NEW BRIGHTON AS BOROUGH

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21858, 11 August 1936, Page 5

NEW BRIGHTON AS BOROUGH

FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED LARGE GATHERING OF EARLY

SETTLERS

The fortieth anniversary of the formation of the borough of New Brighton was celebrated last evening wun a social and dance, which had organised by the New Bug Borough Council, and to which all living pioneer residents of the boroU had been invited, and which was hj in the New Brighton Masonic HauThe attendance was more than 2U . The special guests of honour w the member of Parliament for ® trict, the Hon. D. G. SulUvan, and IBSullivan. During the Mayor of New Brighton (Mr • ’ Smith) presented to Mr of illuminated address from b d New Brighton. He said that lt been thought fitting that on the occa sion of the anniversary, some recogm d tion should be made of t 0 f the worked so long the interests of t ° r The lS muminated address. was decorated on either side’^n h r en otaph duction of the New Brighton and clock tower, read as follows- r the Hon. D. G Sullivan We _ jne undersigned electors of B £ g for the Avon electorate, wish to cui._ vey to you on this, the f°rfi^ hj “ n h . versary of the borough of New Bng ton, thanks for the zeal and energy you have displayed for tb ® welfaie o your constituency. We feel on tms occasion that somelhmg th s should express our th °^ htf l v mDathy and that your ever-ready sympamy and interest in the P e °P le , . AISO s w h ° to Mrs Immn f™ her great others.” Underneath were the worttj “Entered Parliament 1913, g preseoted a bouqult to Mrs Sullivan Irom the women of the borough. ce i e bralion Mr Sullivan said that the ceie of the anniversary was an h’sionc oc^ casion. and one which should be e tered in the annals of the borougn. The pioneers of the borough ® worthy of all honour for the seaside resort which they had bud- Their work was not wasted, he fe future of the borough was asgurea. New Brighton was having its difi ties and he was fully aware of the hard struggle which the Mayor and Mayoress were having, but these a y would pass. Mr Sullivan offered hi congratulations to all °* the spectti guests, who were presented to hin individually. a« d expressed the hope that they would be m -New Brigh to celebrate the borough s fiftieth anm versary. Some Early History Cr. Owles, one of the first residents, gave an interesting account of the progress of the borough smce it was hnueht by Mr W. Hopkins m 1873 for the fum of £3OO. New Brighton then, he said, was only 150 acres m area. It had now been increased to 1500 acres and the Government valuation was more than £300,000. The first horse tram service was private company in 1885. Before the Tramway Board bought the service in 1905. Mr Davy Hamilton s coach used to make three ?etiirn trips a day. leaving the Empire Hotel, and travelling via Richmond and Burwood. The present route, Buckley’s road and Page’s road, had not then been formed. Cr Ow’es explained. . The Pier Company was formed in 1889, .continued Cr. Owles. and the first pile had been driven by Mrs Blake, the-wife of Mr Edwin Blake, member of Parliament for Avon at the time. The pier had been finished and opened by the Governor-General (Lord Glasgow)) in 1894. To build an approach to the pier, the Avon Road Board, then the controlling body, had used 35.000 ft of sheet piling timber, all of which was now buried in front ol the building, and for two chains on either side of the Esplanade. Most of the road in the borough had been * made with clay from the pit on the corner of Bexley road and Pages road, bought by the Avon Road Board. This had been sold to the Christchurch Tramway Board in 1893, and was now used as a metal dump. Cr Owles mentioned several of the oldest clubs in the borough, and dealt briefly with their history. A powerful sailing club had been formed in 1885 he said, and the first river gala had been held in the same year. Sailing, rowing; and swimming events had taken place, and many Canterbury clubs had taken part. Later, through the silting up of the river and estuary, sailing had become difficult, and had been supplanted by, power boating. He said that the New Brighton Municipal Band had been formed in June. 1890, and the New Brighton School drum and fife band, in 1914. Reminiscences of New Brighton in the early days, were also given by Dr. W. E. Stevens, the first resident medical practitioner to live in New Brighton. Dr. Stevens touched on the lighter side of the borough’s progress, and related several amusing incidents. The old identities invited as guests of honour were Mr and Mrs T. Barker, Captain and Mrs A. P. Hopkins. Mr and Mrs Alf Wilson. Mrs C. H. Winny, Mr George Lawrence, Mr and Mrs J. Curtis, Mrs Curtis, Mr W. Walker (a resident for 78 years), Mrs W. Miles Mrs H. D. Pine, Mr and Mrs George Free, Mrs J. Bellamy, Mr and Mrs John Hunt, Mr and Mrs J. H., Coates, Mr and Mrs W. C. Leversedge, Mrs A. H. Wyatt, Mr and Mrs George Barker (Hawarden), Mr and Mrs M. Pattrick, Mr and Mrs A. Marriott, Mr and Mrs Ira Lawry, Dr. and Mrs W. E. Stevens, the Misses M. J. and E. Hawker. Mr ' and Mrs 'H. N. Hawker, Mr S. Hawker, Mr G. W. Bishop. Mr and Mrs H. Hooker, Mr and Mrs A. Florence, the Misses Sadler, and Mr Sadler.