PUKEKURA PARK BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 June 1919, Page 6

PUKEKURA PARK BOARD.

i I MNTJAL MEETING..

The annual meeting of the Pukekura Pari; Board was held last night. Mr. C.J3. Bellringer (chairman)' presided, and there weTe present Mrs. C. H. Burgess, Messrs R. C. Hughes, H. Ford, A. S. Brooker, , W- A. Collis, and A. Gray (secretary). CHAIRMAN'S' EEPORT. The-chairman reported that, notwithstanding many adverse circumstances, a considerable amount of useful work had been do'ne, and the financed position was fairly satisfactory. Owing to well-' 1 known circumstances, the proposed' special fete in January had to be< abani doned, and the source of income was I therefore lost. The Mayor (Mr. O. H.» Burgess) offered his honorarium' for.- the past year to the board, with, a requests that it should be used for the.'erection of. a boulder wall along the Fillis Street, frontage of the park. Negotiations with, the property holders along Eillis. Street' were in progress, and it was hoped; that' the work would soon, be proceeded with;; The Borough Council 1 had increased: its grant to the board by £soifor the-erec-tion of latrineß, and 'these have beens erected of boulders on a site! at the rear of the tea rooms- The Likrdet Street entrance had been much improved by re-fanning and gravelling.- The chairman included in his repeat a general' report of the curator on- the' whole of ' the work carried out in the grounds during the year. Mr. Bellringer referred to the fine work done by Mr. Smith in. planting ferns and native trees, which were now coming to fruition. Had he a larger staff a' 1 greater means, very mucli better work could be accomplished by hip. Considerable concern had been exercised during the year over the sports ground. The arrangement for the use of the grounds by the Technical College would now terminate and a new policy would have to be determined upon in regard to their control. In the meantime a temporary arrangement had been | made with the Star Football Club. The :r chairman advocated that a committee | under the board should have contTol of the grounds, having on it representatives of the various sports clubs and schools, k bo that they might share the responsibility of the care of the grounds. ' The establishment of a fernery had been considered, and the chairman said [he thought the time had arrived when something definite should be done. Ample material was available for the [erection of the necessary bush house, and there was a certain gentleman who was ready to make a substantial donation of ferns to the board as soon as they were ready to receive them. It should be possible to have in the park one of the finest collections of ferns in the Dominion. Offers of collections of jfyung gum trees had been received from two gentlemen, with the idea of setting aside 1 a section of the park for the purpose of growing gum trees of various kinds, a record being kept of their growth and development. If such a course was ' adopted the board would be able to afford most valuable help to those about to plant on their farms and other places by demonstrating the varieties moat likely to succeed in the district, For the purpose of raising funds for the future, the chairman suggested that the board should hold a carnival, extending over several days. He felt sure that if the board put forward a progressive policy the public would support it, and unless such a policy was adopted they would be left behind by other organisations that were working for the benefit of the town.

Thanks were expressed for the concerts given by the Citizens' Band and regret that it had been impossible for the band to do more than it had, but under all the circumstances more could not have been expected. It was hoped that for the coming season a number of concerts would be arranged. The chairman also thanked the secretary and members of the board for the assistance and support given him during the year.

THE BALANCE SHEET. The balance sheet showed the receipts to have been £624 7s 4d (including a balance of £7l 10s 8d brought forward from the previous year); and the expenditure amounted to £553 7s 3d, leaving a credit balance of £7l 0s Id. Mr. Bellringer then moved the adoption of the 'balance sheet, and that the report be received, as he wished it to be fully discussed at an adjourned meeting proposed to be held on July 1, The balance sheet was then adopted. CURATOR'S REPORT. The curator (Mr. W- W. Smith) reported that the staff had been fully engaged in clearing burning rubbish. Improvements had been made to the walk leading from the upper bridge to the tea rooms, and the walk on the opposite side of the lake would be dose as soon as the weather became more favorable. Several trees had been removed from the site of the proposed fernery, and others should be moved, but the matter was awaiting, g, visit of inspection by the board, ivhen other matters also would be brought before members. Treeß authorised to be purchased had beeu 'secured and distributed over the park. A new flower border and shrubbery had been prepared along the western base of Cannon Hill, on the level of the sports ground. The group of native trees and tree-ferns planted about eight months ago on the western slope of Cannon Hill were well established and growing rapidly. In the event of the board resuming control of the sports ground, the curator asked that the board should visit the grounds and consider all matters relating to control, alterations, and improvements.

GENERAL'/ I It was decided to confirm the arrangements made by the chairman with the Star Football Club with regard to the use of the sports grounds, and to ask the committee to use its best endeavors to see that no damage was done to the terraces. It was decided to approve of the proposal to set aside a section of ground in the park for the growing of various kinds of gum trees as a specimen plantation. A discussion took place on the matter of provision of a room for the use of

women and children, in which tea could

be made and movable seats and tables I tept for use out in the open. Mrs. j-ir«ess stressed the urgency of such a

claiming' that the grounds were niitp uninviting so far as picnicking ■vrinecinents were concerned. They ,V'ir> very nice for walking through, but nothing else. Want flic board should |o was to popularise the grounds by P"-!K-ting the people and holding functions there, as the bodies controlling , :Uier grounds did. It was decided to defer further con--1 eiduation until nasi /tfylra. whan th»

'chairman's report will be fully considered. , It was decided to. recommend the (appointment -of Mr. W.. C. Weston as nominee on the board in Iplace of Mr. S.. Percy Smith (resigned). ). The resignation of Mr. W. A. Gray as secretary to the-board was accepted with: jregret,. and he was accorded a vote of,

.thanks for the services rendered. Mr. 'Bellringer wished Mr. Gray success.-in his new. sphere at Hawcra. - Mr. Gray suitably replied. Mr- Brooker was appointed overseer for- the current month. A vote of thanks to the auditor (Mr. E;.Ho]den) concluded the proceedings.