PUKEKURA PARK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 297, 25 May 1915, Page 7

PUKEKURA PARK.

ANNUAL MlOKTO'li Or' board. Tim anmial meeting uf the Pukckura Park Hoard was held i i.-i cwiiiug, wh-ii there WCV present; Mrs ;•„ \V. i,. Xc,Viiiaii, .:. C. Hughes, S. i'lrcy-Smith, Harris Ford, ami C. Ji. Drew (secretary). In the absence of the chairman (Air. R. Cock), Air. Newman was voted to the chair.

AXXUAL IUOI'dBT. The curator (Mr. \V. W. Smith) presented a resume of the work done lithe park during the pest year, in tin course of which lie staled that in accordance with the instructi-.n.- or' the board on the occasion of their etui-ial visit to the park iu May of last year, the work of cleaning and draining the swamp situated between the upper lake and the sports ground was immediately commenced. On account of showery wcatler the work was discontinued for three weeks until the flow of water through the swani)i was lessened. By August the levelling and planting of' the now ground was completed, and the lawn sown down. There are still o, few nnlevel parts on the lawn. due. to the soft and spongy nature of the accumulated rubbish used in filling in having decayed rapidly. All the trees, ferns, and other plants transferred into the now site had grown well. Tts altered condition is a great improvement mi the unsightly and tangled mass of introduced plants that previously overran the swamp. The whole work of clearing, draining, levelling, and planting to date has cost the board £ls lGs 6d.

The winti'r of lust year being very mild and dump mid the spring months similar, a great growth of general vegetation wa.'i produced in the park. Some of the rougher grassy parts had therefore to be mown and burned three times during the season. "(iorsc seedlings, which germinate more or less every year, gave us considerable work in grubbing them," said the report. The weed , in the upper lake claimed a week of attention in moving and raking it oil' the water. The new walk from the triangle bed near the sports ground formed over the hill and along the top front edge of the sports ground vp.lley was completed in December. The large macrocarpa tree which grew net" the tin shed at the sports ground \vas : as directed by the board, felled and sold as firewood. The site had now been planted with tree ferns and native shrubs, which will much improve the aspect in a few months. Other large trees ordered 1.0 be removed were also felled and disposed of. Owing to the illness of two members of the stall' for several weeks, the felling of the pine trees near the .Carrington, Kernel had to be postponed. The fences of the. park had received attention lately, though some yet required repairing, but the work could only be continued as the necessary material was provided. When the full staif was at work the re-forming and draining of the walks would be continued. In the month of December the board granted permission to Mr. J). G. Bates, Oovernment meteorologist, to found a weather observatory in Pukckura Park. Owing to the diflicnlty of obtaining a contractor to erect a suitable and safe structure around the instruments the work of mounting the latter was considerably | delayed, but when this work was completed the station would make a useful and interesting acquisition to the pnrk •and town. During the prevent month Mrs. (Joker, of Phyllis Street, presented a collection of rare plant seeds. Mr. E. F. Sandford, of Christchurch, sent some new varieties of native ilax. An anonymous gentleman posted a large package; of native plant seeds, and Mr. Stevens, of Inglewood, forwarded sonic native plant seedlings. These gifts were all very acceptable at this season of the year.

TM.E BALANCE-SHEET. The balance-sheet showed that the total receipts, including annual subsenucrs £74, 'park Saturday subscribers £O2 13s (Id, Borough Council subsidy £ll2 10s, rents £3O, luoworks gate .tali 17s Sd, were £43:! 3s. The chief items of expenditure were:—"Wagosi £3-25 (is, and tools, timber and repairs £O4 IDs Hid. Tiie cash in hand amounted to £3ii 5s 7d, a debit balance at the bank reducing this balance to £B. The chairman regretted the absence of Mr. Cook, the chairman of the board, but said the absence of his anuual report would not be missed in view of the excellent report of tha curator. Great improvements had Hum made in the park, particularly near the bandstand. Practically, they had £7 or £8 in band on March 31, and this was a. much bettor position than they had been in on previous occasions. Probably, their income would be small during the coining year, and they would, perhaps, have to conserve their expenditure. People were contributing to the war funds and their subscriptions to those of tha jiark would be limited. 3lr. Ford seconded, and it was carried unanimously.

GENERAL. Hearty votes of thanks were passed to those who had so kindly donated seeds, etc., and also to the honorary auditor, MY. Pepperall. The question of the election of chairman was deferred until the date of the next monthly meeting of the board. Mr. S. Percy-Smith was appointed monthly visitor to the park. A communication was received from the Borough Council notifying that his Worship the Mayor. Mr. J. E. Wilson, and Councillors W. A. Col lis and W. "K. Short had been appointed to represent the council on the board.