PETONE BEACH

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 131, 1 December 1930, Page 10

PETONE BEACH

IMPROVEMENT SCHEME

PLANS FOR PAVILION

Claimed to be the safest in New Zealand by reason of its gentle seaward slope, its fine sand, and its lack ot1 backwash, the Petonc beach is unrivalled iv Wellington. Its popularity can be judged on any fine holiday afternoon, j when its two-mile length .is thronged with picnickers and bathers, while the water ofE the shore is alive with yachts, launches, outboarders, and racing skiffs. From the bathers' point of view, the facilities at tho beach are decidedly inadequate; the dressing sheds controlled by the Pctone Borough Council aro too small and ill-equipped for the hundreds of bathers who visit the beach when conditions are good. The reconstruction of the sheds is a matter of urgency. If this reconstruction was done by the council the cost would become a direct charge upon the ratepayers. Fortunately for them, the Potone Beautifying Society has evolved a better -cheme. Under this scheme, the- council will :aiso a loan 0f,£7500 for the improvement of the beach, and hand over the control of it to tho society, which will meet all charges in connection with the loau out of revenue from the beach. MODERN BATHING PAVILION. Tho central feature of the improvement scheme .is a modern bathing pavilion in a central position on the Esplanade, between 'Buick and Queen streets. According to the plans, the pavilion is of brick and consists of a central portion of two' stories, with two wings each of one story. On the ground floor in the centre is a vestibule opening on to the beach and giving access to the men's and women's dressing rooms on either side. A spray and foot-batli at the entrance from the beach ensures the cleanliness of the floors inside. In. the vestjbule are situated the custodian's control box and a refreshment stall. The back portion of the' vestibule, that is, the side nearest the street, is taken up with a lounge bar. Living-quarters for the custodian occupy the whole of the top floor of the central portion. The dressing. rooms in the wings of the building are very commodious. For men there is one large room with tiers of lockers in the centre. It accommodates 150. The accommodation on tjie women's side takes the form of cubicles, some lock-up and some open. There are approximately 40 cubicles, each holding two or three. Both men's and women's dressing rooms havo shower, wash basin, and lavatory equipment. The architects for the building, J. M. Dawson and King, estimate that it will cost about £4000. . SPENDING THE REST. The society proposes to spend the remaining £.3500'0n an elaborate lighting scheme to illuminate tho beach in the vicinity of the pavilion, and on a children's play area with full equipment, also near the pavilion. Definite spaces will be allotted for the sideshows at the Christmas and New Year Carnival which the society holds annually, and it is possible that the society will purchase a merry-go-round and other show machinery of its own, to bo housed permanently on the foreshore and used on suitable occasions. Other possibilities are tho building of a band rotunda aud the laying down of putting greens. The beach will be controlled by v , committee to be appointed by the I Petone Borough Council and by the. Beautifying Society. The scheme will be self-supporting, because tho loan charges-and extras will be met out of revenue from the hiring out of towels, costumes, lockers, and cubicles, and the rent of the refreshment stall and lounge bar. The method of finance is based upon one successfully operated by the Tahuna Sands Association (Nelson), whose work suggested the Pet'ono j scheme to its originator, Mr. R. W. Toomath. If the Tahuna Sands Association can achieve success Petone, with a beach more accessible to a greater population and with a finer pavilion, should be at least as successful. Tho application for permission to raise the £750.0 loan is now being considered by the Local Government Loans Board, aud if it is sanctioned (as it is expected to be) by the board and by | the Petone. ratepayers, the scheme will i liavc become an accomplished fact by ' Christmas, 1031, and the Hutt Valley's beach will then compare more than favourably with any in New Zealand.