ST. KILDA BEACH

Evening Star, Issue 21628, 25 January 1934, Page 6

ST. KILDA BEACH

IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY'S FINANCES SCHEME TO CLEAR £4OO DEBT Since 1928, when it was inaugurated, the St. Kilda Beach Improvement Society has spent well oyer £3,000 in providing a bathing pavilion and necessary facilities, as well as a children’s playground, at the beach. Most of the money has been paid, but it requires £405 to clear the society’s liability with the bank. It' was for the purpose of devising a means of wiping out the debt that a public meeting of the society was held last night, when it was decided that a queen carnival be held to raise the necessary finance. Mr J. W. Dove '(president of the society) reviewed the activities of the society since its institution. He said that the bathing pavilion had cost £2,500, although to-day it was valued at £2,957, Carnivals held had realised a considerable amount of money, with the result that all But a little over £I,OOO had been paid off the pavilion. lire remainder of the liability should have been paid off years ago, tyid it would have been, but the problem had proved too great for the committee to carry through. It had done all that was possible to reduce the liability, at the same time making improvements to its grounds. When the depression started it had hit the society badly. A number of relief workers had" been transferred _to the grounds, which had been considerably improved, and were a credit to the district. The cartage of spoil to improve the grounds had cost about £3OO, whilst another £2OO had been spent on playthings for the children’s playground. The money spent on those devices was additional to what had been donated to the society. Further improvement had been made to the ■grounds two years ago, when a children’s paddling pool had been laid down. It had proved a fine asset to the beach.

Four years ago tire bank overdraft had been £BOO, Mr Dove continued. Free-of-interest debentures had been issued, and through them £l9B had been, raised prior to the depression, which had terminated further disposal of the debentures. Through approaching the Minister of Internal Affairs the society had benefited to the extent of £3OO through a recent art union, so that the society bad been successful in reducing its liability to £265 Os lid, which was disclosed in the most recent balance-sheet. A generous citizen had since offered to' take £SO worth of debentures, provided that three other per-sons-promised to take out-like amounts. Something like £IOO was received in revenue at the bathing pavilion each season, but if a really good year were experienced it would mean £l5O or £2OO to the society. Then the debentures could be honoured, and the society could give more serious consideration' to proposals that had been long delayed for want of the necessaryfinance. - TENNIS COURTS AND BATHS. “We have definite proposals for making our grounds more attractive,” said Mr Dove. “We have an excellent site for two public tennis courts, which would cost about £350 to lay out and wire in. They would prove to be am unqualified asset from a revenueproducing aspect. Two years ago one person iwas so impressed with the project that he offered- to lay one of the courts, the payment to be made at the society’s convenience. Though I am not sure, I feel that that offer would still stand good. This may seem ambitious, but it has been the dream of more than .one of our most prominent citizens; I refer to the provision of salt water baths, the , water to be svphoned from the ocean to the pool. Whether this will ever be accomplished it our day remains to, be seen, but we have an excellent site at the south end of the ground. Syphoning the water .would not present any difficulty, hut possibly draining would. Such a pool would lie to the sun all day long, and would therefore possess advantages over the St. Clair baths. A good season would prove conclusively the attraction a pool would be to the “The Society, a voluntary organisation, has been carrying out public work. It has spent over £3,000 on the ground to dale, and with another £I,OOO it could further improve the beach approach. From a monetary point of view the society has received assistance from nobody. It has provided necessary and much-appreciated facilities at the beach, and it deserves the suppoi-t of citizens.” In conclusion, Dr Dove thanked Mr D. M. Lister and members of the Ladies’ Committee for their loyal support, and he thanked the St. Kilda. Borough Council and the Ocean Beach Domain Board for their periodical asMr M. J. Kelly said that the society’s undertaking had been a big one, and one with which the Borough and City Councils should in future assist. He suggested that a deputation should wait on the City Council for assistance . PROPOSALS DISCUSSED. Full consideration was given a motion that a properly-organised outdoor carnival be held about March, but it was withdrawn when objection was raised to the canvassing of the borough for donations of produce. The holding of a queen carnival was then discussed, and it was unanimously decided that such an effort should _ be organised immediately and continue until June. It was also decided that four queens between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two be nominated to participate in the carnival, which, it was felt, would in all probability clear the society of debt. All present signified their willingness to assist the society’s committee with the queen carnival. In closing the meeting, the Deputymayor of St. Kilda (Cr A. D. Edgar, who acted as chairman) appealed to all to work seriously in the interests of bettering the beach and making _it more useful. The council was doing its share to make the borough attractive, and it behoved the residents to rally round and put their shoulder to the wheel in order to help toward that end.