Trust decides to buy Mt Vernom

Press, 6 November 1984, Page 1

Trust decides to buy Mt Vernom

The Christchurch Civic Trust Board will buy the Mount Vernon property in the Port Hills. The trust decided unanimously last evening to buy the property, although funds are still about $lOO,OOO short of the $380,000 needed. However, the trust was fully confident that the extra money would be raised, even if it meant taking out a loan, said its chairman, Mr Graeme Robertson. -' ■* Mr Robertson said that before the decision was made trust members had considered a range of possibilities for reaching the target figure of $380,000. They decided that they could cope with even the most pessimistic of possibilities — and voted to go ahead. “We know we can get the money, otherwise we would never have entered into the contract in the first place,” said Mr Robertson. “There is no going back now. We are going to buy Mount Vernon — it is as simple as that.” Mr Robertson said he had nothing but praise for the people of Christchurch who

had supported the appeal since it' was launched in December last year. “The response from the people of Christchurch has been just fantastic,” he said. “It is they who have done it.” He said that last evening’s meeting was “a fairly big occasion,” and involved a considerable degree of sentimentality for the trust members. The last big campaign the Civic Trust had been involved in was the purchase of Mona Vale in 1967 for £60,000. The trust will take pos-

session of the 236-hectare block of land on January 31 next year. Responsibility for gathering the final $lOO,OOO however, will go to a newlyconstituted committee. Mr Robertson described the original 12 committee members last evening as “exhausted,” and although still committed, their work will be taken over by new members. ' . , Donations are; still being accepted at branches of Trusteebank Canterbury, or they can be posted to the Port Hills Appeal, P.O. Box 1927, Christchurch.