Building Notes.

Progress, Volume XIV, Issue 6, 1 February 1919, Page 436

Building Notes.

AUCKLAND. Messrs. Holman and Moses called for tenders last month for a new storey to a brick building in Customs Street. Mr. W. A. Gumming called for tenders for additions and alterations to premises for Messrs. Sanford Ltd. , Mr. Routley also invited tenders for a house in wood at Waik 11mete. The Public Works Department invites tenders for a post office at Wharepoa. CHRISTCHURCH.

A contract has been let by the Christchurch Tramway Board for the erection of new officers in Cathedral Square. The successful tenderers are Messrs. P. Graham and Son, and the contract price is £18,722. Eight tenders were received. The contract period for the erection of the building is 12 months, and the work will be commenced immediately.

The plans for the . new building were drawn -in the Tramway Board's offices. They provide for three storeys, of which the ground and first floors will be occupied by the Tramway Board, and the second floor will be leased by the Lyttleton Harbour Board. Provision will be made in the foundations and walls for the addition of a fourth storey, if necessary.

The front facade is Italian renaissance in conception. The ground floor will be constructed of Timaru bluestone, with substantial arches over the doors and right-of-way that will pass through the building. A large arched centre window, embracing both the first and second floors, is a feature of the front of the building. On either side of this arch are piers, ornamented with Roman columns, the first floor being Doric, and the second lonic in design, with a segmental pediment. The building in Madras Street South near High Street, in which the District Nursing Association is to be housed, is making good progress towards completion. It is expected that the work of erection will be finished in February, or March. Mr. -Roy Lovell Smith called for tenders for a residence on Cashmere Hills, and Mr. J. S. Guthrie invited tenders for a house at Avon side.

The Scheme for a Soldiers' Memorial and Memorial Hall which was illustrated in these pages a little while ago, is to be modified to a Soldiers' Club only, making the Memorial a separate scheme to partake of a more national character. At a recent meeting of the building committee of the Returned Soldiers' Club the following motion was carried :

" This meeting realises that the people of Canterbury desire to erect a Peace Memorial on a larger and more ambitious scale than the Hall of Memories asked for by the Returned Soldiers' Association ; that there is considerable diversity of opinion as to the form a peace memorial should take. In the hope of securing unanimity as to the form of the Peace Memorial, this meeting therefore resolves to proceed with the appeal for a Soldiers' Club only, and to ask the public for a sum of £BOOO for this purpose alone."

DUNEDIN. The opening of the new Anglicism Cathedral took place on the 12th of this month. The building trade at Dunedin has been particularly brisk during the year, despite the increased cost of material and the scarcity of labour, due to the war. Two hundred and eighty-one permits were granted for the last twelve months, of the gross value of £124,510. HAMILTON. The installation of the new automatic telephone exchange at Hamilton is to be resumed shortly. Building operations will last about three months, by which time it is expected that the equipment will have arrived. A deputation from the Hamilton Returned Soldiers’ Association waited upon the Mayor, Mr. J. R. Row, and asked that the scheme for the erection of a soldiers’ club should be proceeded with as soon as possible. Plans of a suitable building were submitted. The Mayor assured the deputation of his sympathy, and promised to call a meeting of the Citizens’ Committee to discuss the matter. HAWERA. The Council of Education recommends the establishment of a Technical High school in Hawera. The Minister from time to time had been approached regarding the matter, but had given no definite reply, and the Mayor of Hawera, therefore, called a public indignation meeting to protest against the delay. Just before the meeting, which was largely attended, the following message was received from the Hon. ,1. A. Hanan : “lam advised by the Department that adequate building accommodation does not exist at Hawera for all pupils taking technical high school and secondary courses, and for that reason it is undesirable at present to disestablish the District High School. In the meantime, I am prepared to give favourable consideration to an application for a grant for a technical high school building, provided the plans meet with approval, and I will endeavour to expedite matters so that the erection of the new buildings may be put in hand and completed, if possible, by the end of the year.” The meeting considered the telegram a step in the right direction, and passed the following resolution “ That the Minister’s telegram be acknowledged, that he be thanked for his offer to build a technical high school within twelve months, and that the offer be accepted.” A second resolution was; —“That this meeting request the Minister to disestablish at once the present District High School, when Hawera people will undertake to find the necessary building accommodation for the pupils for the next twelve months.” HORNBY. The Paparua County Council has granted a permit to Messrs. Kempthorne, Prosser and Company, to erect sulphuric acid works at Hornby. The proposed works are estimated to cost £90,000. NEW PLYMOUTH. Messrs. Messenger and Griffiths invited tenders for the erection in concrete for a nurses’ home at the Hospital, details of which were given in our last month’s issue. OHAKUNE. A well attended public meeting was held recently to consider a proposal for the establishment of a maternity hospital with accident and observation wards. The Mayor (Air. Goldfinch) presided, and the proposal was heartily supported. An officer from the Health Department is expected to visit the district shortly to inquire into the hospital claims of Ohakune and Raetihi, and a subsequent visit by the Minister of Public Health is promised. ROTORUA. The Public Works Department invites tenders for an Infectious Diseases Hospital. ROXBURGH. The laying of the foundation stone for the new Catholic Church at Roxburgh took place recently. Tim architect is Mr. H. Mandeno, and the contractor Mr. D. Boyd. The building will cost £I,BOO. TIMARU. Air. 11. Hall invited tenders for the erection of a two-storey brick and ferro-concrete building for a. nurses’ hostel at Timaru Public Hospital.