Dunedin Doings

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 99, 30 December 1904, Page 5

Dunedin Doings

[by fritz. J Monday. Christmas is gone, and those of us who have not been able to shut up shop till after New Year arc bravely making the attempt to do something which has the appearance of work, regardless of the distracting thought that more I holidays are just ahead of us. Christmas as an ! institution seems to be entering on a new phase as far as tins country is concerned. Thtre is no longer much adherence to the old fashioned Charles Dickens' idea of a/amily reunion on the festal day, but no sooner does it approach than we all scatter to ihe four corners of the land, leaving the family hearth to take care of itself. Any attempt to carry out Christmas festivities on the English model could only be attended by such discomforts as 1 would speedily put an end to the institution, for who wants to gather round the family fire, side and tell ghost stories in mid-summer ? Small wonder there is a sramble to get down by the sea, where the warm nor- wester gives an added charm to the cultivation of amphibious habits, or to go inland amongst the bush and the hills, as far away as possible from all the influences of civilization. It is a little curious 10 notice the different ideas that prevail on the subject of how to enjoy a holiday. Leaving out of consideration the man that forsakes his native town to wear his store clothes and cut a dash in another and more important centre, there are those whose delight it is to while away the holiday hours catching fish or shooting labbits, not to mention th-" barbarous soulless Goths who raid the haunts of native birds in spite of close seasons. Then there is the man-of superabundant energy, who wants !o climb as many mountains as possible, and peer into yawning crevasses amongst the glacier-clad slopes of the Southern Alps. The antithesis of the mountaineer is the man who is quite content to lie on a sunny slope with a fortnight's supply of tobacco about his person, and probably a quantity of unnecessary reading matter at his elbow. This is usually a family man, and in the foreground there is a squad of barefooted ofispring, which is having the time of its life. Others again tint I their heart's desire in watching a bit of oast line slipping past from the deck of something that carries a mast and a sail, and I must confess a weakness for ihe " blu"' water " s-chool myself. For preference let it be a fore and aft cutter big enough to stand a blow, and as for location, well any wheje from Moeraki to Milford Sound will furnish anyone with as good an outing as they can possibly wish. To those who stayed in town the tennis tournament has probably been more attractive than anything else. With a hardihood desere v.ng of success the Tennis Association boldly decided to make the Carisbrook ground into a huge tennis lawn and hold a championship 'meeting there. Everyone expected that after the weather we have been having, the tournament would have been washed off the . ground, but up to the time |of writing, there has only been one light shower, and everything points to the meeting being a great success. Tennis is a game that is growing very rapidly in favor in I Dunedin and elsewhere, although the votaries 1 of football, etc., still curl the lip of scorn when it is mentioned. As anyone knows who has "been there," tennis can furnish the most vigorous exercise the most athletic individual can desire ; unfortunately, however, a good many don't seem to desire it, and first grade tennis simply does not exist here. Up in the North Island there are players who get up early in the morning and go to bed late all the year round in order to cultivate their skill in the game, consequently they are able to "skate" over the cream of the local talent. The present tournament should give a riilip to the game in Dunedin, and we may expect more clubs and more recruits, from which future champions may be evolved. Tramways are again much in evidence, chiefly ttirough the incapacity of the Public Works Department to beg, borrow, or steal a j little common sense from somewhere, so that it might avoid making itself ridiculous at the expense of the Dunedin City. Council. It would take too long to explain the position, for the difficulties arose two years ago, and as time rolled on they grew like a snowball, tilj ! the original disputes and complications were lost sight of by the transpiring of others which were never thought of in the beginning. Briefly, a tramline has been constructed. to I Anderson's Bay, and might be a revenue proj ducing concern if it could be used. Authority for this must come from Wellington, but as the Public VVorks Department, after having deI layed everything a year, cannot be disturbed during its holidays, the Council must lose the Christmas traffic and go on paying its interest with the best grace it can. Originally the new tram service was to cost it now stands to cost some ,£400,000, and probably more. The/service is about three-fifths completed ; nearly £10,000 has been sunk in a project for water power at Lee Stieam, which has been . temporarily abandoned ; over .£30,000. has been paid for the Waipori ComI pnny's water rights, which could, have "been got I lor nothing a few years ago, and the city at present is paying about £ 12,000 a year hi interest on the money borrowed to construct : the system. The losses consequent upon de--1 lays would have built a municipal theatre, free i library, art gallery, and a technical school, and ; are still mounting up, but nobody seems to be ■ worrying very much about it. The population ' of Duhediu and suburbs is about 52,000, some twp-thirds of which will be served by the electric service ; it is therefore obvious that they will have to ride on the trams very freely to make ibem pay, but few are optimistic enough to hope that they will do anything of the kind for the next 20 years.