DAY'S BAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3058, 20 April 1917, Page 8

DAY'S BAY

.HEAVY EXPENSE-NO EE VENUE. Some years ago th'o : City Council of Wellington purchased a park at Day's Bay.. At the time 1 the owners of .the property, who were the Ferry Company, then running the steamers, proposed to. sell'the land, and it'was repres6nted that the, city should assist in theipurchase of the land to save it as a playground for the city. Mrs, Williams gave a donation of .£ISOO, "a. canvass of : the citizens yielded' about a! 1200, and .-£250. was. promised by. Eastbournj." ' As "tho total amount nf the purchase monev was 4114,000, this left to ho provided. The Government-in'ade 'the' purchase, and gavo - i£4oflo from- the Scenery Preservation- : vote, leaving . tlio council to find the; balance of .'47000;. It turned •',out, however,"-that there were conditions attached to the; Government's subsidy. The Government insisted, upon holding- the title to the land, and the council was faced 'with the. certainty of having to spend money: on viand to which it had ho title. Ifthc/bush should be destroyed by fire, the park "would, .be practically, total ;lpss. ; > The council, ..therefore, nesrotiatedl,'.to retain tlio .fee ■'■'simple of the land, and the Government agreed to forego ;SIOOO of its vote of i'4ooo. Tho nai'k, therefore,; cost the, city Since tlien the council hns 'had to expend a considerable amount of mohey on improvements; and it will have in futuro years to. spend more. ■'■','; ' These'matters wero all .mentioned by the Mayor at tho.'meeting of the City' Council last night.

Councillor Wright saidtliat' the 'council should really consider what"Was going to he done about Day's Bay.; It was not a fair thing that • the ratepayers and rent-payers 7 of Wellington should .he ex 7 pected to find .money continually for the amusement of other people. Those who used the park should be made to contiibute . something-towards the upkeep .of it, and even a trivial contribution would reduce the loss vei7.niuch." Last year the city had made a loss of 42000 on the Zoo! The council could not allow these losses on nlnces of amusement to go on indefinitely. If the council :did notcut down these losses,'it would have to go sliort nn its hread and butter lines like street; improvements;

Councillor Barber said that when the company owned the ferries and the park ■they got revenue from the steamers because of fie park. - "Now the city had to.' .tear all tli<? .exoense,'■ an«l pot no revenue from ; the: steamers. He .thought, tlio EnsHymme Borough' Council murht to,. Tie made...to..liand. over some of the steamer .revenue 'towards' tW upkepn of the main attraction to boliday visitors trovelliii"- by their steamers. ■. \ f'-omieillo'' Luckie siJfc; that it mirrht '■not--he such an cosy matter to rnx ■ the ■lHastbonrne Bwough in this'wny, because tlie. horouah did jmt make a great profit on its'steamers. Indeed, for rent nf the; year it made n. loss. TT«. ri™ , tesb>d ■on general .grounds, awinst eonsirteritiT reserves pui'e'v. •>« 'fiininini '"-npositioiis: