The Ashburton Guardian. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1881. The Domain Stream.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 2, Issue 274, 21 February 1881, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1881. The Domain Stream.

TCtWN EDITION. [lssued at 5 p. m. ]

At the banquet that followed the ceremony of turning on the water to the town from the Domain stream on the 27th September last, one of the speakers was Dr. Trevor. He replied to the toast of “ the Domain Board,” and in doing so said that though the suggestion of a boating excursion up the stream was a little premature, it was not too soon to speak of bathing ponds being established. He expressed a hope of seeing the time soon come when every “ lad and lassie too ” would begin the day with a good bath. The Doctor is a member of the Domain Board and a medical man, and speaking thus decidedly on the subject of bathing ponds we should imagine that, with the Domain Board at least, no obstacles would arise to the construction of bathing ponds that he could possibly remove. We had expected to see long ere this some suitable corner of the stream set aside as a bathing pond to supply a much-felt want in the township. As it is, the stream is extensively made use of by bathers, notwithstanding the growls that are made against the practice by certain of the more fastidious; and we confess that to some extent the growlers are not without some basis for their complaints. It is not the most delicate sight for a stray female to witness—to see a big raw man clad in Adam's ante-fall raiment, take a header from the bank, and trust to the “ drumliness ” of the water to hide him. But there are not many chances for an openair dip in Ashburton. The river is a considerable distance away, and its best pools are a good way off, while the deeper pools of the Domain are within the town, and only a few minutes’ walk is required to bring any householder in Ashburton to their banks. A suggestion has often been made that some sort of a rough building should be put up beside a pool, purposely excavated for bathing, so that dressing accommodation could be provided. If this suggestion were acted upon by the Borough Council we believe that funds would not be wanting to bear the cost, for we feel certain that the many enthusiastic bathers in the township would be happy to subscribe towards the expense; and perhaps it might be so arranged that a small charge could be made for the use of the dressing-room. The bathing ground could easily be fixed in an obscure part of the Domain, so that no one need have their sense of delicacy offended, and if proper bathing rules were drawn up, as regards dress, &c., there need be no trouble whatever. We see no great difficulty in having two pools at suitable distances apart, so that both sexes may be supplied with an early dip, a pleasure that is far more than a luxury. The sanitary arrangements of a town are incomplete without full accommodation being provided for bathing, and with such a body of water as we have backed up in the Domain we ought not, for want of enterprise, to be without a good swimming pond.