AMUSEMENT SCHEME

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 37, 7 November 1917, Page 9

AMUSEMENT SCHEME

FOR LYALL BAY

MAYOR ON THE SUBJECT

At a meeting of the residents held at Lyull Bay on Monday evening tho mattor of supplementing tho attractions of Ijyall Bay by providing such amusements as swings, "ocean waves," merry-go-rounds, etc., was brought up once more. One of the first nunounoemcnts made was that it was known that the owner of an "ocean wave" plant was ] rer pared to sell it to tho council or anyone else. It was mentioned, too, that tho council had been npproached in regard to providing beach amusements, but had turned the proposal down. Nonit is proposed to approach the council and ask that the park—or part of itshould be converted into some kind of 'Wonderland.".

Tho Mayor, when waited upon yesterday, expressed his views pretty plainly on the matter. Mt. Luke snid that tho matter of providing- beach amusements at Lyall Bay was brought before the council somo time ago, and after being carefully considered by the committee concerned tho idea was rejected by the committee, aud the council respected the committee's judgment. In the first plnco he wished to point out that the council at the present time only had money for essential works, and whilst Lyall Bay had been generously treated in the past he conceived that there wore works that had greater claims on the funds of the corporation than tho providing or assisting in any way to provide for amusements at Lyall Bay, the fine, clean, sweeping, open character of which lent a particular charm to tho place. _ It was true that the city iiad a recreation ground at Lyall Bay (about thirteen acres have been levelled and grassed), but it. had to be remembered that that area (there is over a hundred acres in nil) had been acquired from the estate of the late H. D. Crawford jointly by the City Council and the Government, and a condition to its acquisition was that it should remain open and unencumbered so that it could be used for the training of Territorials, or for such military purposes as it was adapted for, when the necessity arose. Otherwise it was to be a sports. ground for cricket, football, etc., and for the general recreation of the public. The agitation to utilise a portion of the reserve iu the manner suggested Would concern the council only as far as explaining the position. The council was bound to take notice of any. idea tlint was likely to increase tho, revenue of its tramways, and if it could be indicated how the big traffic to Lvall' Bay contingent on the erection of'the. amusements mentioned was to be spread evenly over the whole of the working, hours of the day the scheme might be feasible, but as at present the trams found a difficulty in .Coping with, the traffic to the Bay in the rush; hours on hqlidays and fine Sundays, it was hardly conceivable ' what benefit would result. What people would do privately was hardly the conoorn of tho council, but. at present the council had no money to spend on amusements, and tho terms of the agreement with the Government over the reserve would prohibit any such amusements being erected in that area. There was just another lioinl —and that was whether either the bulk of tho residents of the Bay or the public desired tho introduction of such amusements, as were suggested,. AVould they not be the means of introducing an element, into the Bay that might later on bo regretted? Snrelv (he delights of the surf,. Ihe fiuo stretch of sandy beach, and tho extensive reereution ground sufficed for tho present. . It is not generally known that the city in partnership with (ho Government, owns over one hundred acres of sand dune land at the Bay-all that area lying between tho lino of the main city sewer and the sea, an area that extends .over the border into Miranwr Borough . One only has to pay an occasional visit to I his part of our far-flung city to realise that in this reserve the city has a heritage of which it mav well be proud. In the not far distant future the block may be the centre of a second Wellington, which will consist of the already well-built-on isthmus, and a closely'-soltled Miramar. It will be then (hat the foresight in acquiring tho block will bo anpredated at its true value.