The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1914. A WELCOME TRANSFORMATION

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2172, 10 June 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1914. A WELCOME TRANSFORMATION

Citizens of Wellington will hegratified to know that the Government has now practically decided to put the Mount Cook Unserve to uses that are sure to meet, with the approval of all sections of the community. Pressure of public opinion compelled the authorities to abandon the gaol scheme years ago, and now the use of this vahraWc site as a barracks is also to bo discontinued, and a more suitable spot chosen. Ho ithas come about that one of the finest sites in Wellington, instead of being .associated with crime and its punishment, will be made to serve tic nobler purposes of education, art, and recreation. It was fin unhappy thought that in days gone by resulted in the setting apart of s-iieh a central and commanding locality as a prison reserve, and it is small wonder that citizcns stoutly resisted; such a. deBut, in spite ( ,f all opposition, it was persisted, in until tho large red brick building which thrusts itself before the gaze of citizens in all parts of the 'dity Was constructed. Tk' gaol idea was not, however, frilly carried out, and., the structure has beon in use for suirie years as a barracks. This was, of coursc, oill.v a temporary arrangement, and the devising of some permanent scheme, worthy of the Capital City of the Dominion k-ts-.foxn'long under consideration, though without any tangible results until. the present Government took the matter in hand. It is now to mjtiys use of the existing building for tbn storage of historical records; to build

| tin; long-promised Dwoirtion Museum unci Art Gallery;. to'.MSCiipavt'. of. the area : as an to use ;■ another - :f portion .'as a rauchneedod addition to the.'playground 'of Mount Cook- School. , • ; , 'There can be no doubt that each of these-objects is highly desirable. . Everyone who has any idea' of tha great value of the collection -which is at present so poorly housed in the* wooden building in Museum Street! will be glad to know that something will actually be done in the near future to enable it to be arranged in a scientific manner, and so displayed as to give visitors an opportunity of : appreciating its real merits, lie-sides doing -away_ with the possibility of its destruction by fire. A place for the safe storage of historical records is also neecfod. This does not mean; that thoy aid to be simply hidden away and preserved. They will no : doubt be arranged, and classified in such a. way as to make, then} available for students and others .interested ift various phases of the history of New Zealand, The proposed Art Gallery will complete what .promises to be a well-planned and attractive scheme which will convert some, fourteen acres of land in the midst of the City from an ugly barren waste into a handsome park, adorned with comely buildings.. The present Government deserve the thanks of Jbc people of. Wellington -for what it is going to do iii this matter, and for the generous manner iii which it has studied the. interests of the City in other ways, Nat long ago the Government placed at the disposal of the City Council an area of land as as addition, to the watershed at Waifiui o-mata, and . tnoro reccntlv the P.RIJJE Mi«stbr agreed 1 to ask Parliament to make a substantial grant towards the fund for the acquisition of the bush at D-av's Bav ns a recreation reserve for all time for the people of Wellington and surrounding districts. This feeling "f goodwill between the (Jovornjno.ntand the City has now been, further augmented by the proposal to put the Mount Cook site to worthy uses, ■and no one has done more to secure the realisation of this desirable object that tha Hon. F. M. B. Fisher. who has been striving for a period of > something like eight years to bring about the transformation of this area into a. place, that will add Materially to the beauty of Wellington. ■ The exthe playground of Mount Cook School is also his suggestion, and this proposal is sure, to be duly appreciated by the school children and their parents. "Mk. Fishkii and the other pui.die-smnted citizens who .have worked so hard to seen re the authorisation of tte imp remanent scheme are to be eangrntnl-ntod upon thi_succ' - ss which has at last crowned their efforts, and citizens will h,: ■glad to know that Mount- Cook will prfibabl.v-soon become .a placc to bo proud of. The, impro veraent scheme is a phase of town-planning that is Sstire to -meet with enthusiastic approval. Use and beauty will be pro* vided for in happy combination.