134

one end of the latter there runs out on
\neach side a long shingle bank or spit.
\nA gap in the northern bank, half a mile
\ndistant from its junction with the hilly
\nblock, forms the entrance of Port Napier;
\nwhile the southern bank, at its junction,
\nwidens out into a triangular flat. The
\nshingle bank on the north from the block
\nof hills to about half a mile above the
\nharbor entrance, and that on the south to
\nthe apex of the triangle, together with the
\nnarrow strips of level land at the entrances of the gullies, constitute the site
\nof the town, and have been laid out as
\nTown Sections.

2. Town Sections.

The size of these sections is generally a quarter of an acre: but the triangular flat, as it recedes from the hills,
\nbeing excessively poor in soil, little better indeed than shingle, has been laid out
\nin half acres, and a shallow lagoon in the
\ncentre of the flat, which may some day
\nbe filled up, I thought it as well to include in the surveyed sections, making
\nthem of much larger size, and taking
\ncare that on the plans and tracings for
\nthe public, the parts covered with water
\nshould be distinctly defined and noted as
\nsuch.

Suburban Sections.

3. The block of hills, in accordance
   \nwith the understanding on the subject
   \nbetween your Honor and myself, in April
   \nlast, has been surveyed as suburban land,
   \nin sections of from 2½ to 8 acres each,
   \naccording to the character of the surface,
   \nand the conveniences of access and survey. The utter absence of fuel, except
   \na few patches of brushwood in the ravines,
   \nthe possible difficulty of obtaining water,
   \nand the steepness of the acclivities, render this, I think, the most advantageous
   \nmode of disposing of this part of the site;
   \nand experience has shown, with respect
   \nto several of the larger towns laid out in
   \nNew Zealand, that the sections in the less
   \naccessible portions of them, are generally
   \nfirst made use of by several of them being united together into gardens or paddocks, or ornamental grounds for private
   \nresidences of about the size of the sections above alluded to. I am convinced
   \nthat this mode of laying out the land in question, will cause its being occupied or turned to useful account at a much earlier period than it would be, if laid out as town land in small sections,
   \nwhich, as town land, i.e., for building
   \npurposes, would be superfluous and useless, perhaps for several generations,
   \nwhile the variety of ownership would prevent their beneficial occupation in the manner now provided for.

\nTown sections have, however, been laid
\nout in two places, upon this suburban
\nblock of hills; one row of half-acre allotments upon the most level and easily accessible of the winding hill tops or saddles between the gullies; the other in a
\nravine broader than usual, and both joining the main road through the hills from
\none shingle bank to the other, along a
\ngully which connects them, and thus leads
\nfrom the harbor mouth to the finest districts inland.

Roads and Streets.

4. The streets and roads have been
   \nlaid down in strict accordance with the
   \nfollowing principles:--They follow, as far
   \nas possible, the lines at present in use;
   \nconnect, as directly as possible, those
   \npoints between which intercourse is likely to be the most frequent in future; and,
   \nconsistently with these objects, they are
   \ndrawn so as to take advantage of all the
   \nnatural facilities for transit and access
   \npresented by the surface of the land they
   \npass over, the broken character of the
   \nhilly block, and the depth and crookedness of the ramifying ravines, will account, with the above circumstances, for
   \nthe irregularity of the roads, as shown in
   \nthe plan. But, thus, every section has
   \nbeen made at once accessible on horseback, and most of them, with carts; an
   \nadvantage which I think will be allowed
   \nto be worth the additional time and
   \ntrouble it has cost in the survey. It is
   \ndue to the Crown Surveyor, Mr. T. Fitzgerald, to say that he has taken very
   \ngreat pains in this matter. The ravines
   \nare laid down from complete survey. The
   \ngreater width of the roads in some places
   \nis to allow space for side cuttings.

Reserves.

5. As the reserves in most towns in the
   \nColony, have, I think, been found insufficient, I have had them laid down on
   \nrather a large scale, for your Honor's
   \napproval. It is better to err on the side
   \nof excess than deficiency, especially, as,
   \nunder the Public Reserves Act of the
   \nGeneral Assembly, the Provincial Council have the power of altering the appropriation of the reserves, if desirable, to
   \nany other objects than those stated in the
   \nProclamation constituting them.

Customs, Battery, Barracks, Beacon,
\nand Lighthouse, &c.

The Customs Reserve, the Battery
\nand Barracks Reserves; that for a Beacon
\nand Lighthouse, and some others,
\nare made for the General Government.
\nThe Barrack Reserve, adjoining sections
\n7 and 8, has been proposed, because it is
\nthe highest ground at that end of the island, and commands the bluff marked Bat-