TOWN BEAUTIFUL

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 November 1923, Page 3

TOWN BEAUTIFUL

REVIVAL OF INTEREST?

“A very sad obituary notice appeared in the ‘Star’ the other day,” said Cr. F. A. Kitchinghani at last evening’s annual meeting of the Greymouth Ratepayers’ Association, referring to the lapse of the Beautifying Society. “It was suggested to me by Cr. G. R. Harker that I should perform some Phoenix-like act and get the organisation going again. If the existing officers are unequal to the task, new men could be obtained. The dead society lacked ginger and kick. People who ought to have supported it did not do so. A beautifying society could do a lot of good. It could raise money for instance, to get an expert gardener who could give an idea as to what could be done to enhance the natural surroundings of the town. So little ability is available locally that the town should get some expert from away.”

Continuing, Cr. Kitchinghani said that the late society had done some good work in the Children’s Park and elsewhere, but much remained to be done. He suggested equipping the Children’s Park with swings and seesaws, etc. He hoped some citizens of the town would take it upon themselves to launch a fresh Beautifying Society. Speaking of the work of the Beautifying Committee of the Borough Council, of which he is chairman, Cr. Kitchinghani said that the revision of the by-laws was being made largely to prevent slum areas arising and to improve the appearance of the town. One by-law would provide for the cleaning up of vacant sections which were to be fenced. This would do away with a good deal of the unsightliness of many parts of the town. The Beautifying Committee did not get much to work on. It had an annual amount of £5OO allotted to it, and when the salary of the Borough Gardener and casual assistance was paid for there was not a great deal left for beautifying work.

“What would be the cost of obtaining expert advice?” asked the President (Mr. H. H. Allison). Mr. Kitchinghani said that he thought it might have been possible to come to some arrangement with

the Christchurch Domains Board for the loan of the Curator of the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Mr. Young, who, was a very busy man. Replying to a question as to what steps had been taken against vandalism in the municipal reserves, Cr. Kitchinghani said that the question had been placed in the hands of the Police. It was heartrending to see the destruction that was going on in 'different parts of the town. He appealed to public-spirited citizens to teach the children—and the ignoramuses—that they should respect their own property. A lot of damage had been done to the trees in High Street through carts colliding with. “People with carts ought to have more sense” said Cr. Kitchinghani, “but some of them have not!”