"Drain Hobson Bay for Playing Area"

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 216, 1 December 1927, Page 15

"Drain Hobson Bay for Playing Area"

DEPUTATION TO COUNCIL RESIDENTS APPREHENSIVE A spirit of disquiet still rests on residents of the surrounding districts over the ultimate fate of Hobson Bay. A big deputation to the Mayor this morning intimated that they did not like the present flagging in the movement to have a recreation area proceeded with, and requested that the City Council move in the matter.

The deputation, consisting of about 20 leading citizens, suggested that an area of 97 acres at the head of the bay should be surrounded by drains and a low bank, leaving no necessity for filling in with spoil, and that drainage for storm water should be provided by an open channel discharging through Judge’s Bay, the area between the 97 acres and the railway embankment to be a threequarter tide lake. Mr. E. N. Ormiston said that the difficulty previously had been over tenure, but there was every reason to believe the council could get tenure I from 35 to 40 years. They wanted the i council to apply for this, and carry | out the work of making a lake aud ■ recreation ground. CITY COUNCIL DUTY | The proposals were outlined by Mr. L. P. Liery. It was a duty for the council, he said, the Harbour Board having ceased to have a material interest in the area. The improvement and beautification of the area therefore fell on the city. Something had to be done about it, and the city had the opportunity. It was suggested that with money in hand the area should be turned ino a threequarter tide lake. There was about £6,000 available for this. Having the lake, there were two opportunities, one to reclaim the land inside the sewer, and the other to put a road through linking up Parnell and Victoria Avenue. There haTl never been greater unanimity than that against turning the area Into a factory area. But the thing seemed to have flagged, and a great feeling of disquiet was arising over the position. Mr. M. H. Wynyard, outside his capacity as a member of the Harbour Board, said there were solutions to the difficulties of possible pollution and filling up by storm water, and to the cost of filling in the recreation ground, by the use of low banks and other facilities. This would allow of the lake and a large playing area, the latter requiring no dredging or filling in, and being at the head of the bay inside the proposed lake. “There is a crying need for more playing areas in the city,” remarked Mr. J. Osburne-Lilly, "and this gives an opportunity of adding nearly 100 acres to the area at very little cost.” Apart from the play areas large numbers wanted the lake for bathing. Mr. Ormiston said Whangarei had playgrounds below high water. He did not think there would be any difficulty in getting even freehold of the play area, half of which the 11a rbour Board was now prepared to give to the city. FINANCE AGAIN The Mayor, in reply, said the question resolved itself largely into one of finance. There was £6,500 earmarked, hut that would not have met a-third of the cost of the original scheme. The question of draining the 97 acres might be another and more easily-financed one. The railways had a right to a fairly extensive strip inside the embankment- The main difficulty was that of stormwater from a large area. The new suggestion of turning this water out through Judges’ Bay could be inquired into, but if the city were to spend a large sum there, some security of tenure was wanted. The use of the area for 40 years did not justify the expenditure. If the tenure was not secure the land might be lost at any time, as witness the case of Freeman’s Bay. Mr. Lilly: I think you could get all the 97 acres permanently. Mr. Wynyard mentioned that Whangarei had built sports grounds below high-water mark. The Mayor undertook to place the position before the council with a view to going into the cost of the scheme, and the tenure question.