Initial Moves In Town Hall Appeal

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28399, 4 October 1957, Page 12

Initial Moves In Town Hall Appeal

Three days after the Christchurch Town Hall Sponsoring Committee established itself and set itself the task of raising £150,000 in three years towards funds for a town hall, the general committee last evening took the initial steps in the campaign. The committee elected Mr P. B. Watts as its chairman, and Mr W. J. Cartwright, as deputy-chair-man.

Conveners of the mJin committees elected were: —Direct canvass, Mr J. L. Hay; money-raising projects, Mr J. F. Skedden; publicity, Mr P. J. Skellerup.

Additional members elected to the executive were Misses Jean McGregor and N. Northcroft, Messrs C. M. Thornton, E. F. Ward and K. H. Bartlett.

Mr Watts said that among suggestions which had been made for publicity had been a “barometer” in Cathedral square showing the amount collected and an exhibit of photographs and plans* of town halls throughout the world “We must be quite determined that any controversy about the site is not going to deflect us from our objective of getting the wherewithal for a town hall,” Mr Watts said. He was not “on either side of the fence” on the matter of site.

Asked about the possible site of the town hall and civic centre, Mr „C. B. Wells said that the Canterbury branch of the Institute of Architects had investigated nine possible sites. It considered the Cambridge terrace, Worcester street, Montreal street and Hereford street block the only suitable one, taking everything into consideration.

Did the City Council want incorporated council offices with the town hall? asked Mr A. R. Blank. He said that some city councillors did not think there was a need for the offices to be with the town hall.

“My view is that our interest in the site should be strictly confined to its ei jet on our raising the money we have set out to raise,” said Mr Watts. Mr M. W. Simes said it should be clearly defined what the money was for. If it was purely for a town hall, he did not anticipate any difficulty. If it was for a town hall and civic centre, it would be much more difficult. Mr Watts said the Canterbury Progress League’s view in sponsoring the campaign was that the money was for a town hall. Whether the town hall would be incorporated in a civic centre was a matter for the City Council.

Mr C. L. Martin, of the Christchurch Schools’ Music Association, said the association made an immediate offer of £5O, and assured the committee of contributions over the next three years. Preliminary work would take some time, the committee agreed, and its aim was to open the campaign officially about February, to coincide with a civic music festival.