WELLINGTON’S FUTURE
(By Coleman Phillips)
RAILWAY ACCESS AND WATER SUPPLY – THE BEST WAY OUT
What I suggest to the City Council is this: that Mr Morton does not put in the proposed third eight-thousand-million-gallon dam at Wainui, but drives the first proposed tunnel through to Orongorongo, and then drives another tunnel further on to the big bend of the Wairongomai, erecting a small dam in each of these two streams; connecting the Wairongomai dam with the Orongorongo dam with a 21-inch main, and the Orongorongo dam with the Lower Wainui dam with a 30-inch main. This will bring in new water and greatly extend the watersheds upon which Wellington relies for its h.p. supply, the Wainui watershed being too small. I say to the Lower Wainui dam, as that dam can be most readily repaired, and the town reticulation kept supplied in case of damage from any means whatever.
Mr Morton will say: “But I increase the watershed with the three dams at the Wainui.” My reply is that there is danger in doing that in an earthquaky country such as ours, and that it is far safer to spread the three dams over the three streams, when we all know that the Wainui watershed is too small now to supply the city.
Then as to the railway deviations, I strongly urge that the Rimutaka line be deviated via the Wainui, but the engineers to carefully guard the interests of the city in the matter of h.p. water service; and in these different dams I have always urged that the Rimutaka line be deviated via the Wainui, and the two services (rail and water) should be considered together—each of them being of such vast importance to the city. Mr Luke only looks to his water service, but I look to the two services. I am quite willing to go before any committee of the council and the city engineers, and explain what I have so long contended for.
The vast importance of improving the rail access to Wellington is patent to everybody. The Paekakariki Hill, and tunnels by that route, must be improved by reducing greatly their present grades and worked by electric traction. So must the two Wainui tunnels. In fact, the rail sections—Wellington to Palmerston, and Wellington to Masterton—should be electrically worked throughout the whole length, directly sufficient power is obtainable from Mangahao and Waikaremoana.
This must be done now to place Wellington port at all upon an equality with Wanganui port, so far as easy provincial shipping facilities are concerned. Wanganui, of course, will say that the rail section—Palmerston to Wanganui—must also be electrically worked. I do not object to that. I wish to see Wanganui progress equally with Wellington, New Zealand being a country where the progress of one place helps on all others. All I urge is that the present handicap against Wellington must be lessened by the city improving its tunnel grades.
What can be more objectionable than three city employees being summoned before the Featherston S.M. Court as I write (this present week), and charged with driving too heavily laden milk lorries over the insecure bridges on the Rimutaka Hill Road (driving seven tons, in fact, in place of two)? Decision having been reserved, I can say no more upon that point. But this is what the city has now come to. Yet I have been asking for the Wainui rail deviation for over 20 years. Perhaps Mr Luke intends bringing in the city’s milk by aeroplane, by the way he opposes any efforts to improve rail and road access into the city, and devotes his whole energy to building dams at the Wainui.
Wellington certainly will not progress by h.p. water alone; nor will it get a sweet milk supply for children in summer time. I am not an engineer and ask to be excused for any technical errors I make. My task has always been only to suggest to engineers the necessary works required for the advancement of the district in which I live. I have always been interested in h.p. and l.p. water supplies.
Thus, I remember many years ago, taking a young engineer and laying off all the public water races now running so well in Wairarapa. Messrs. Pharayzn and C. Elgar had made the Longwood race (a private race), and sent the young fellow who made it on to me to see whether I could employ him. I did so in a baby race for my home paddocks, and then laid off and constructed the present dry river race.
Seeing the beauty and simplicity of the thing, I went to the different rivers, and laid off all the present Wairarapa water races, pointing out to the different townships that h.p. water, drainage, and swimming bath supplies would necessarily follow the installation of the different open water races. So they have for each of the towns. I asked Mr Laing Meason, of Wellington, to construct the Greytown water race (ab initio), and that worthy engineer has ably put in many of the services since.
The only mistake made was just what Wellington is making today, viz., installing services which did not allow for the sufficient growth and expansion of any of the towns. The consequence followed that they are found nearly all too small now, and have to be replaced—a very great waste. The townships, of course, did as they pleased in that, as I had no control over them, as Mr Laing Meason will tell the City Council.
I do not want a similar mistake made in Wellington, either in railway or h.p. water services. We have to amend now, so let us amend properly. I would point out to Mr Morton the inadvisability and positive danger of putting in more than two dams in any one watershed, for conserving the water in a dry season in either the Wainui, Orongorongo, or Wairongomai streams.
But I would urge upon him the absolute necessity of connecting these different dams by the two Wainui railway tunnels; unless his water tunnels are made traffic tunnels. But if they are made traffic tunnels—as Mr Luke first said they would be—then we may as well make them rail tunnels, and so settle, once and for all, the Rimutaka rail deviation dispute.
As all these tunnels will be electrically lit and worked, the approaches to the city will be far more pleasant to travel than the London tube rail services. To me, it is anathema for Wellington to continue any longer than it can possibly help to carry its inland goods 900 to 1100 feet over the adjoining hills, in place of through them, as shown by the Christchurch–Lyttelton section—the first constructed railway in the Dominion.
We can all see now how wise the Christchurch City Fathers were in 1868, when they resolved to tunnel through to Lyttelton then, and not go over the hill. I am only asking Wellington to do now what Christchurch did fifty years ago. I hope the City Council and Mr Luke will support my arguments. The difference in cost will not be more than £100,000—a mere bagatelle in comparison with the great issues involved.
