According to Council records this area was filled to assist road widening, in 1934 or 1935, but letters in the City Archives indicate that the Wellington City Corporation tipped spoil and house refuse there in 1930. A memo in May 1933 states that ‘Tipping at the Melrose Street tip will be completed on approximately the 15th inst.’. This tip was very small; there is no indication of how many cubic metres of refuse were dumped, and only half an acre was levelled.

The City Archives file on the tip likewise is very small, but three documents foreshadow issues which would recur with all subsequent tips. The first was offensiveness; a letter dated 9/12/30 from a Mr Wynne of 14 Albert Street complains about flies and the smell. His comment “That this tip should have been allowed within 50 yards of the 'Eventide Home' is an outrage in the mind of any person respecting the age of the inmates’ also gives a good indication of just where it was. The second issue was unauthorised dumping; the council reply to this complaint is apologetic and states that several unauthorised loads were deposited outside hours. The third was inadequate drainage; in the early days the stream was not piped but was left flowing under the refuse, which blocked it as it consolidated. The fourth problem happened well after the tip was closed; a memo of August 1948 mentions problems with ponding.

Houghton Bay was the site of a Bradford tip filling an existing gully. It was larger than most other Wellington tips, accommodating 910,000 cubic yards of refuse and producing 13% acres of developed land. Today these 13.25 acres are on 9 levels, on the right as you go down Houghton Bay Road to the sea. A 1976 sketch map shows at the head, or northern end of the valley, levels 1 and 2, the soccer fields and training grounds of Sinclair Park, constructed in 1974. Level 3 has been used by a horse club, while level 4 below Houghton Bay School is partly school land and partly a car park. This part of level 4 was intended to be ‘club courts’ and levels 5 and 6 were for a ‘dog school'. Level 8 is a children's play area, while on each side levels 7 and 9 are spare'.

The first letter in the Houghton Bay tip file is dated 16 April 1931; a complaint by the Honorary Secretary of the Houghton Bay Progressive Association of unofficial dumping in a tip off the Bay Road that was infested with vermin. The complaint was duly investigated and the reply states that the tip contents were disused iron and tins only, posing no danger to health, but would in any event be covered with spoil. In 1932 a reply to a complaint to the City Engineer about an unofficial dump on Hornsey

Road simply requested that anyone caught dumping should be reported. In 1939 the Secretary of the Progressive Association wrote to the City Engineer about a rubbish dump on the beach. The reply said it was not a new dump but old rubbish uncovered by the weather, which was duly removed. The Houghton Bay Progressive Association and similar groups would play a valuable role in years to come by forwarding local complaints and mediating between residents and Council.

The first mention of an official tip comes in a report from the City Engineer dated 11 June 1943, which discusses the need for a new tip in the southern suburbs and mentions as a possibility the gully paralleling Houghton Bay Road. The report states that the Liardet Street (Berhampore) tip, which opened for use in 1940, was filling much more quickly than expected because of the dumping material from the armed forces. An accompanying map shows Houghton Valley divided into lots, and the existence of an 'unformed' Clonmel Road, running down the western side of the valley from the junction of Mt Albert Road and Buckley Road to Cave Road. Clonmel Road subsequently appears in future maps of the proposed tip areas and does not vanish until after the tip was full 20 years later, in 1963. Similar notional roads existed in Melrose (Eildon Street) and above Prestons Gully (Dargle Street). A clipping from the Dominion dated September 1943 says Wellington City Corporation had purchased 43 acres of hilly land alongside Houghton Bay Road for future use as a Bradford tip, and a memorandum from 1945 concerns the piping of the open stream from Cave Road upstream.’ Material dated 1949-50 deals with the construction of a storm water drain along Houghton Bay Road, and drainage wouldcontinue to be a problem up into the 1990s. 

Tipping commenced in 1950 in the lowest level of the valley, and the file contains many of the inevitable complaints from people living nearby. In Houghton Valley the situation was complicated by the close proximity of the local school, and as early as 1949 concern was expressed to the City Engineer on behalf of the Houghton Valley school children and teachers. A reassuring response stated that the refuse would be covered each day. This did not always happen, and a letter in 1950 complains about smells, both in general and in particular: the odour from ‘two loads of crayfish' dumped on Sunday and left uncovered all day. It is hard to imagine two loads of this valuable delicacy being dumped today! 

Weekend dumping often caused problems, and some letters are amusing in retrospect. In 1951 the City Engineer wrote to a Mr Hayes of Tinakori Road about dumping after hours (6pm) on a Sunday on land adjacent to the tip. In response an agitated letterfrom Mr Darrah of Albert Street explained that he was responsible as he had borrowed Mr Hayes car, and asked to be allowed to make an appointment to inform the City Engineer of the ‘true facts.’ An appointment was made and as there is no further reference to the affair Mr Darrah must have given a satisfactory account of himself. The tip caused other problems; a letter was received in October 1951 at the City Engineer's office from Mr King, Chairman of the Houghton Bay Progressive Association, stating that at the last Association meeting a request had been made by ladies in the vicinity of Houghton Bay and Hungerford Roads ‘that the men of your department using the caravans in that area be asked to be more discreet in using the rear of the sheds for sanitary purposes.’ A reply assured Mr King that the ladies' complaints were being attended to.

The five shallow lower levels were quickly filled, though water lying on the completed areas continued to be a problem. In 1952 a memo deals with the Houghton Bay Progressive Association request that the lower areas of the valley, which the City Engineer has completed filling with refuse, be turfed; unfortunately Parks and Reserves budget would not allow it that year. Houghton Valley School fared especially badly. In 1953 there is mention of a new plan to fill in the land below the school and create two small playing fields, raising the existing playing field by 25 feet. The children were deprived of their playing field and subjected to dust, windblown rubbish and noise. Summer brought them fresh problems; a letter in March 1954 said the children were vomiting up their lunches on account of the tip smell. In 1958 the Houghton Valley School Committee rather plaintively asked the Wellington District Education Board to speed up the return of the grassed area for school use as the filling of the adjacent gully and trimming up of the school area and adjoining Council area was just completed. The Town Clerk is asked to remind the Education Board that its Secretary Manager was told back in March 1953 that the soiling and grassing of the area would be a Board responsibility. The Education Board was obviously short of money as no grassing took place that year. In December 1959 the Secretary of the Houghton Valley School Committee wrote to the Mayor, complaining that the school still had no grassed area. It was more than six years since the land was first taken, and it had been levelled and awaiting soil and grass for more than two. The children had had years of the disadvantages of dirt and rubbish - how about some consideration? The reply in February 1960 was a firm no, with reference again to the agreement with the Wellington District Education Board in 1953. It is not clear from the file when the local children finally got their playing fields back but they were without them for at least seven years. In 1955 the lower levels 9-4 were complete and provision was made for an access road extending up the valley, still using the old entrance below the school. A map drawn in 1951 shows the north end development with seven shelves between Buckley Road and the large playing fields below the school, but in the event the plans were changed to three shelves only, with much higher batters. As tipping moved up the valley some citizens failed to move with it, and in 1955 the Council heard from a Mr Fuller, requesting that the sign ‘Do not tip here’ be replaced on the finished embankment opposite his residence as people were still dumping there, especially at night. A new phenomenon is recorded for the first time on 1956; collisions at the tip between vehicles. Bulldozers, trucks, vans, trailers and cars continued to connect, with only minor damage in each case but with increasing frequency. The year 1958 ended sensationally for Houghton Valley when someone entered an enclosed and locked yard at the tip, emptied an oil drum over a bulldozer and the surrounding ground and set the oil on fire. The fire was noticed shortly afer 9pm on Guy Fawkes night and several local men put it out 'at considerable personal risk’. The machine, valued at £8500, had been purchased in July 1957 so was virtually new. It had damage to seat upholstery and paintwork, and its tarpaulin was destroyed. The machine was insured, and a £50 reward was offered for information. An itemised account for the damage totalled £92.3.11. In January two fourteen-year-old boys living in Buckley Road were charged with willfully damaging a bulldozer, admonished and discharged without order for restitution.

The end of the effective life of the tip can be dated by a memorandum in 1963 from the City Clerk to the City Engineer. The Houghton Bay tip was to be closed from the18 November owing to weather conditions and the proximity of tipping operations to residential property. Clean fill would still be accepted. As the new tip at Melrose Street was not quite ready all refuse and rubbish should be deposited at the Wilton Road tip. Inevitably this led to unpleasant unauthorised dumping. 

Discussions now got serious about what to do with the land. As early as August 1955 the Dominion reported a Houghton Bay Progressive Association meeting rejecting any suggestion of tip land being used for light industry and expressing a preferencefor sports grounds and playing areas. In early 1963 the City Engineer expressed doubt that all the terraces would be used for playing fields and pondered the possibility of using it for housing. However, a report advised that none of the reclaimed areas could be used for housing yet, as an area completed three years earlier was cracking and slumping one inch per year. The fill in the northern areas was more recent and deeper so was likely to slump more. The report suggests turning it into playing fields for 8-10 years and then the issue of housing could be reconsidered. In January 1964 a report to the City Engineer from a consultant claimed there was no demand for land for recreational purposes in this area and suggests that it be planted with grass, shrubs and trees, with the possibility of caravan parking in the summer months. He is advised, however, against disposing of it, especially for industrial or commercial use. The lower parts of the tip were already being used on a temporary basis. In 1961 the Houghton Valley Home and School Association asked permission to use the filled ground adjoining playing field for parking to keep Houghton Bay Road clear for tip traffic, on the occasion of its annual picnic. Permission was granted. In 1963 and 1965 the Fiat Owners' club, the Volkswagen Owners' Club and the Standard-Triumph Automobile Association used the same area for gymkhanas. Almost all applications for more permanent use of the upper fields came to nothing. In 1965 the Willis Street Driving School put in a detailed proposal and a map showing the highest terrace developed as a private training ground for learner drivers. In 1966 a memo from the Housing Committee Chair to the Town Clerk discusses the possibility of using part of Houghton Bay tip for temporary housing for single men and requests the City Engineer to make a preliminary study of a scheme for the area. A plan in the file shows the possible use of the two top terraces for a hostel for single men. In 1967 two further proposals surfaced. First the Traffic Superintendent proposed to the Town Clerk a driver training and testing area on the tip, and secondly a memo requested that draft conditions be prepared for leasing level 9, (the lowest and southernmost level) for motels, along with a dairy/grocery shop. Eventually the applicant told the Council in 1969 that his application for a building permit for motels had not been approved, as it was believed that the foundations were unsuitable for motels. In 1969 the City Planner received a request on behalf of the Matauranga Children's group to use part of the Houghton Bay tip land for a school. Levels 2 and 3 were preferred, but 5, 6,and 7 would be considered. A 1973 proposal outlines the Wellington Working Men's Club desire to erect clubrooms on the Houghton Bay School's lower sports ground. The Wellington City Light Horse Club actually did make use of tip land. In 1969 it began using level 1 until it was needed for a playing field. In 1970 it wanted more permanence and requested a 21-year lease of level 3. The Club was offered an annual rental of $84, reduced to $42 if the land were satisfactorily maintained. A memo in January 1975 from the Parks and Reserves Director to the Town Clerk outlines developments for the near future:

1. Further upgrading for the top level (Sinclair Park).

2. Constructing the second level of Sinclair Park for schoolboy sports.

3. General upgrading of the Wellington City Light Horse Club grounds (level 3), and the possible inclusion of the All Breeds Dog Club on this level.

4. Development of a playing field by the Wellington Working Men's Club on Education Board land (Level 4a).

5. Development of tennis courts for the Houghton Valley Tennis Club adjacent to Education Board land (Level 4b) or on terraces further south

In May 1976 the Tennis Club was told by the Town Clerk they might construct club facilities on level 4b, but a plaintive reply in June said land area 4b was badly cut up by heavy earth moving equipment using it for access to 4a. And the Horse club is to use part of 4b for parking, so where is the Tennis Club land? In 1977 the All Breeds Dog Training School wanted to build a clubhouse, but a letter in 1981 says the club had decided to stay on its current site at Holloway Road.

The tip was closed at the end of 1963, but pollution continued, from unofficial dumping, from gas and from leachate polluting the beach. Reference is made to serious leachate pollution in 1977, and again in the 1990s. The file contains considerable technical detail on steps to alleviate the problems, including details of the ‘jumping' or ‘leaping’ weir built in 1992 to collect the leachate and divert it from the stormwater system, which discharged on to the beach, and into the sewer discharging to the west instead. Feasibility studies were made in 1998 "to mitigate Gas and Leachate.’ The problem has slowly diminished.

This tip opened in December 1963 and closed in June 1971. It was very deep, with over a million cubic yards of refuse dumped to produce 10 acres of flat land. The development of this tip was to be complicated by the close proximity of existing houses, and by the intention to use some of the formed level surface for housing. Consideration of the site began in 1952, but it was not until a decade later that the Houghton Bay Progressive Association was consulted when a meeting of about 20 people looked at the plans. Although nobody was enamoured with the proposed tip the ultimate advantages were appreciated and the Association did not actively object. It was also unusual in that no dispute developed over the use of the level land created above the refuse; it appears to have always been designed for playing fields. A detailed memo in early 1963 from the Town Clerk to the City Engineer stated that the WCC had approved the establishment of a refuse tip on the northern part of approximately 43 acres of land between the junction of Melrose Road and Albert Street, and Buckley Road, on land largely owned by the Corporation. Much of the land was a deeply incised, steep-sided valley aligned roughly north-south, ranging in elevation from 500 to 170 ft, with tributary valleys on the eastern side running up to Buckley Road, and this was the area to be filled. It also incorporated to the south the unformed northern section of Melrose Road and the unformed Eildon Street above Albert Street. This area was to be subdivided; it was undeveloped and covered with dense gorse and scrub.

Stage I was the development of the tip and its access road from the north end of Buckley Road, with the sweetener of the construction of a connecting road from the southern end of Buckley Road to Melrose Street (subsequently named Melrose Road.) The road, long wanted by Buckley Road residents, required approximately 70 cubic yards of material which would be ‘borrowed’ from stage Ⅱ. 

Stage Ⅱ was the subdivision of the southern portion for houses, originally 64 lots (60 residential and 4 commercial.) This involved the construction of the road subsequently named Witham Street. In a map dated 8/4/63 this street is unnamed and its termination is undecided; possibly a turning circle, or an extension to link with Liffey Cresent.

Stage Ⅲ would be the development of the north-western slopes of the Buckley Road ridge for housing, above and immediately east of the filled area. A 1962 report described the sunny ‘comparatively sheltered’ aspect and magnificent outlook; ‘It could reasonably develop into one of the most desirable residential areas of Wellington'. Originally it was to contain 73 lots, (69 residential and four commercial) and the construction of what is now known as Southgate Road. Stage I occupied most of 1963, including negotiations with some owners of Buckley Road sections to buy or fill in the rear parts of their sections. Preparation of the tip area was carried out in June and July 1963 when it was cleared of gorse and scrub, a toe dam built across the proposed base of the tip and an access road formed from Buckley Road. An August memo mentions a completely separate drainage system required for tip mass seepage, as distinct from stormwater provisions to prevent slipping. There is the first mention of possible gas problems. After the tip opened in December 1963 the usual problems are recorded on the file. As early as March 1964 paper was being blown from the tip. ‘under high wind northerly conditions there is an air-duct created over the working area of the tip and as a result paper from the working face is sucked virtually upwards and deposited on the roadway and in private property southwards of the tip'. In July 1964 a complaint about a terrible stench in Melrose Road from seepage flowing into an open stormwater stream was signed by 25 Melrose Road/Street residents. Another complaint from the Secretary of the Island Bay Progressive Association in 1965 concerning smell received the answer that the Gas Co deposited a residue from its plant at the tip, which was a valuable final surfacing layer but could smell like domestic gas when decomposing. Hudson Street also had its share of problems, ranging from fires to blown paper.

A new problem surfaced in December 1969-January 1970. Hopper bins were being stored on the vacant section 14 Southgate Road, and the noise of them being dropped there was ‘shocking’, especially at 6.15 am. In addition, over the Christmas-New Year break these bins were used to deposit rubbish in when the tip was closed. Early in 1971 complaints were made about nuisance of dust from an unsealed road, presumably Road 3 (Southgate Road), and about the silt trap at the toe of the fill, near Melrose Road which was ‘foul smelling and of evil appearance’. The silt trap was still a problem in 1980, now a pond potentially dangerous to children. There was disagreement about whose responsibility it was but eventually it wae filled in. Also in 1971 the Houghton Bay Progressive Association praised Council notices indicating tip was now closed but complained that people were still dumping rubbish, often right by the notices.

Stage Ⅱ, centred on Witham Street, also began in 1963, as fill from this area was needed for the construction of the Buckley Road-Melrose Street connecting road. A number of homes had been built by 1968, but the storm of April 10 caused more or less severe damage to every one. Detailed planning and estimates for stage Ⅲ began in 1966, and a 1968 compaction report mentions no refuse was to be used under Road 3 (Southgate Road), as uneven subsidence would result - instead there would be filling 'up to 50 ft’ with sound fill soils. A report of June 1972 indicates that stage Ⅲ would now consist of 93 residential lots and 1 commercial lot, with a through road to link Melrose Road with the northern end of Buckley Road, and two secondary streets. In December 1971 the City Planner was warned about a gas smell, presumably methane, detectable in the vicinity of Road 3. To alleviate the problem three vents were dug at the southern edges of both playing fields. The problem became a real hazard in 1994, when three Arun Cres residents were evacuated from two houses as seeping gas reached dangerously high levels. A third house had extensive sealing to stop gas seeping in. The Council bought all three properties and by 1996 had built a gas extraction plant to get rid of methane under Southgate Park. Original estimates were a cost of $350,000, at the time of building $868,000 and by 1997 the Council had spent over $IM, presumably including the cost of houses. The problem has slowly diminished.

In addition to the above, tips of varying sizes have been sited in the eastern suburbs.

These include:

• Maranui, 1933-36, at the eastern foot of Hungerford Road., subsequently a works depot. 

• Rongotai, 1935-6, subsequently part of the old aerodrome. 

• Endeavour Street, 1937, subsequently part of the 1940 Exhibition site and later a playing field. 

• The Kilbirie Causeway 1937-39, which became a reserve but is now largely built on. 

• Seatoun 1937-40, subsequently the Fort Dorset Parade ground but now largely built on.

• Moa Point,1945, left as open space for a time but now largely built on. 

To the north there are records of the following:

• Hanson Street, site of the Scout Hall, with no recorded date or estimate of size. 

• John Street, later part of the Winter Show Grounds, designated as pre-1930. Its size is not estimated, but it is recorded as not being a Bradford tip. 

• Lavaud Street in Berhampore, used in 1937, subsequently part of Martin Luckie Park. 

• Adelaide Road/Liardet Street, in use 1940-1950, now Macalister Park.

This is the second part of Marion Findlay’s series on the use of the Southern Bays as a destination for the rubbish of Wellington and the social, political and recreational results. 

This tip was comparatively small and did not take long to fill. Expected in 1960 to last up to 15 years and, on opening, to operate for five years, it opened in June 1973 and was closed by August 1976. The early estimate that it would produce 16.5 acres was reduced to a little over 8 acres. It was accompanied by the usual inconveniences to local residents of smell, windblown rubbish and leachates. Like Houghton Valley it was close to a school, and like Buckley Road /Melrose it involved nearby housing development. Also, like Houghton Valley, arguments over the use of the comparatively small amount of level land continued for some years. What distinguishes it from other sites were the lengthy and sometimes bitter negotiations to acquire the land, arguments over land zoning, and the strength of public opposition to the landfill. 

The possibility of acquiring the land for a Bradford tip goes back to at least 1959, when the Houghton Valley tip was ‘nearing the end of its useful life’; Preston land in Happy Valley was mentioned as a possibility along with the Buckley Road /Melrose site. On 03/04/62 a memo states that Houghton Bay tip will be full later this year and the tip site either between Melrose Street and Buckley Road or on A E Preston land must be utilized.  The Council duly went ahead with the Melrose site which opened in 1963, but Preston land remained on the agenda.

The Preston family had interests in two blocks of land in Happy Valley. Preston Holdings originally held 54 acres of land in Happy Valley, bounded by the top of Tawatawa Ridge, Robertson St, the Owhiro Stream and the boundary of Owhiro Bay school. In 1958 approximately 10 acres of the Preston Holdings land to the south was  subdivided and the Robertson Street gully and stream were filled in and built on, reducing the block to 44 acres. 

North of this land Sep Knight had leased 106 acres  and ran dairy cows, with cow sheds on the flat land north of the school and south of modern Murchison Street. Subsequently Prestons bought this land under the name AE Preston & Sons, which included the area currently known as Prestons Gully. It ran north, bounded by the Home of Compassion land and the Kingston subdivision on the north, and on the east by Jimmy Heron's land (the old riding school, currently Tapu Te Ranga Marae) and Tawatawa Ridge. Although zoned residential some of this land was used for light industry when a tallow factory was built using Sep Knight's cow sheds on the flat land north of the Ohiro Bay School.  It rendered down bones and fat but Owhiro Bay residents took  strong exception to the smell from the factory and it only lasted four years (1957-1961). 

In 1960 a representative of A E Preston Ltd  had approached the City Engineer to suggest that ‘a side valley eastward of Happy Valley’ which Messrs. AE Preston Ltd owned might be used for a tip, and the Company was interested in relocating its present fat rendering works on to a new site up the valley, away from residential areas. A memo from the City Engineer carries the recommendations that the area be investigated with a view to providing (a) a tip site and (b) a light industrial area including a zone for offensive industry. A subsequent memo summarises the results of the investigation. The land lying between Happy Valley and Island Bay was in three major holdings, one owned by Brooklyn Investments Ltd and two by Prestons  (Preston Holdings and AE Preston & Sons). All three had plans for development for housing, and it was estimated that in total they could produce 1200-1500 lots with a population of some 5-6000; a sizable new suburb. Access to the area was a problem but a road and trolley-bus extension along the ridge from Mornington was feasible, and the land owned by AE Preston & Sons could provide a link between the ridge and Happy Valley Rd, while the gully area would allow tipping, possibly for up to fifteen years. It was therefore desirable that the entire area be zoned residential, and while a light industrial area could be included noxious industry should not. The Council should therefore enter into negotiations with A E Preston to acquire their block, allowing them to retain their fat rendering works for 10 years after it was acquired by the Council and have grazing rights on land not used for tipping purposes on a monthly tenancy basis for around ten years. These conditions and/or the proposed price  were unacceptable and a 1960 solicitors' letter states categorically A E Preston and Sons Ltd were not interested in selling. 

In 1964 the Council authorised the acquisition of approximately 106 acres of land from Messrs A E Preston and Sons Ltd in connection with the Bradford Tip in Happy Valley, and granted authority for the acquisition of the land under the provisions of the Public Works Act should negotiations break down This was followed by several  years of litigation between Prestons and the Council regarding the zoning of the land, and the designation of the land for Bradford Tip purposes, with the value of the land another major sticking point in the negotiations. 

In 1965 it was suggested that the Council should acquire, in addition to the 106 acres of  A E Preston and Sons Ltd, the  remaining 44 acres of Preston Holdings land to the south and develop the whole area, after concern was expressed in a letter  from the  Preston solicitors that that the Preston Holdings block of land  could only be ‘adequately developed’ in conjunction with the AE Preston & Sons land. A memo dated 14/07/66 from the City Engineer to the City Valuer advises buying the Preston Holdings land, but no agreement was reached on the value of the land. By 16/06/69 the City Valuer is advising the City Planner that the Council has authorised the taking of the (A E) Preston land in Happy Valley and negotiations have been commenced with the solicitors acting for the owners with a view to arriving at compensation.

By 1970 the Melrose Road tip which had been started in 1963 was rapidly nearing its end (it closed on 18/06/71) and the need to conclude the negotiations  to get another tip operating in the southern suburbs was becoming urgent. A memo from the City Valuer to the Town Clerk dated 28/08/70 mentions an approach by Mr A E Preston earlier that week advising him (the City Valuer) that objections to the designation of the land for a Bradford tip would be withdrawn if the Council were prepared to negotiate to acquire both  the A E Preston land  and  the Preston Holdings land.  In April 1971 the Preston solicitors complained they still had no firm proposals to purchase the land, and in reply the City Valuer said the zoning questions were still not decided, and in the meantime 79 objections to the tip proposal had been received and had to be disposed of before formal negotiations could begin. After the appeals were heard in June 1971 and disallowed, a firm offer was made for all the land, but negotiations continued over costs. Finally a Council resolution of March 1972 agreed to acquire 150 acres of Preston land for $158,000. 

Some of the differences in valuations of the land arose from the purpose for which it was zoned. Back in 1956 the Preston application for the site of the ‘boiling-down works’ was approved; the council rejected re-zoning the land as light industrial but allowed  the works ‘as a non-conforming use in an area zoned for residential purposes.’ The factory was eventually closed down on the grounds that it was a Chemical works and the use of the land for offensive purposes was not permitted. During the protracted negotiations of 1964-72 Mr Preston objected to the land being designated for tipping purposes and complained with some justification that the proposed tip was far more offensive than his boiling-down works. In 1964 at least part of the A E Preston land was considered  rural, which greatly lowered its value. Eventually zoning as residential A in 1967 increased the value, but Prestons were also interested in having some of the land, in particular the flat area north of the school which was subject to flooding, zoned light industrial, citing the Bata factory down the road as an example. This was refused and when this land finally passed into council ownership it was designated a reserve and made into two playing fields. 

As well as the objection by the landowners, for the first time in the southern suburbs strong public protests were made to the siting of the tip in Happy Valley from the time the possibility was first made known. Letters exist from the Owhiro Bay Householders and Progressive Association and from the Wellington Education Board  raising detailed objections. A petition was submitted from residents of Island Bay, Kingston Heights and Happy Valley; with some 32 pages and approximately 20 signatures per page it represented a protest from around 640 local residents. Objectors appeared before the Town Planning Committee on 15 June 1971  and the fight was carried unsuccessfully to a special Town and Country Planning Board on 01/03/72. Throughout, the battle was also fought in the correspondence columns of the two Wellington daily newpapers as well as in the community newpapers.

Once the tip was authorised work  proceeded very rapidly and, as well as the construction of the tip access road, included the straightening of Happy Valley Road where the  tip access road formed a T-intersection, and the diversion of the Owhiro Stream away from Happy Valley Road to the east, along the foot of the hill and east of the school. This was to allow the construction of two full sized playing fields on the land north of the school. Earlier plans to put houses on this land did not materialise, probably because it was prone to flooding, and on this seven acre area, designated a reserve, the Happy Valley sports fields have been operational since winter 1975. 

The Prestons Gully tip opened in June 1973 and though local residents found their predictions of windblown rubbish were totally justified, this nuisance did not last long. Though it was expected to last five years, the tip was closed by August 1976, and around this time plans were being developed to cover it and make it an 8.2 acre reserve in the centre of future housing. Its use as sports fields was much debated, as it was felt that the winds which sweep Happy Valley from both directions, with strong updraughts in Prestons Gully because of the contours of the land, would make it unsuitable for some sports such as rugby. 

The Preston land had been leased in part over many years, and the Council continued this practice when it acquired the land in 1972. After the tip closed ( August 1976 ) the land was put to a variety of uses, including grazing stock, dumping soil  from the Terrace Tunnel Project (1977) and by the YMCA  for its RYDUM programme (Redirection of Youth Development using Mini Bikes). 

By 1981 the access road (eventually Murchison Street), intended for additional use for housing development, was requiring considerable maintenance due to scouring by water and the blocking of sumps. 

The WCC archives now shift their emphasis to housing development, first on former Preston Holdings land along Frobisher Street and subsequently on  AE Preston & Sons land in the vicinity of Prestons Gully. Sections along southern Frobisher Street went on sale early March 1988, but housing development on  land in the vicinity of Prestons Gully, was not straightforward. It was intended to extend Frobisher Street, probably under another name, to link with Quebec St  in Kingston, and there is much discussion of the notional Dargle Street and of reservoirs, pumping stations and rising mains.  

 The proposed road connection of Kingston to the south never materialised, though today a walking track stretches from Quebec Street along the ridge to the sea. Neither did the Prestons Gully playing fields and pavilion. Instead the gully has been extensively replanted by the Southern Environmental Association with around 30,000 eco-sourced natives, has a wetland where frogs may be heard on a good day, and is one of the few exercise areas in Wellington where dogs may be let off the leash. A well-graded walk around the perimeter of the gully leads one through some bush remnants which are at least 90 years old. Now called the Tawatawa reserve, this area is arguably the most attractive of all the local tip sites.

This tip west of Happy Valley Road opened in August 1976 and is still in operation. It is by far the largest, with originally an estimated life of 90 years and an estimated land production of 118 acres. Apart from the nuisance of noisy and sometimes debris-distributing vehicles on Happy Valley roads this tip has probably caused less angst among the nearby residents than any other, although summer pongs drifting from the north cause grumbles from time to time. 

It appears to be the first southern tip to be dignified by the name landfill, and in other ways also reflects the many changes in the techniques of and attitudes to rubbish disposal which have occurred over the years. It was the first to charge householders fees; a plan to bring in charges in May 1990 was abandoned but a fee of $2.00 per car was introduced in August 1992, with several subsequent rises. Currently charges are made on weight of rubbish carried with weigh-ins before and after dumping. Over the years the use of machinery to cover deposited refuse has increased in sophistication, and since 1998 dumping pits have made disposing of rubbish much cleaner and easier for timid drivers, who no longer need to fear getting stuck in mud or collisions with large trucks or bulldozers. Rules are stricter now about hazardous waste, which hopefully will mean less leachate pollution in the future.  

The ‘throw-away society’ which developed after World War II with increasing prosperity and access to Third World manufacturing is appearing increasingly unsustainable and in recent years the concept of recycling has become very important. In the southern suburbs. Many people are consciously attempting to reduce their garbage, composting is growing in popularity and on Thursdays many local people use their green bags or bins. A recycling depot was introduced at the tip in 1993, which presumably has reduced the time-honoured practice of scavenging, and there are large bins both at the landfill and in other places to recycle certain kinds of waste. Nonetheless, it is still fascinating to imagine what a future civilization will deduce about the way we live if our ‘middens’ are excavated in one, three or five thousand years' time.