YOUTH HOSTELS

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27051, 28 May 1953, Page 11

YOUTH HOSTELS

NEW BUILDING FOR ARTHUR’S PASS

ANNUAL MEETING OF ASSOCIATION

A new hostel is to be erected at Arthur's Pass by the Youth Hostels’ Association to replace the old one, which has been demolished. This information was contained in the report of the management committee, presented to the association’s annual meeting in Christchurch. A contractor would erect the walls and roof of the Arthur’s Pass building, and the linings and flooring would be completed by voluntary labour, said the president (Mr B. T. Cocks). .There would be room for 48 persons in the building, which would comprise a main room, a wash-room, and a kitchen. “The hut is to be built on the same site as the old one, and we are just waiting for that site to be bulldozed. Arthur’s Pass has always been the best-supplied of our hostels,” said Mr Cocks.

Appealing to members to raise as much money as possible for the project, Mr R. Matthews said that the cost would be about £4OOO, and a start would be made next spring if sufficient funds were available. The amount so far raised for the purpose is £929, according to the association’s annual report. The meeting decided to make provision for life-memberships to be taken out at £5 ss, as further contributions to the hostel fund.

The association had 895 members on April 31, 1953, said the annual report. The total number of “bed-nights” spent at hostels was 1945, compared with 1038 in the previous year, when access to some hostels had been affected by floods. Popularity of Hostels

Apart from Arthur’s Pass; the most popular hostels were those at Pigeon Bay and Homebush, said the report. Hostels at Cooper’s creek, the Sign of the Packhorse, and Kelly’s creek were also well patronised?

It was decided that the management committee of the association should establish local branches and local committees for these branches. This was approved as an amendment to the constitution to enable a branch of the association to be established in Wellington. Miss P. Lawless had already formed an interim committee -in Wellington, and it was hoped to have hostels established there soon, said Mr Cocks. The following officers were elected: patron, Miss Cora Wilding; president, Mr B. T. Cocks; vice-presidents, Messrs J. L. Taylor, R. Matthews, K. Johnston, N. Tweedie, and P. Boyle; honorary secretary, Mr J, L. McKie; honorary treasurer, Mr W. A. Hammett; reservations secretary, Mr G. Richards; committee, Misses V. Travers, D. Carew and D. Morgan. Messrs’ C. Rhodes, P. L. Johnstone, J. Hodges, T. Wingham and R. Garden.