A Gear Island Boost.

Hutt News, Volume 1, Issue 20, 12 January 1928, Page 6

A Gear Island Boost.

Says our city contemporary, inter alia, regarding Gear Island as the coming athletic centre of New Zealand:—"With the old year nearing its close, the athletic bodies are showing, in the matter of the proposed Gear Island Sports Park, that active interest which the 'Evening Post' has consistently endeavoured to arouse by various articles on the open air aspect of Hutt-Petone development. A generation which is witnessing the rapid conversion to residential or industrial use of all the neighbouring grass lands—from which are emerging the Moera workers' homes village, the railway workshops site, and the 'industrial area'—cannot afford to look indifferently on Gear Island, and it is much to be hoped that the energy and spirit of co-operation shown at the conference last night will not have diminished when the New Year arrives, with its call for deeds as well as words. When 'The Post' wrote on Gear Island, some people seemed to think that the proposal was too big, but our only fear was (and is) that Gear Island is not big enough for the requirements of sports and athletics. The generation that sees all this beautiful level grass land undergoing conversion may incur some criticism from posterity, but, if so, the complaint of posterity will be not doing too much but doing too little. After allowing for the reservation of Gear Island, the continued existence of the Hutt Park, and the smaller reserves provided for in the Government's subdivision schemes, can it be said that the open air cause has received sufficient recognition? Posterity's answer to this question is easy to guess. Already there is talk at the conference about the Gear land being 'not enough to go round'—even though trotting stays in its home at Hutt Park."