SWIMMING BATHS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 64, 16 March 1910, Page 5

SWIMMING BATHS.

AN IMPORTANT SCHEME. A proposal of great interest came before the Harboui Board at yesterday's meeting, when ,an application from Messrs. Baird and Coe tor permission to use one of the Board's jetties or to construct a pontoon as a means of access to a floating swimming bath, came up for consideration. ' Auckland is notably deficient' in the matter of bathing facilities near to the city; the Albert-street baths are not able to cope with the number of people who desire to use them. Apart from the fact that a great number of people have no relish for surf-bathing, the available beaches are not convenient to the majority of city workers. The proposal of Messrs. Coe and Baird is to have built a floating bath after the manner of that in use in France at Vitry-sur-Seine, in which not only ordinary swimming baths are provided, but Turkish baths, hot salt water baths, sprays, douches, etc.. A floating bath such as this would be of great service to the city, and would undoubtedly be much appreciated, especially, when it is considered that no baths having a continual flow of water exist in Auckland. The floating bath which it is proposed to construct will be built of boiler-plate, and will be lined with tiles. The swimming baths portion, of it will be 150 ft long by 50ft wide, and the depth about 7ft, sloping gradually to 4ft in the shallows. The overall dimensions of the float as a whole will be 278 ft by SOft, and the space not used as a swimming bath will contain the special baths mentioned. It is also proposed to have a room containing medical and physical culture appliances, in charge of which shall be an attendant. The. bath will be so built that it may be quite easily removed from one part of the- foreshore to another; but, naturally, the promoters wish to secure a site as central as possible. There is nothing to prevent them from placing the baths, in the harbour, but as to whether they shall be granted the alWmportant means 'of access depends upon the Harbour Board, and in view of the convenience of such an arrangement', there should be no diffi culty in obtaining this. i,