THE GALAS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 122, 5 March 1936, Page 6

THE GALAS

OLD SPIRIT MISSING. "KILLED BY CASH SPORTS." PRIZES TOO BIG A BURDEN. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE. RESIDENTS STATE VIEWS. So long as the sports programme continues to dominate the Labour Day Gala in Ashburton, so long will the essential gala spirit that characterised the functions of several years ago be missing. This is the view held by a number of prominent residents of Ashburton and expressed to a "Guardian" reporter who called on them this morning. It is generally held that the inclusion of a long programme of cash events is rapidly killing the interest of the gala workers and the public, on the ground that some sections of the gala have to work hard all day to furnish the prize money for the sports programme, which, in turn, is held to be very, much against the interests of the gala in that it keeps patrons away from the sideshows and stalls which are the feature of the function.

Opinion greatly favours a concentration of interest in a programme which would cater largely for the school children, without making tho gala a children's day.

While every one of those on whom tho reporter called were full of praise for the work the Advance Ashburton Association has carried out with the proceeds of tho Galas in the last 13 years, there were some who thought the Association had outlived its usefulness and that the time had arrived when the works that had been completed should be taken oyer by the Borougr Council.

No Major Works ins Sight. Some expressed the opinion that there were no vvorlia of a major or suitable nature that the Association could see ahead. When the Association was formed, they point out, there were certain very definite objects in view, the main one at that time being the cleaning up of the reserves in East Btreet. From that, the Association had gone on x to other things, notably the im-

provements at the Domain boundaries, but all these things having been attended to, there was now little need for an association] that is, for an association working on the lines of the last 10 Years or more.

One man thought there should be a body to see that the gala was held every year, and at a different date, and that the proceeds should be handed to the Borough Council to maintain the plots and reserves which had been fixed up by the Association, with, perhaps, a few new works.

Another resident said that his view of it was that it had never been intended that the maintenance work that had fallen to the A.A.A. should have been continued. The intention was, he thought, that this work should automatically fall on the Boreugh Council.

'The End of its Life." '•Without meaning anything to the detriment of the Association, I think it has come to the end of its life so far as its general connection with the galas is concerned," said Mr 11. M. Ounlop, who was closely associated with the A.A.A. for 13 years, being chairman of the Beautifying Committee most of that time. He thought there were now no major works in sight, but he praised the work that had been done in the past, work that had been extensive and a wonderful asset to the town. "I think the time has come," he added, "when the maintenance should be a charge on the ratepayers,"

'Sick and! Tired Of It." "What kills the gala to a large extent is the fact that it has been allowed to become a big sports meeting which has straightaway killed the gala spirit," declared another business man who was prominently associated with the A.A.A. and the galas a few years ago, ''Men get sick and tired of battling away in the side-shows and stalls all day to provide the money for the sports, which at the same time are taking the interest from the sideshows. There is interest in the sports, but they kill the gala, and if they keep that up another year or two there will not be any gala. "Take the way the Gay Galateers slogged for weeks preparing a programme, and worked like Trojans all day at the gala, raising £4O to £BO, just to be fired away in a few minutes in a few races. They could make a good amateur programme, and the prizes would cost no more than £4O, perhaps. Programme for Children. "Another way would be to have a small sports meeting for the school children. (Jot the two best performers from each school in the County and run a little championship meeting. Then the more children you havo there, the more interest there will be on the part of the parents. Mind you, it should not by a children's affair altogether. "One thing that might be undertaken at little cost, so far as the organisation goes, Is the holding of an Ashburton Week; call it what you like. The gala could bo held, and sports could be included, but stalls and side-

shows should be placed along the lawns in East ,Street 7 which is ideally laid out for the scheme, and be kept open at night. The shops could hold special displays of goods, the people would bo there to see them, and lots of lights could be strung across the street. There could be dancing on the lawns. '•Sideshows under those conditions would bo worth running, and a good deal of money could be raised. The best timo to hold it would be about the end of March. "Excuse for Pot-hunters." "As the gala is at present, the cash events Mil it. We have in Canterbury many excellent amateur athletes who would be a decided attraction to a sports programme. The galas of the last few years are not the idea of the founder of the A.A.A. The kind of thing we have now is largely an excuse for a gathering of pot-hunters." "The enthusiasm of many of the hardest workers at the galas in the past has been killed by so much being spent on. the sports programme," said Mr W. H. Amos, a past-president of the A.A.A. "I am sure that if they put on a few amateur events, with perhaps one or two cash events, and made, provision for children's sports, they would renew the interest of the public and the presence of the children would induce the parents to attend. Particular attention should be given to the country children. Dominated by Sports. "We must somehow get right back to the old gala spirit," he said "Even the meetings held to arrange for the galas are not what they were, because the people who have worked for the o-ala.s know that the meetings will he dominated by the sports element which aims at paying out all the timo in the form of prize-money. If there were a concentration on seeking a return of the gala spirit, the galas would go on making money."