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Proposed Operations foe the Year 1926-27. Settlement Surveys.—The proposed work in each land district is shown in Table 4 appended hereto, and is summarized as follows : 102,301 acres, rural survey ; 222,991 acres Native-land survey ; 72 miles road survey ; and 193 acres town survey. Geodetic Triangulation.—Mr. H. M. Ross, staff surveyor, will continue observing the stations of the scheme on which signals have been erected in the southern portion of the Gisborne Land District, and make a reconnaissance and erect signals on stations in Hawke's Bay and Wellington Districts to connect with the base-line measured in the Wairarapa. Standard Surveys.—The proposed works for the year comprise the plans of the Whangarei Survey and the continuation of field operations at New Plymouth, Blenheim, and Invercargill by Messrs. Haase, Clapperton, and Otway respectively. In addition to the town survey, rural standard traverses will be resumed in the North Auckland and Marlborough Districts by Messrs. H. M. Kensington and Clapperton respectively, and Mr. Adams will continue rural standard traverses in the vicinity of Christchurch. These rural standard traverses will only be undertaken during periods of slackness in the settlement and city surveys. Topographical Survey. —The survey of Rotorua County will be continued by two surveyor assistants, who will also collect samples of soil from the settled pumice land and forward them to the Agricultural Department for analysis in connection with the soil survey of this district. A party will continue work in the Taranaki District, the immediate object being to prepare a map of the Mount Egniont National Park and the country in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth. It is anticipated that there will be a demand for such surveys of all land likely to be built upon in connection with the preparation of townplanning schemes, and steps have been taken to secure the necessary equipment in order to equip four additional field-parties in the event of their services being required in this connection. Miscellaneous. —In addition to the above-mentioned works, there is the customary examination and recording of plans, the inspection of surveys, the compilation and drawing of maps for publication, the work of computing the harmonic constants for the tidal predictions, the computation of the primary triangulation, and the preparation of various tables in connection therewith. General. Map-publication. —The output of maps received from the Printing Department was about the same as in the previous year. The demands of the public a.nd the State Departments are, however, not yet fully met, and the increase in the number of maps prepared for publication in connection with the topographical survey will exceed the present capacity of the Printing Department to deal with the printing of them, and it may be necessary to arrange with private firms to undertake part of the work. Town Subdivisional Schemes. —The number of town schemes received during the year shows an increase of twenty-five; 340 plans of subdivisions and resubdivisions have been dealt with and approved, as compared with 315 last year. As formerly, the greater part of the area subdivided — viz., 64 per cent.—is in the vicinity of Auckland City. Orakei Garden Suburb Competitive Designs.—The invitation to residents of the Dominion to submit designs for the laying-out of Orakei Block as a- garden suburb resulted in forty-two designs being received from architects, engineers, surveyors, and others throughout the Dominion. The designs were generally of such a high standard of excellence as to warrant a special recommendation by the adjudicating Board to increase the premiums offered for the designs placed first, second, and third respectively in accordance with the conditions of competition. The names of the authors of the winning designs at the final adjudication by the judges are : (1) Mr. Reginald B. Hammond, Auckland ; (2) Messrs. E. V. Blake and A. J. Brown, Auckland ; (3) Messrs. W. L. Home and. C. E. N. Putt. Lower Hutt Suburbs Competitive Designs.—Several areas of land were purchased by the Government in connection with the decision to build a railway on the east side of the Hutt River, from Petone to Silverstream. The Hutt Borough Council, within whose boundaries most of the land is situated, made arrangements with the Government to have the Crown and adjacent lands, about 1,400 acres in all, town-planned in accordance with modern methods. Competitive designs were invited from residents of the Dominion, on behalf of the Borough Council and the Government, with suitable' remuneration offered to those placed respectively first and second. Altogether twenty designs were received from members of the architectural, engineering, and surveying professions, and were generally of such a high standard as to call for special comment by the adjudicating Board. The result of the competition placed the first three in order of merit as follows: (I) Mr. R. B. Hammond, architect, Auckland ; (2) Mr. E. R. K. Kitto, surveyor, Wellington ; (3) Mr. P. H. Graham, architect. Most of the Orakei and Lower Hutt designs were on exhibition at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition. Further particulars and copies of the premiated designs will be given in the " Records of the Survey." Proclamation of Roads— During the year under review seventeen applications for the proclamation of road-lines laid off by the Native Land Court under sections 48, 49, 50, and 52 of the Native Land Amendment Act, 1913, were received and dealt with. Statutory notices of the intention to proclaim the road-lines as public roads, together with plans showing the location of same, were forwarded to the local bodies of the districts affected, in terms of section 15 of the Native Land Amendment Act, 1914, to enable them to forward any objections or representations they might wish to make prior to the issue of the Proclamation. Under the Land for Settlements Act, 1908 (section 80), and the Land for Settlements Act, 1925 (section 106), a number of unused and unformed road-lines intersecting estates acquired under the Acts were closed, to enable the land comprised therein to be incorporated in the area available for disposal. Under the Land Transfer Act 214 warrants for the issue of certificates of title were examined and certified to in terms of section 13 of the Act. In addition, several applications to bring land under the provisions of the Land Transfer Act were examined and approved in terms of section 19 of the Act.

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