme of building a number of residences and forming roads and installing the necessary sewers would take a long time to carry out, and it it should be finished the money might better have been dumped in the sea at New Brighton. I can say nothing too strong against the proposal. I am glad the business has been brought up, and may, therefore, be stopped before it is too late. Rubbish has been buried in the vicinity for many years, and that cannot be for the benefit of the health of the men. Even if the houses are built and should be occupied, the sections would be too small to keep fowls or pigs on. The little growth the r e is on the sand is being gradually removed, and generally the whole thing is waste expenditure. Several other residents living m Page’s Road opposite the cottage homes site were almost as emphatic as Mr M’lntyre in their condemnation of the selection of the land. One woman said that there was certainly fish about as her cat and dog would come home in the mornings with fish in their mouths after roaming ov e r the land in the vicinity of the City Council’s masticator. There were smells, in addition, when the wind lay in a certain quarter, but it was considered to be not so much stale fish as the odour from the sewage farm or from one or two pig farms in the neighbourhood. Grinding of Masticator. Another woman declared that the smells were terrible sometimes, although they could not be very injurious to health, as she had been in the district for six years without any ill effect. The constant grinding of the masticator was also a noise that would probably iar on returned men in ill-health. Furthermore, the rumbling of trucks bringing refuse to the masticator at any time from 4 or 5 a.m. onwards would prove troublesome to the type of men who would live in the cottages. She added that there was additional ground for criticism in the lack of shelter from the weather on windy or wet days and the unbearably hot conditions of windless summer days, combined with a marked shortage of water in the district. It would be very hard to grow anything on the land

selected, and generally the people in the neighbourhood were mystified as to why the site had been chosen. There was one supporter of the area, a returned soldier pensioner, who considered that the scheme had been subjected to needless criticism. There might be an occasional smell, he said, but it certainly was not a menace to health. His view was that there were people who would object to anything such as the Sandilands proposal, which he felt was a constructive move on the part of the R.S.A. Dr Telford's Opinion. When the question was referred to Dr T. Fletcher Telford, Medical Officer of Health, he said that the Sandilands site would not interfere with the health of the men, although there might be some nuisances that would give rise to complaints later on if rubbish was still being dumped on the adjoining area. There were lots of areas which were suitable for burying pulverised material, where, after an interval no objectionable nuisances would be created. It was possible, on the other hand, that a south-east wind might convey the decomposition gases given off by the Christchurch Drainage Board’s septic tank and irrigation flood effluents to the nostrils of men at Sandilands. There could be no objection to the land on the grounds of danger to health from rubbish, as the ground on which it was proposed to build the cottages had not been used for burying any foul material whatsoever. He concluded by pointing out that generally the supervision of t’ area mentioned was the obligation of the local authority concerned, and m the case under review that authority was the City Council. The duty of supervision was placed on the council under Section 20 of the Health Act, 1920, which related to the duties and powers of local authorities in respect of public health. A reporter who visited Sandilands found the area looking most uninviting in the rain, but at the time there was no suggestion of the smells which residents vouched for. As it was raining hard the men were not working on the land, but the signs of their labour could be seen in the form of portions of levelled sandhills. The council masticator was rumbling ceaselessly, and workmen were wheeling the material away for burial on the land adjoining the settlement site, which can be seen to the right of the tram line to New Brighton, opposite the junction of Cuff’s Road with Page’s Road. There was certainly no sign of shelter, and the whole area bore a remarkably desolate appearance, almost bearing out one neighbour’s remark that it was “ not fit even for a golf course.”