DAY'S BAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1998, 4 March 1914, Page 8

DAY'S BAY.

TO BE SECURED AT XAST. i AN ENERGETIC COllinEE. APPROACHES CITY COUNCIL. The desirability of Bay's Bay being acquired as a. pwmanetti leserve was urged by a deputation of citizene which waited upon the City Council yesterday afternoon. The members of this deputation had. been i-nterostiag. themselves in a scheme to Irtiy the loiuli and to this end had sMUre<l an optiou'ovet tho property for £14,090. They Had then approached the Prime Minister, and Mr. Massey had promised to place on the Estimates as part of th/e purchase price a vote of, £4000. With this offer the deputation approached the council, suggesting that tlio council should contribute £4000, and that if that amount was fortheomiia they would undertake to find the other MM. The council agreed to find the £4600, so that the reserve is now almost certain to be purchased.

What tho Committee Hat} Done. Mr. T. M. Wilfetd said h.e had btiim asked to introcluco the deputation, which included three ex-Mavors of the city—Mr. T. W. Hislop, Mr. D.. U'laism and himself—tho Mayor of 'l3asttiou.fu-e (Mr. W. J. Orgau)j tiio seafetary of the Sports Protection Xeague (sir. H. W. Shaflcrass), and Mr, A. W. BJair, a representative of tfeo residents -of Day's Bay. He said.tha.t- the eommittco haij succeeded in getting the Government to agree to place on the Estimates a sum of £4000 tosvsr-ds the purchase of the area. It had also been arranged with a body of men in Day's Bay who had purchased part of t-110 tennis, area to allow their land to <Doffle into- the "block now on offer, which would inclvide tho whole area at "Day's Bay, tit* bush, the tennis lawn, the piV.ilio.n, the <?-are» taker'o cottage, and other buildings. The purchase price Was £i4 s OOO. The Government valuation of tie tush land was £2 per acre, and tlifr value at tthicli it was assessed in the price of £14,000 was £2 7s. 6d. per acrt>. In regard to the flat land, the,.valise- pfecMUii it by the syndicate was between £5 and Iβ a foot,' which was considered by tlift Eastbourne Borough. Council to be t>. fair value. Ths deputation asked tjui council to say whether it would coHtfibuto £4000, .'the deputation undertaking t<? find the remaining £6000. Mr. Luke: Who w{ll the property be vested in? , Mr. AVilford gugsested' ttat theremight- be a'Board of Control ooii-sietiiig of the Mayor of WfiHtogton, the M-ayor; of Eastbourne, a representjttive of the; 1 Government, and a representative flf tlie subscribers to the fund. The promises of support from oitiz.eij.s Scenied so genuino and so spontaneous thftt the d'epii-, tation felt that they couM with safbty iihdertake to find'£oooo if the coujieil would find £4000: Above all they wanted an answer very soon because . they - had an.-option over the property feir seven days only, they had discussed the price very fully , and- they were satis* fled that , they, could pot fi&t tho land at any lower price. They thought the present opportunity of aequ-iris* _ the land was au/ttxcellout one, aiia if it : was not accepted th?- land woukl be lost to the people of.. Wellington, for all time. .'.-..■

People Visiting tH& Bay* Mr. A. W. Blair said &b dosifability ,: of acquiring tho toad at JDay's Bay ft'a'sj apparent from. tfipi'/iMvmber ftf casual.! trippers who visjtfed tlig. pfoce in every; year. He was informed by the Ferry ■ Company that the .numbpt of casual , : tickets sold in th-Q. ftsurso of a.veari was from 200,000 to 250,000> •h.-hidi waa equivalent to 3 1-7 visits, per yqaf for every man, ajid child iil the city. Those wera not estimated, hgfc\ actual Bgures, *ere ars «lo> i quent, testimony t* the use ftiade -of' Day's Bay by the public of' Wellington. One had only to go : to Bay's Bay on any fine Sunday to.ap.preeiato how it w-as ■ used. The price tho coiwpany were asking was one,, the cojiimittte wero satis--. ficd, which ccjulcl he obtained for tie land ut-sariy time it was put up for sale in suitable allotments, I'his .remark did not, of course, apply to tho bush, the value of which was very difficult to determine, but the pricft now askeet was some £2500 less, than the Ferry Company had been prepared to accept for the bush by itself. If ihe- : land were acquired, the. public of Wellington would have- two largo grounds. suitable for either hockey qv football-, twelve tennis grounds, ft. large flat, a: pavilion, and ono <jf tlio most charming bushes in New Zealand, a bush which botanically and in every other respect ivas one of the most interesting in tho whole of New Zealand. Tiie ' urgejicy of the matter was ihn.% they had otijy seven days' optioiij aiitf linless the. coifiditteo knew'what niaiiey tiey would have to find, they 'would be hsndicajiped seriously in getting tho baknao <?.f the money. Tho sum the «oil{ncil were asked to find was not nearly so iargo as bad-been already paid far other grounds,

not comparable with Day's Bay. Anderson's Park, for iiistajice, had cost £12,000. If the cou-ntil. would- name a definite suni which they would be prepared to contribute, • tko eommitteo had the greatest confidence that tljey could' raiso the balance,. Matters of Detail. Mr. Wilford put in details of the option submitted to tlie coromittoo. The details were—62Q aeres of hush, 200 acres at £10 per acre, 420 S-cfe.j at £2 7s. Bd.; 62ft, of flat land froaiing the Main Road at £6 10s. per feet; 213 ft, at £6 per foot; frontiiig Ea-ni Road, 279 ft. at £4 and 300 ft. at "£&; the paj'ilion. with 120 ft. fro-nte-ge, £2000; care, taker's cottage, 4(Mt. froMtage, £400; 300 ft. fronting Main Road, at £o: total, £11,500. In addition, ■ tennis courts. 330 ft., fronting Main Road, at £@j £1980; back teftnis court, £600'; amount of option, £14,000. The deputation, sa-itl Mr, Wilford, were laying all their cards on the- table. The revenue from the prtpo-rty was about £670 per yea?, of which £120 was derived from water. 4250 from, the pavilion, and about £300 from etttra.flCß to the grounds. Ho offered tho suggestion that, to save trtfubk, the- City Councillors should fceciimo the puschasers, and that the citizens and tlie- 60-v* eminent should pay their ooiitfiblttioiis into the city treasury. In reply to questions, Jhj. Blair said it was anticipated that lie actual cost of upkeep of the ground would bo less than the income., aijfl charges could be niade for the use of the playgrounds which would ensure* that tho city would not be saddled with further liability in rospect of the \ipk<K)p of the land, - Mr.. Wilford, replying to Oaiincillor Fuller, said the members of fEft deputation wero not financially interested in tlio business, but were interested si'jripl-y as members of the public. Councillor Barber asked whether the Eastbourne Borough ivonlc) bo asked to contribute any part o.f tho £6000, Mr. Organ said that Eastbourne! Borough, in conjunction with residents of Day's Bay, would bo prepared tribute. f The Council's Decision, Tho council considered the proposal ! in committee, and in oomnlittne'tlvo fat- ', lo\ring motion by Councilor Miiuljnatsli i was adopted:—"That the Wellington City Council acquire tljo Day's Bay bush, conditionally o-ti Hie sum of £10,000 being contributed hy the Got* ornment, local bodies, anil, citizens; that the land bo held in trust for the citizens I of TVellinsrton aw* ip4;deats itt the £Ui>

rounding districts; ajid, furUici',; that tlio 'land lie vested ■in the WelJingteil ■City Council, tho terms of tfco trust to he settled hereafter between this council and the eontributmg bodies, and in enso of dispute tho. matter be reic-rrccl to arhjti'ation." . . .

A special ' committee consisting of j the Mayer, Coimuilior Hintirsiarsti, t-hct ■.Town Clerk, awl the City Solicitor was ■set tip to give effect to the resolution. The resolution means that tfjo City Council will purchase the land outright, receiving £10,000 from tho Government and the other contributors. It is net considered likely that the- stipulation that tlio land be Vested in the city will bo any obstacle in the way of a satisfactory- agreement being reached as between tho parties canoerttod.

A meeting of the Ottizeiis' Committee will be holt? this morning to take the necessary steps towards securing -the balance of the money required for the pttr'elvaso of the reserve, £6090. Sir. Organ, v Mayor of Eastbourne, is olafrman -of tho asm-mittee, Mr, (JhaitfifasSj Iran, secretary, and Messrs. C. V. iikerrett and T. M. Wilforci, boil, traasttrers.