BAD BUSINESS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 80, 5 April 1933, Page 8

BAD BUSINESS

SUNDAY ZOO CHARGES MR. MCKEEN'S REASONS

In explanation of his notice of motion in the .direction of abolishing the Sunday charge of sixpence for the admission- of adults •to the Newtown Zoo, Councillor B. McKeen, M.P., stated today that tlie figures of Zoo revenue for the. last few, years indicated that the making of a Sunday charge had been an unwise move, and he was satisfied that actually the return to the city from Zoo patronage on Sundays \vas less than before the admission chargo was made, for the Tramway Department had lost many thousands of passengers. While the great majority of people did not hesitate over making an outing by tram to the Newtown Zoo before the Sunday charge was imposed, ho remarked, the admission, charge, on top of tram fares' kept them at home.

The Sunday charge was introduced in 1931, following a favourable reply of electors to a poll on the question of such a. charge being made, there being a general understanding that all Sunday revenue would be devoted to Zoo improvement, though there was no mention of this point .on the ballot paper. Prior to that date the only gate revenua came from week-day charges, one shilling for adults, children being admitted free.

The figures quoted by Councillor McKeen -'were:—l92B, £1609; 1929, £.1662; 1930, £1948; 1931, week days, £1519, Sundays £784; 1932, week flays £1094, Sundays'£496; 1933, week days £722, Sundays £262. '

While probably the marked falling away in Zoo revenue was largely a reflection'of difficult times, said Councillor McKeen, it was most noticeable that the ratio of Sunday takings to week-day revenue had dropped very greatly last year as compared with 1931. There was no extra cost of maintaining the Zoo on Sundays, and there was no ddubt j^jst as strong a desire on the part of Wellington people to visit the Zoo as formerly, but the charge very effectively discouraged many from making a Sunday outing. Jt should be the duty of the council to popularise the Zoo as long as it maintained that institution, and the most effective way to do that, he believed, was to remove tho Sunday charge, particularly as more would be gained from .the oxjtra tramway traffic so encouraged than would bo lost in rapidly diminishing gate receipts.