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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Area
Area.
The area of Wellington City is 1350 acres. It is bounded by the harbour on the east, and the town belt on its other sides, if, indeed, it can be said to have sides, as the broken nature of the land made its survey a matter of considerable difficulty. The streets are narrow, partly from the same cause, and partly through the greed of the early settlers, who, according to the published statement of ex-Councillor McKenzie, insisted on receiving full acre grants, though they were told that to provide for their claims on that scale, sufficient land could only be found by robbing the streets of a much-needed portion of their width. Had the founders, as Mr. McKenzie suggests, been satisfied with half-acre grants, Wellington might now have had streets commensurate with her importance, besides some very valuable city reserves. That the early settlers worked hard and risked everything is undoubted; but it is to be deplored that they could not see the unwisdom of thus detracting from the value of their own property. The city contains 30 miles of streets, equal to about 150 acres. A simple calculation will show that a very small deduction from each acre would have provided sufficient land for chain-wide streets. Of the total area of the city, about 100 acres of it is represented by land reclaimed from the harbour. Inside the limits agreed upon by the Council and Harbour Board, a considerable area is still available for reclamation, and will be filled in probably within the next few years. The streets on the newly-reclaimed land are wide and shapely, and many of the finest build ings, including the Public Library and offices of the Education Board, are on these parts.