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South Canterbury Times, Issue 2166, 26 February 1880, Page 2

Thk general public of Timaru will hardly be sorry that those useful gentlemen, the Cemetery Commissioners, have been outwitted in their efforts to place the old cemetery reserve beyond the reach of recreative purposes for a number of years. It seems that the reserve in question originally intended as a cemetery has long been unutilised, and as settlement has progressed, and cottages have gone on increasing, and the land has grown in value, its unsuitability has been demonstrated. Lately an etfort has been made to get the land, which occupies a site convenient to the town, at the junction of the Old South and Wai-iti roads, converted into a recreation reserve. Whether the Cemetery management look umbrage and dtfencc at this proceeding we are not in a position to say, but in the face of the petition, which went upto Wellington from the liecrcationers.they invited tenders for the lease of the reserve, for grazing purposes, for the next three years. Luckily this somewhat ungracious endeavor was nipped in the bud, for just in the nick of time, an olllcial message arrived, intimating that the Government had virtually taken the land out of the hands of its original custodians, and that the signature of His Excellency was alone required to make the land a permanent reserve for public recreative purposes. The names of trustees we believe have been submitted, and in the course of a few days a valuable and centrally situated reserve will be available fur public recreation. The Cemetery Commissioners may feel, perhaps, a little annoyed at being prevontei} from converting this reserve into af cow paddock for some years to come,Chut inasmuch as its alteration from a ■cemetery reserve to a recreation reserve means a change from grave to gay, the public generally, we believe, will approve of the action of theCoveriiuient.