DEPUTATION.

Evening Star, Issue 4038, 4 February 1876, Page 2

DEPUTATION.

This morning a deputation from the City Council, cons'etin* of the Mayor, Councillors Campbell, Roberts, and Grant, accompanied by the Town Clerk, wailed upon his Honor the Superintendent, Tne Mayor explained that it had b:en stated ' hut application was to be made to the Government to lease or deal with the sandhills at the Ocean Beach in some way, and the City Council of Dunedin were inclined to think the sandhills should remain intact for the use of the general public; in fact that fer y. a; s to come it would be far better that the sandhills should not be touched. Though they possessed in Dunedin recreation grounds in the shape of the Town Belt, &c., jet the citizens wanted to get a mouth r ul of fresh sea air occasionally, and that was the place they looked to for ie. In the course of a little time it waspossible a railway would be running to the beach, and therefore it would be inadvisable for the Government to grant any concession for the u e of the sand-hills. • His i ONOB replied that there was no intention on the pait of the Government to grant any concession The sand-hills had hitherto been G own lands, but he bad now legally reserved them from sale, so for as it could be d >ne. Of course it could not be done perpetually without legislation, but they had been reserved sufficiently to prevent the Waste Land Boa d from leasing them. The Mayor : That will answer our purpo-e. His Honor would 1 ke to eeo something done hi the way of sowing the sandhills down with grass. and to o\ e a road made under the hills from one end of the beach to the other. The three municipalities might lay their heads together to sp nd a little money upon the work. Jt would, he thought be a very good thing. The Mayor thought if the matter were brought btfore the City Council in some shape, that that body would assi t. Ilia Honor: Of com se the sandhills are included within the boundaries of the St. Kilda mtinicipa'ity, but they have no property in them, and nojrighfc to alienate them. Cr. Campbell considered no munic'paUty shou’d have any right over the sandhills, widen ahou 1 d be for the whole Province His Honor : No municipality has a right over ihem. It was just as well that they were included in the St. Kilda municipality: they mVt be included somewhere. Or Campbell heard it rumor, d that the Forbu'y Park Company had some right over thesindhill--. ; His Honor : Not the slightest. The Fo*bnty Park Company applied some years ago »o get a le se of a certain portion of the sandhill?, and they were willing to ornament them and leave them open to the public except on race days (they were going to enclose the hills) but that fed through—rather the Waste Land Board to whom t’ e application w«s made decluedit I look Upon the sandhills as the property of the whole Province, and especially of Dunedin, and in fact of all the people beyond As I said before, T would like if amongst you you could find'the momy to make a drive along the edge of the> and hills. 1 The Matos: What would answer the put;

eU at would bo to males a road m continuation of the St Kildaroad. which, -could be done at a smaWt Honor thought r j r Provincial Council would aubsidlse^So He thought both South DunwiStnFst St be disposed to co-operate with Dunedin xn the matter, because they would both be more immediately benefited. Someone had told Mm fthere was a piggery on the sand-hills: he tupjHised it was doing no harm, or they wouldhxve si *m heard of it

The Mayor ; It is, I expect, a case of squatiTEis Honor : Entirely so. X.Tie Mayor brought under his Honor’s notice the x ecessity for filling up a ditch on the AndersoC*B Bay road (near the Gasworks), which was a grreat nuisance. His H.«l*Noa said it would cost about LBO to fill up, but the difficulty the Government was in was that if they filled upthis ditch there were 150 other ditches in the Province they would be expected to fill up. It would be better for the Corporation to do it.

The Mayor remarked that they might be able to do it when they got their branch railway to the gasworks. His Honor : You don’t seem to be aware of the difficulties you have to contend with in getting your branch line. You have to get the consent of a _ majority of the ratepayers in South Dunedin, and 1 suppose in Dunedin itself. I beliive the promoters of the railway made a branch to the gasworks one of the elements of their calculations. The Mayor ; That would suit our purposes just as well The deputation then withdrew.