The Month’s Building

Progress, Volume X, Issue 6, 1 February 1915, Page 211

The Month’s Building

Auckland New State Sawmill for Waipoua Forest The decision arrived at by the Government to utilize the immense quantities of kauri and other milling timbers in the Waipoua State Forest, and to erect in connection therewith a State sawmill, continues to arrest the attention of Northern Wairoa timber employees who approximate 600 in number, and on whom are dependent some 2,000 of the population. The site of the proposed mill has not yet been decided upon, and three locations have been mentioned, the areas concerned being at Waipoua; Waima, at the head of the Kaihau Valley; and at Dargaville. The old post office building in Short-land Street, Auckland, is soon to disappear, and be replaced by an up-to-date Government building, in which the Deeds, Crown Lands, and other State Departments will be housed. The erection of the new building has been approved by Cabinet, and Mr. B. Kent, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, has been informed that so soon as finances permit the work of construction will proceed. Draft plans have been prepared, and Mr. Kent has the assurance of the Government that so soon as the money is available the new building will be erected. An important building scheme was mooted by the Mayor, Mr. D. Teed, at the meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last month. Mr. Teed stated that the Newmarket Public Hall in Broadway was quite out of date and totally unsuited to meet present-day requirements. On more than one occasion recently the hall had proved much too small for meetings that had been held.

Near Broadway the Borough Council has a valuable reserve, triangular in shape, and Mr. Teed suggested that this area should be utilised by erecting upon it a public library and public hall. Both of these conveniences, he said, were badly wanted in Newmarket. It was possible that’ there might be some legal difficulty in the way of using the reserve for such a purpose, but he did not think that this would be insurmountable. His suggestion was that the property comprising the existing hall should be sold and the new hall and library could be erected out of the proceeds the council could thus avoid the necessity of o-oiiur to the ratepayers for a loan. h nr The members of the council expressed approval of the Mayor’s proposal.

Completion of St. Paul’s

An interesting ceremony, marking a new staae. in the Mo''*-' g St Paul’s Church, was performed lately by Dm May Mr. C. J. 1 arr. A small contract was accepted for the preparation of the foundations of a new chancel to replace the temporary wooden structure, erected when a lack of fl p.? S prevented the completion of the building in stone. Mr. Parr tinned the first sod in connection with the necessary excavations, in the presence of the vicar of St. Paul’s the ® ev - T C ‘ A - B - Watson, and of many parishoners. of £7 h 000 lU A tentf t ’ aid ’ S WaS built 20 J rears a K° at a cost n -i V- A tender was received at that time to complete the building erect a spire, chancel, etc., for 000 P The finances of the church did not admit of the acceptance of this tender, and the delay has proved a costlv one It is estimated that a sum at least £7,000 will now be required to build the chancel alone required

Freezing Works . • tHiiiis for the establishment of two new freezing works tors h A +L Ckland district have been announced. Tim directois lof the Auckland Farmers Freezing Company have decided to proceed with the erection of works at Horotuf tom miles south of Ngaruawahia, in the Waikato and messrs vestej Bros., owners of many works in Australia have undertaken the establishment of works in tee' works 00 ’ „t Auckland and the “‘•-ion „f th" WhangSl i The t ' vo main pi ejects involve an expenditure of £66 600 each and the additions at Whangarei will cost £26 non !n complete, a total of £125,000. Each of jJ’" new wort w m

have a capacity of 3,000 sheep per day, while Whangarei is being increased to that capacity. The new plant which lias just been installed at the Auckland Freezing Company's Westfield works, near the city, brings them also up to the ;>,OOO capacity. The machinery for Messrs Vestey Bros.' works is now on the water, and an endeavour is being made to commence operations in July. The Waikato works will not be open until December. Dunedin Some three years and a half ago Mr. Hugh Ward and Miss Grace Palotta, who at that time were appearing in Dunedin with Mr. Ward's Company, set themselves to gather in subscriptions for the purpose of enabling additions to be made to the local public Hospital accommodation. The splendid result is seen to-day, when a building costing some £16,000 has just been completed, and was lately opened by Mr. J. H. Walker, chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. The main point of difference between the King Edward Pavilion and the other Hospital buildings is that the whole of the floors are laid with decolite instead of wood, which does away with joints. Furthermore, there is an operating room in connection with the pavilion, which really makes it a separate hospital. The ground floor contains three small wards, each 13-ft. by 16-ft., a large ward 100-ft. by 26-ft., a clinical room 15-ft. by 16-ft. G-in., and a kitchen containing the usual conveniences. The upper floor is on practically the same lines as the lower one, except that an operating room takes the place of the clinical room. There are two sanitary towers. The roof is flat, and contains a sun room, so that if the weather is stormy the patients can obtain the shelter and comfort of the glass house, while in pleasant weather any part of the room can be utilised for a sun bath. In addition to the sun roof there are balconies at each ward, each S-ft, wide. The pavilion is lighted by electricity throughout, and there is an electric automatic lift running from the floor right up to the roof. The building presents a very fine appearance, and inside it has been laid out on most up-to-date lines. The structure certainly reflects the greatest credit, both on the architect (Mr. P. Y. Wales).and the builder (Mr. E. Meikle). It is about eighteen months since the foundation stone was laid, and it must be a matter of great satisfaction to know that it has been completed pretty well free of debt. Twelve tenders were received at the meeting of the hospital and Charitable Aid Board for the erection of the nurses' home at the Dunedin Hospital, and that of Messrs Fletcher Bros., of Dunedin, for £15,957 was accepted. Invercargill During the twelve months 214 permits were issued for new buildings, and alterations, and the total value amounts to £lll,OOO. VA fine block of buildings has recently been finished to the order of Messrs W. Lewis & Co. This block is really the forerunner of a building which when completed will embrace the remaining portion of the Esk St. frontage, and continue along Dee St. as far as the old Albion Hotel. The building consists of five floors and basement, faced with Oamaru stone, and fitted with cantilever verandah.

Napier Building permits issued by the Napier Borough Council last year authorised the erection of buildings to the value of £01,259, as against £39,552 the preceding year. Oamaru The number of building permits granted by the Borough Council during 1914 shows a falling-off compared with the previous year. Only two for new business premises were granted, those for Mr. S. B. Paterson’s shop in Tees street and the North Otago Times Building, though the year saw the completion of the new Polytechnic, commenced the year before. Permits for the erection within the Borough of 16 dwellings were granted; also for six sheds, seven garages, one store-room, one class-room, and three wash-houses. Permits for additions and alterations, however, showed an increase, totalling 26. Of these many were for improvements and extensions to business premises. Wellington Although building has not been the most active of trades in Wellington for two or three years past, there were, in the beginning of 1914, distinct signs of a revival, and had it not been for the war, there is no doubt better iigures would have been reached. Apart altogether from the money that is being expended by the Government in buildings the value of buildings erected during the year just ended is £266,396 (covering 523 permits), which is a considerably less amount than has been spent in this city for some years past. The largest building now in course of construction in Wellington is the new Houses of Parliament, and steady progress was made up to a point. A temporary check that arose through difficulty in obtaining flawless stone in the necessary sizes now having been overcome work is now again proceeding apace. Another large Government building (the contract for which lias not yet been let) has been started, by the building of the foundations of the new Police Court on the site of the old Theatre Royal, in Johnston Street. A storehouse has been erected on the old lawn tennis court at the rear of the Assembly Library building (in Hill Street), and additions are being made to the Government Printing Office by Messrs J. and A. Wilson. Government buildings of the future will be the new Central Railway Station and the new Law Courts, in connection with which the western end of Whitmore Street (between the Courts and the Government Buildings) will be taken in, giving the Government another 80-ft. frontage to Lambton Quay. The foundations of a new Te Aro Police Station are being put in at present on the new site at the corner of Lower Taranaki Street and Wakefield Street. Some very nice business blocks have been erected during the year in the city, which are in every case a big improvement on their predecessors. Among these are the three-stor- . ey brick building erected for Mrs. Walter Reid in Willis Street; the motor garage and offices erected for Hatrick & Co. at the corner of Lower Taranaki Street and Wakefield Street (opposite the site of the new Police Station); the new garage and office building erected for Kirkcaldie and Stains on the long-vacant site on Lambton Quay next the Public Trust Office; C. Smith’s fine modern shop block in Cuba Street; Ellis and Manton’s commanding four-storey brick warehouse in Old Custom-house Quay; and J. H. Bethune and Company’s office block on the corner of Featherston and Brandon Streets. Freezing Works at Taihape At a meeting of seventy shareholders of the Taihape Freezing Works, it was reported that 7,340 £5 shares had been subscribed. This was 340 in excess of the number required to enable tenders to be called for the erection of works on the site of 82 acres purchased at Winiatia. It was unanimously decided to call tenders for the erection of works which are expected to be in operation next season. Mr. Henry E. White, the well-known theatre architect, has received instructions to prepare plans and specifications for the new municipal theatre at Hastings. This work was in hand when war broke out, and was held in abeyance until the financial situation became clearer. Satisfactory arrangements have now been made by the Borough Council for the raising of the money, and tenders will shortly be called for the erection of the theatre.