Page image

C.—lα

16

year: Formation,- 16 ft. to 18ft., 125 chains; metalling, 12 ft., 68 chains; bridle-track, 6 ft., 10 chaans; ditches, 3 ft. by 2 ft., 72 chains; pipe culverts, 130 ft.; culverts, 18 ft. wide, H ft.; bridges (five), 18 ft. wide, 115 ft.; tramway laid, 70 chains. Also the whole of the Municipal and Government reserves were cleared of standing timber. The School Reserve was gravelled, but the cost of this was recovered from the Education Board. Vote 67, Item 120.— Stockman* Shelter Hut at Big WaMgamti River, £44 2s. 10d. A comfortable hut has been erected and small paddock enclosed for the use of drovers on the south side of the Wanganui River. Wμ. Wilson, District Surveyor.

CANTERBURY. Owing to there being no unsurveyed or unoccupied Crown lands in this district, and no estates Laving been acquired during the last year, the survey operations have been limited to the subdivision of some runs, the survey of small blocks of isolated Crown lands, and the standard surveys of the Town of Tiraaru and part of the Town of lUkaia. Sural and Suburban. —The total area returned under this heading is 13,396 acres, consisting of 15 surveyed at a cost of O'67s. per acre; the whole of this area was executed by staff officers. Mr. T. A. Johnston, Assistant Surveyor, who was engaged in this district for seven months, surveyed 4 small grazing-runs and reserves in the Hororata District, of a total area of 10,492 acres, and an education reserve of 151 acres in Westerfield District. District Surveyor McClure hue surveyed a number of small reserves, of a total area of 75$ acres, in much scattered localities, and a portion of 1 small grazing-rini of 2,590 acres. Mr. Brodrick surveyed a recreation reserve of 87 acres in the Hutt District, at a cost of £41 Bs. lid., which appears high; but the survey was situated at a considerable distance from Mr. Brodrick's headquarters at Timaru, and was made at a time when the country was under snow. Town Surveys.— Under this heading 37| acres has been subdivided into 138 allotments, at a total cost of £72 ifV !>d., or 10-6s. per allotment. Of this area, Mr. McClure subdivided 30J acres into 118 allotments, these comprising the workers' dwellings site at Sydenham, and the resurvey of 83 lots in the Kakaia Township. Mr. Johnston repegged 20 allotments in the Domett Township, Cheviot. Work completed in the field, but not mapped, and therefore carried on to next year, comprises the standard surveys of parts of the Towns of Timaru and Rakaia. In the standard survey of Timaru there is 18t miles of standard traverse completed, the total cost, including £161 os. 4d. for work partially executed by Mr. Brodrick but completed by Mr. McClure,' being £641 6s. Id. In the re-marking of section's in the Rakaia Township, executed by Mr! McClure, 2 miles of standard traverse is completed, at a cost of £15 Bs. sd. Other Work. —ln addition to the work already enumerated, Mr. McClure was occupied for about two months and a half upon the survey of a line of water-race and a small section in the Steward Settlement, Otago District, and about two weeks on the completion of plans of surveys executed by him during the previous year in the Westland District. The cost of these work's, amounting in all to £212 ss. 5d., is chargeable in due proportion against the districts named' Owing to District Surveyor McClure being engaged in other duties, and no other officer being available, only three inspections have been made of Land Transfer surveys, but these have demonstrated that the private surveyors are doing very satisfactory work. Proposed Operations for 1907-B.—Unless some estates are acquired we shall have no settlement surveys in progress, and Mr. McClure will lie employed on the survey of Tekapo Township, reserves, field inspections, and the completion of his standard survey plans. Office-work. —Mr. Shanks, Chief Draughtsman, reports as follows: "During the past year, no lands having been acquired for settlement, the surveyor has been enabled to clear off a number of urgent miscellaneous surveys, and the office staff to overtake a large amount of arrears of mapping, especially in the much-needed work of preparing photo-lithographic tracings of the unpublished districts within the Ashley, Selwyn, and Ashburton Counties. Eighteen districts were traced, leaving 8 on hand, which when finished will complete the districts within the above-named counties, and allow the draughtsmen to proceed with the compilation of the districts comprised in the Amuri and Cheviot Counties ; one sheet of the latter is now being prepared. Photo-litho graphic drawings were made of the workers' dwellings block in the Sydenham Ward of Christchurch, small grazing-runs in the Hororata District, and of Rural Section 37116 in the Fighting Hill District, and the original drawings of the Corwar and Hawkins Districts were brought up to date. Five large and 13 small plans were received from the surveyors; 8 delineating surveys of acquired land returned last year, the balance miscellaneous surveys, and the small grazing-run plans. They have all been checked with the exception of the 2 run plans recently received. Plans were placed on 102 Crown leases prepared in quadruplicate, 19 in triplicate,' 70 in duplicate, including 4 Native Court titles, and on 54 certificates of title and 2 surrender deeds, making a total of 1,260 plans. The only arrears on hand are 7 miscellaneous and 5 small-grazing-run leases recently balloted for and granted. Record maps were constructed for the Morice, Kinloch, and Mills Settlements, also for the Domett Township, and additional information placed on a number of the formerly constructed records; 66 certificates of title, 94 leases in perpetuity, and 196 Crown grants were registered on the above-mentioned and other district record maps,' but there are still many thousands of the latter to record, for the current and more urgent work has not left the draughtsmen much time to overtake the arrears. As current duties permitted, a set of 276 mounted lithographs and tracings were made for the Education Boards, illustrating the localities

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert