TEPID BATHS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2690, 9 February 1916, Page 7

TEPID BATHS

AN AUSPICIOUS OPENING PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH . {BOYS' INSTITUTE PRAISED Wellington has achieved another oi its desires. For some years past members of the Ciiy Council," candidates for the Mayoralty and citizens have advocated the establishment of tepid baths, but though the pros and cons have been discussed many times, the baths did not materialise' until the Boys' Institute took the matter up and incorporated a tepid pool in' its new and handsome premises in Tasman Street. Full details have already been published about the new baths, which were formally declared open by the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. W. I'. Masse.v) in - the presence of over a. thousand invited guests last evening. The official party, which, was received by the president of the institute (Mr. Geo. Troup), included the Prime Minister, Mrs. and Miss Massej\ the Mayor and Mrs. Luke, the Hon. Or. W. Russell (Minister of Public Health), several members of the City Council, and prominent supporters of the Institute. The Plicae Minister was Accorded a guard qf honour by the Senior Cadets, and within the building tho band of the Central Mission discoursed music, whilst tho preliminaries were being arranged. Tile splendid whitetiled bath was filled to capacity, and the water, gleaming brightly under the electrio lights, looked cool and inviting to all lovers- of a plunge. As a matter of fact, it was warmed to a temperature of 80 degrees or thereabouts —a pleasant temperature for all those who had to disport themselves fo.y any'length of time in' the water. The Mayor, who presided, said that he was proud of the duty that he had been called upon to do, by virtue of* liis office in taking the chair. Mr. Luke recalled tho inception of the; Boys' Institute, which had originally occupied a site that was at length needed for the tramways powerhouso. From the original site on the reclaimed land, the institute was removed to Arthur Street. Years ago that building was found to be too small for the work, and by virtue of the capacity of the board a plan was developed for erecting a new and larger building, and, thanks to the interest of the people oi Wellington, and of one individual in particular, tho late Mrs. Rhodes (who had.given the present site), they had now an institution that was not to do them for von or I fifteen years, but for generations to come. (Applause.). He dwelt on the fine moral and physical good that was .being done bv the institute, and remarked that tho tepid baths would not only be a great boon, but would help to instil into the minds of the young people tho love of swimming as a recreation, and possibly be of momentous help to them in such circumstances as happened to tho people on the Marquette recently. On behalf of the citizens of Wellington, he congratulated Mr. Troup and the members of the Board, of Management who had brought about, the establishment of such splendid baths, which would help our boys and girls generation after generation. . Institute's Work In Silhouette. Mr. Troup, after thanking tho Prime Minister, tne Mayor, and aH others tor tneir presence in such strenuous times, expressed his thanks to,the public of Wellington for the interest tliey had always ovinced in tho Boys' Institute, on wnicli they had always looked witii generous ana kindly eyes. Thoy-liad , mapped out a complete scheme ot their own,, with no precedent in the matter, just suiting the occasion by the circumstances. Tlie institute had three chief departments—first tlic baths, secondly the institute itself, which took the boys olf the street of.a night and helped them along by means of classes, clubs, and games, and thirdly the boarding establishment that uhib about to be inaugurated. In regard to the baths, the boys of the institute wero to have the uso of them from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. free of any charge, and the public were to have them at all other times. (Applause.) They." were experimenting v.'itli tho ladies. (Laughter.) They were being given certain hours and one night a week. If that night paid better than-other nights, ho_ saw no reason why, in the course of time, they should not have every, night in tho week. (Laughter and applause.) The finance of the baths was to be kept separate, and all proiits mado were to be spent in improvements.. For instance, they needed a big sun room, into which they .. would get all the bathers for a good sunning, and they needed a readingroom and gymnasium for the boys. Proper uso was to bo made of the baths by charging less than a penny for children, and by - catering especially for the ladies, ,and swimming clubs. Whole eights were to be devoted to the soldiers, who would bo entertained in the ihaths-for 2d. a night. (Applause.) The 'charges arranged' were .cheaper,, than .any municipal baths in New Zealand, and possessed features not. known in other ; baths. , When the institute got their grant from the Rhodes Trustees they were, said Mr. Troup, to take in orphan boys, and boys from the country who were probably learning a trade in town. If those boys earned 12s. a week, the Institute would take them in for 10s.; if 155., they would take them for 125.; and if they earned £1 a week, out they went to make room for other more needy hoys. Mr. Troup paid a tribute to tho fine work done originally by the, Hon. J. G. W. Aitken and Mr. Wm. Allan, who-had done'-grand work, and who many a man had cause to be grateful to for their good advice and timely aid. (Applause.) There was another who had done as much as any other since tlie institute started, ana who wis accidentally killed whilst playing with the boys of tho institute. Ho referred to tho late Mr. Harry Drnmmotid. No man had ever done, better work than he. (Applause.) Ho also mentioned tho names of tho late Charles Redgrave, Mr. Charles Dick, who had returned wounded from the front (three cheers for him!), Mr. Bruce, Major Davis, and others. Last and not least Mr. Troup referred to the spTeiidid efforts that were being made by their new director, Mr. Frank Ross. Ho also mentioned the-- work of the architect (Mr, Gray Young), who as a former instructor at the institute had prepared the plans as a labour of love; , tho builder, Mr. Hurrell, the sub-contrac-tors, and the clerk of works. \ Mr. Ross thanked the president for his encouraging words, and the public for their sympathy and help j given him since he came into .office. He mentioned that there wero sixteen hoys' names on the board of honour, ond the first New Zealander to gain tho Victoria Cross, Captain Hardh'.m, was an old member of the institute. (Applause.) Mr. Ross said there were now from 250 to 300 boys on the roll, and mentioned among other activities that he was starting a penny savings bank to teach the boys to bo thrifty. Free Baths For Soldiers. The Hon. G. W. Russell said ho thought that some sort of memento should be raised to tho memory of tho lady through whoso munificence tho place, had been erectcd. Touching upon Mr. Troup's reference to baths for soldiers, Mr. Russell said he hoped they would- be able to arrange that any soldier in khaki could Mt his .bath lav not Mag. XApfilauseU.

not want to ask the management for any favours, but there was the Patriotic Committee, and the Government represented by the War Funds Council, of which he happened to bo the chairman, who would pay the cntiro cost of free baths for tho soldiers. Mr. David M'Laren also offered his congratulations to the Board of Management, and approved Mr. Russell's idea of providing free baths for soldiers. Prime Minister's Eulogy. Tho Primo Minister joined with other speakers in congratulating Mr. Troup and others who had taken an active in- )£ terest in tho erection of tho building, j. "Let me say this," said Mr. Massey, , s "the men who are giving their time freely to such work are earning the ([ gratitude of every individual of tl'o - community." Boys became members of c tho institute at a difficult age, when e their characters were being formed, and j amid the temptations of city life there IV should be a counteracting iniluenee, and a such an influence was provided .in the n institute. He was proud that so many Ij of their boys had gone out and wen B honour on tho held of battle, many of them as scientists, mechanics, and " miners. He was proud of the way they ' had distinguished themselves. He £ hoped the institute boys would make good citizens of the Empire, by rememboring that their foremost privilege and ' chief duty was to give their services in defence of the Empire. (Appiause.) He was delighted with the baths, aud ' thought that a knowledge of swimming I was useful to every boy, and everyone ought to learn. He onco more con- " gratulated the management, and declared the building and baths open, j (Applause.) uicers were givon in honour of tho * occasion, and volleys for the , Prime Minister, the chairman and J executive, and tho Mayor. J Miss Tait, a juvenile' pupil of Mr. T. Shields, then took a graceful header 1 into the water, and tho purely formal 1 part of the opening was over. Mr. J Shields gave a very clover exhibition J of diving and fancy swimming and 5 floating, and was heartily applauded. i RESULTS OF THE RACES. : The following were tho results of the various aquatflc events Ladies' Handicap (66yds.).—Miss P. I Giblin, 1; Miss M. Allen, 2; Miss M. M'Lean, 3. Time, 64 seconds. Teams' Race.—First heat: Worsor Bay, 1; l'horndon A, 2; Wellington A, ■ 3. Second heat: Evans Bay, 1; Woll- : ington Collego Old Boys, 2. Final: Worser Bay (L. Silver, V. L. Allen, H. C. W". Blick, and 0. Green), 1; Evans Bay, 2; Thorndon A, 3. Time, 3min. 26 2-ssec. Soldiers' Handicap (100yds.).—Des- | mond, 1; Atkinson, 2; Cooper, 3. In this race Atkinson put up the excellent time of 63 l-ssec. in the final. Ho , also gave a fine demonstration of the ■ various styles of swimming. Diving Competition.—E. Bailey, 1; . J. Thomas, 2; H. Dudson, 3. ' Mr. A. Jacobs acted as started, ' Messrs. H. W. Harris, A. W. Smith, A. ' A. Somerville, H. 0. W. Blick, and G. J S. Hill were the judges, and Messrs. > T. Coltman and J. E. Henrys wero tho * time-keepers. J There will be a public opening of the ' new tepid baths this evening.