WAR MEMORIAL PROJECT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 37, 14 October 1946, Page 5

WAR MEMORIAL PROJECT

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLIC MEETING .■N, FIVE SCHEMES SUGGESTED FURTHER MEETING TO BE CALLED

Town residents were well to the fore at the public meeting 1 ■convened by the Borough Council for the purpose of discussing suggestions for and ways and means of carrying into effect a suitable War Memorial for the district. Suggestions were varied but the main scheme conceived the idea of remodelling the Domain in order to create athletic facilities to meet the demands of all sports in the town. i

His Worship the Mayor presided ;and stated that in the absence of any definite lead from the Government, the Borough Council had taken the initiative and asked him to call the meeting. Mr Barry said he was definitely opposed to any superficial structure such as a statue, cairn of stones or memorial gates. He con-

■sidered the main points at issue centred round (a) whether a War Mem'■orial should be erected; (b) what :form it should take and (c) what methods should be adopted for the raising of funds. He suggested that as there would be many suggestions, •and schemes put forward that the meeting should later constitute a committee to go into the various

ideas, ■ their likely cost and practicability and then to. report back to. a later public meeting.

“This district,” said His Worship, “has had. a magnificent war record. Many men have gone forward to give service and I think that whatever form the memorial should take, should be a worthy one in agreement with the very fine record for which the town has been known.”

On the motion of Messrs. Warner and Thomas the meeting unanimously decided to launch a campaign for the erection of a' War Memorial. Sports Development Inviting suggestions, Mr Barry then outlined the scheme for developing the Domain, which had been put forward by the sports bodies. This had been estimated to •cost in the vicinity of £3OOO, but :neither the council nor the sports bodies were committed to it in any way. He hoped therefore that ideas would be put forward by any individual who desired to do so. A number of questions relative to the sports development scheme were put by several speakers. County Support Unlikely > In response to Mr L. H. Brown, Mr Barry said that he personally had hoped for a district memorial, but from what he had learned it appeared that the smaller districts desired their own, and he had been forced reluctantly to the conclusion that the borough must create a memorial of its own. Health Camp & Community Centre Mr C. F. Thomas mentioned the establishment of a children’s health ■camp. Such a scheme he thought would be a tangible gesture to the men who fought and would be one furthermore, likely to have the support of the district as well.

Mr L. Jones (Physical Instructor) mentioned the projected community centres “which were- gaining such prominence in other parts of the Dominion. He outlined the scheme which entailed mainly the construction of a large central hall with cultural and recreational rooms adjoining together with sporting fields. He mentioned also the effect of community centres upon delinquent youth by way of providing full occupation for youths and girls of all ages.

Miss Lawes for the Parent-Teacher Association strongly supported the community centre scheme which she said had been outstandingly successful elsewhere. Combining All Sports Mr J. Wilson, Chairman of the Combined Sports Bodies said that the development of the Domain had been first considered two years ago. The combined scheme made provision for all sports—football, basketball, hockey, tennis, croquet, bowling greens and children’s playing area, cricket and all other sports. ' He agreed too with the idea of a community centre which could be further advanced with the removal of the Winter Show Buildings to the Domain, which he understood would be carried out shortly now that the two bodies had amalgamated. Enlarging on the scheme Mr W. Henderson said that he estimated the maintenance of the completed .area'at from £6OO to £7OO annually.

A Blunt Critic

Mrs J. Winstone strongly criticised the idea of developing the Domain for sports bodies. For years now the sporting institutions had been unable to make the Domain decent and now it was suggested that it be patched up from public funds raised for a War Memorial. She favoured a community centre but considered the other quite unsuitable.

Mr P. Bryers. pointed out that a community centre would likewise entail a costly upkeep. He favoured the development of the sports area which at least would give the townspeople something tangible to work on. Town Hall Proposal Mr T. Hunt mentioned a town hall, a project he declared was most urgently needed in Whakatane. Such a building, he maintained, should have a wide appeal to county as well as to townspeople. Mr K' Francis pointed out that it was necessary to consider only those schemes which came within the means of the community. He thought the community’ centre a sound suggestion but. a very costly one and likewise, as it entailed substantial building costs, would be one of the last on the preference building list.

Y.M.C.A. Hostel

Mrs W. Sullivan (Red Cross) stated that when discussed by her organisation the,sports project was not popular as it was contended that the sports bodies . should develop their own grounds. The consensus of opinion was that a Y.M.C.A. was the greatest need in the town today and would make an excellent war memorial. She mentioned the dozens of young men who had difficulty in finding accommodation in the town today. The lessons of the war, were ‘both to your homes’ and ‘back to your God.’ She opposed a community centre on the grounds that it was likely to take the youth away from the church. Red Cross members also desired the erection of a hall in the town but this could possibly be embodied in the scheme to construct a Y.M.C.A.

Mrs James supported the suggestion of a town hall which though it had been advocated for years had never been brought to fruition. She also considered that this should be thrown open for the common vote of all citizens: It was high time that a building of this nature were constructed. It was needed far more than sporting facilities.. Mrs Winstone emphasised the need to make whatever scheme was adopted, self-supporting. For this reason she supported the suggestion of a town hall with perhaps a library, offices and other structures as rental propositions. Question of Cost

Mr L .H. Brown thought the aim was too high and that the target figure anticipated should be no higher than £ISOO. Speaking for the A. and P. Association, Mr I. Gow thought that if the show grounds were to be developed or improved, the town would have some right in approaching the County communities. He asked the chairman if he had a possible estimate of what the town should be able to raise. Tentative Target £3OOO Mr Barry said that during the war from £BOOO to £IO,OOO had been raised in the Borough and Ohope for Patriotic purposes. He considered the town should raise £3OOO for a War Memorial—if not more. In answer to a number of speakers supporting the town hall project, he added that personally, if he were asked to state which scheme would appeal least to County residents he would say a town hall for the Borough of Whakatane. Snap Decisions Unwise Summing up Mr Barry said that it would be unwise to make any ‘snap’ decisions that night as it required very serious consideration. He thought the town hall scheme out of the question on account of finance, the Y.M.C.A. proposal he did not think had very wide appeal, the sports improvement scheme he though practicable, while there was likewise certain merit in the Community Centre suggestion, which would be helped very materially if the show buildings were reconstructed on the Domain. On the motion of Mr C. F. Thomas seconded by Mr L. Buddie, it was finally decided to give the whole matter as much publicity as possible and that a further meeting be convened at a later date when all speakers who had put forward suggestions be invited to bring along as much data to back up their schemes as possible. Concluding the meeting Mr Barry asked all those present to continue to think about the scheme in order to have some more concrete information to lay before the next meeting.