prise at the rapid advancement of so young a province, and give expression to their feelings by applying such words as "magnificent," "beautiful," and "substantial," as descriptive of some of the buildings.
During the earlier years of the Province, the discovery of the gold fields and the consequent rapid influx of population, gave such an impetus to buildings, that the town grew mushroom-like to large proportions, and wooden buildings sprang up as if by magic on all sides, with here and there a bank or store of more ornate and substantial pretensions. But the mercantile requirements were of such a pressing nature, and the wants for domestic accommodation were so urgent, that the question of materials to be used was decided by the speed with which they could be manipulated and transformed into shape.
Notwithstanding the necessarily flimsy character of many of the buildings erected at that time, a foundation of prosperity was being laid that has enabled the pioneers to replace many of them with commodious and substantial and even handsome structures.
The site upon which the young and growing city stands is one of the most picturesque in the southern hemisphere. It is bounded on the east by the beautiful land-locked bay, and beyond by the Peninsula—famed for its fertile and productive soil, over which the rising sun sheds his fructifying rays, and lights up the church spires and the tall smoking factory chimneys. All round on the other side it is encompassed by numerous hills and glens, whose sides are covered with rich native bush, filled with ferns and flora peculiar to the district. A portion, of these encircling hills form the Town Belt, which has this advantage—that no matter how embarrassed in pecuniary matters the civic authorities—who are the trustees—may find themselves, they cannot alienate any part of it; nor indeed would they be permitted to do so if they had the power, so jealously is the right to it, as common property guarded by the citizens. Would that the beautiful native shrubs and foliage were as rigidly preserved and protected from the vandalism that prevails. Hence town sections bordering on the "belt" are rated at higher values, and outside of this "tapu" boundary the suburbs spread out fan-like, with neat and trim-looking cottages, and well-kept gardens, studding the valleys and hill sides; while nearest to the "belt," both on the
