THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1908. ANOTHER FORWARD MOVE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 905, 2 April 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1908. ANOTHER FORWARD MOVE.

Mr P. L. Hollings is taking prelimi nary steps for the acquisition of th< • present Showgrounds as a permanen sports and recreation area fur thi r borough. He has addressed a lettei 3 to the secretary of the Mastertor , Agricultural and Pastoral Associatior asking if that body would be pre pared to grant an option for the purchase of the site for the purpose ■ of submitting the matter to a poli [ of ratepayers so that they ma;y • have an opportunity of saying whether the grounds shall be acquired for the object mentioned. In taking the initiative in this matter, Mr Hollings should have the approval of the bulk of the residents of Masterton, and it is to be hoped the committee of the association will be agreeable to the proposal. It is somewhat trite to say that Masterton is a rapidly-growing town, but it is as well to impress the fact upon the minds of the residents when projects of this kind are mooted. There is at present but one public recreation ground in the borough, and it is too circumscribed in area foi general j sports purposes. It is imperative that a new sports ground suitable also for public recreation of various kinds should be acquired, and there is no area within the borough so fit for such purposes as the Showgrounds, which will shortly be in the market. We certainly think the Borough Council should take steps to acquire if not the whole area at least a sufficiently large portion of it to provide a suitable second lung for the borough. No more favourable time than i the present will be found for acquiring a sports and recreation reserve. It must be remembered that while the population as it grows increases the necessity for such an acquisition, the growth also increases the price of land. It is obviously the duty of the municipal authorities to ' provide for the future as well '

as the present. In a few years' time the south end of the borough will be closely populated, and the residents will require a breathing space nearer to them than the park, while the whole population will need a sports ground of very considerable dimensions. Now, therefore, is the time and opportunity to secure an ideal pleasure domain. The land could be procured at a comparatively cheap rate, and it wauld prove a rich boon to the present residents as well as to generations to come. Money considerations ought not to be an obstacle, as the health and happiness of the community should be above all other considerations. Mr Hollings is to be congratulated upon having taken the initiative in this matter.