OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 775, 13 October 1922, Page 8

OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

THE ZOO. (From Our Own Correspnodent). Auckland, October 6. It is hoped the Zoo will be ready in time to form one of the Xmas holiday attractions of the city. As there are usually many thousands of visitors from the country and the other centres in Auckland during Xmas and New Year lime ar.d as a lqjrge proportion of these people would doubtless patronise the Zoo in the event of its being often the Council should find it worth while to push on with the work now in progress at Western Springs, If the charge is a shilling pel’.head for as it probably wiil be, and 20,000 sightseers pay for admission duriing the holidays the respectable sum of £IOOO will result, to say nothing of the admission fees paid by shildren. The possibilities of the Koo from the shop-keeping point of view seem to occurred to several enterprising persons already, for if I am correctly informed the Council has durttrg the last week or so 'received applications from the latter for permission to erect shops or pavilions for the sale of confectionery, tea. pastry, sandwiches, fruit, soft drinks, etc., within the* enclosure. These applications have alt been turned down. Does this mean that the Council proposes to run its own /refreshments ? When I was last in London the purveying of refreshments (including luxurious hot lunches. with wines, ales and spirits for those requiring them) at the Zoo in Regent’s Pafk, was in the hands of a famous firm of caterers who paid a handsome sum yearly fo r , the privilege. A BETJjriFYING SOCIETY. The Mayqr of Auckland's suggestion that the time is ripe for the formation of a beautifying association in this city seems an excellent one, A society of the kind has been in existence for mapy years in Christchurch, and to my knowledge has done splendid! work. Auckland is one of the most beautiful cities in the wo/rld, so far that is as sur_ roundings go, But there is plenty of scope here for the activities of a beautifying association. Such a body would be able to work hand in hand with the City Council and would be in a position to render the latter invaluable assistanee. Had we possessed a society of the kind Auckland would nevdr have been over-run with advertising hoardings as it now is. The society would have nipped the evil in the bud long ago by directing- public attention to it and agitating for its suppression or limitation. Two or three years ago there were very fevj hoardings <in Auckland?. To-day they are spreading all over the city and evien invading the suburbs. When the matter was under discussion by the CiSy .Council recently a councillor .cornsplained > (and justly) that\the only view of Myers’ Park in Queen Street was now obstnuted by hoardings. A Beautifying Association would certainly have prevented that. 'novel READING. The' writer of the article in the local morning paper on the Auckland Public Library—the appeared ithis week—congratulates the library subscribers on “devouring” less “literary trash” than the patrons of other N.Z. public lending libraries do, By literary trash this superior person of .course .refers to novels, and apparently he does not discriminate between good novels and bad ones, or make allowance for the fact that both Charles Dickens and Charles Garvice were novelists. One produced classics, the other didn’t. Rublfishy novels *are certainly literary trash and those responsible for the selection of the fiction for Auckland Public Library should see to it that the trash is excluded, Un. fortunately they don’t always do so. But wholesale condemnation of fiction aS trasfy serves only to emphasise the ignorance and narrow-mind-edness Qfi those who condemn. WANTED £78,000. The estimated cost of the projected War Muse/um for Auckland is £200;000 and a balance of £78,000 is wanted to make up the amount. Where is this balance to come from ? The Mayor says Auckland is a wealthy city and -that 'it is up to the well-to-ido to donate “large sums” to the Museum /Fund- It is possible of course that our moneyed people may,stump up. It is also possible that they may not, But it is not only the fortunate persons with fat banking accounts who are to be asked to help. (There is talk of street collections. I trust the Mayor and the Gitize’ns’ Committee may find the appeal to the Auckland public as successful as—er, it deserves to be. Butl times are hard, and it may be urged by some thq/t" even war, museums can. tin the words of the song, “Wait a little longer.” MACHINE BOOK-KEEPING. If the example set by the Auckland -Harbour Board in installing a machine to take the place of .the ledger keeper who (recently resigned his position is followed by the mercantile houses of the city the book, keeper of the human kind will soon find his occupation gone. The led-ger-keeper referred to was drawing a salary of more than £3OO a year. The machine will be worked by a lad at 30s a week. By the way, if the inventor of the book-keeprr.g machine would only turn his attention to the production of a mechanical domestic help hundreds of harrassed housewives would arise and call him blessed.