THE DEMOLISHED BEACH

Evening Star, Issue 17368, 2 June 1920, Page 8

THE DEMOLISHED BEACH

HINT OF WORK STOPPING. RESIDENTS ACTING PROMPTLY. A meeting of St. Clair and St. Kilda residents was held in the Presbyterian School Hall last evening to consid'er the best method of financing a quick foilowup to the protective measures belatedly undertaken to make good the damage done to St. Clair beach. Something of a bombshell was thrown bv Mr J. M'Donald in his announcement that there was likelihood of the work started being dropped the following day, when the £250 provided by the council would have been expended. Mr J. B. Waters presided. Mr M'Donald said there was danger of the work stopping the next night. The suggestion has been made to the Domain Board, he understood, that they should ;.pp;oach the public bodies in order to secure the assistance necessary to allow the work to be carried on. He had made inquiries from the secretary of the Domain Board -whether anything had been done, and had been informed "No"; and the City Engineer had said that the money in hand would be expended by the next night. He would move, therefore—"That this meeting of Dunedin and St. Kilda _ citizens respectfully request the Domain Board to immediately approach the Dunedin City Council and the St. Kilda Council for the purpose of arranging with them the necessary finance to carry on the work now started for the protection of the sandhills." Mr A. Kilpatrick seconded the motion. It was for the ratepayers to do anything that had to be done "now. Private subscriptions would bring in the money very tardily, but a small levy on the ratepayers of both St Kilda'and the City—both of which were interested in the beach—would meet the situation. The City were certainly verv heavily interested, and if St. Kilda could raise £1.200 by Id in the £ on the unimproved value, the City should _raise 12 times that sum on the same rating basis. Cr Hall said the difficulty was that the rating for_ this purpose "was limited by law. A Bill was now brought down to raise this rating power from Id to id in the £, and there would be long delay- before the Id ratine power Mr Kilpatrick suggested could "be got. He thought a quicker method would" be found_ if it were possible for the City and St. Kilda Corporations to act as security for the*r>omam Board in order that thai body might be able to borrow what monev was necessary—from the Government or elsewhere. Mr Harris Hastings suggested that the executive should arrange" a conference between the borough and City and them, when he believed the whole'thing could be fixed up in five minutes, "The motion was carried. Mr Hastings then moved that the executive confer next day with the Domajn Board and the Mayors of Dunedin and St. Kilda with a riew to arranging the guarantee of the sum required. Some initial objection was taken to this on the ground that the Havers could not take the resoonsibOity without consulting their councils, but the Chairman pointed out that snoh a conference tv&3 the quickest method of putting the matter in train; the Mayors would be able to get in touch with their councillors much quicker than the- league could. The motion was earned. A LEAGUE FORMED. The meeting decided to form thornselves into a league to be Darned the St, Clair and fit. Kilda Citizens' League. Mr J. B. Waters was elected president, Mesa's J. M'Donald and. Hall vice-pre-sidents, Mr H. W. Trotman secretary and treasurer, Mr E. P. Titchener assistant secretary; with executive consisting of Messrs A. Kfipafcrick, W. Anderson, T. W. Miller, and E. L. Macassey ; permanent , committee coosist*"S°* Messrs T. Oxford, T. Fleming, H. T. TltcEener, A. Miller, W. V. Kingston, Chas. Todd. C. Moody, J. Anderson, P. C. Triggs, F. Todd. W. Clark, H. W, Jones, J. M'Narey, H, C. Jones, H. C Campbell, and Dr Dickie.