IN LAST RESORT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21550, 1 November 1944, Page 2

IN LAST RESORT

USE OF DRILL HALL

WOOL STORAGE CRISES

PROTEST SUPPORTED

Unanimous endorsement of the action of the Mayor, Mr N, H Bull, in forwarding to member:; of the Cabinet a protest against the use of the Gisborne drill hall lor wool storage, except as a final resort, was

recorded at last nights meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council, when the opinion was expressed that while wool storage was a matter of national importance, every other possible storage space should be fully investigated ueiore the public was deprived of the use of the only large floorspace available in the community.

lns„ ieiorence to hie commandeer of tlie hall was made by Mr K. morse, who stated uiat he had had several telephone messages from representatives of women’s organisations, with a total membership of about 3UOU,. asking that their protests be added to that already registered by the Mayor, on behalf of the council and other iocal organisations. ite diet not think, added Mr. Morse, that the fullest investigation liaci oeexi iiUidO Ui GiiiCx pOGSiOIc oU/i'cl£e beiore wool was mmeu mw me cinli hall, tie i.uu liau an cater during tileday oi space for 20.000 uales, and he thought dial that oner should oe put before the woolbrokers. There was atso the grandstand at the Park Domain, which lie believed should be further considered. At a later stage in the discussion. ! which for a time lapsed, Mr. G. J. ■ Jbune pointed out that nothing had i been done by the Council in respect 'of the protest forwarded by the Mayor. ; Mr. M. J. White commented that ■ Mr. Bull had done all that was neceu- ; sary .in having sent the protest forward. Ratification of Mayor’s Action i Mr. Jeune considered that that did not conclude the matter. The Mayor . had acted on the council’s Dehali, out ■ tip to the present the opinion of the j council had not been recorded tor or ! against his action. Surely it was correct mat, when action became j necessary without an opportunity for | prior consultation, the council should subsequently be asked to ratify the | action taken. He proposed to move j that the council endorse the Mayor’s I action, and continue to protest against | the storage of wool in the drill hall. | Mr. White; The Mayor s action has anticipated the protests of these other organisations.

Mr. Morse stated that the women I »vho had got into touch with him I were connected with patriotic work, j and they could not carry on with their work without a good hall. The town was without another hall suitaole for large gatherings. Tne deputy-Mayor, Mr. IT. H. De Costa, said that the town had been i without a large hall for a number ox i years, and that just when one was becoming available it was lost to the . public owing to the wool-storage ■ crisis. He agreed with Mr. Morse that if the City rian was still available the organised bodies could ■ manage fairly well. Broatled View Recommended

The necessity for taking a broad view of the matter was emphasised by Mr. I. J. Quigley, who pointed out that storage ox wool was now a national question, ft was necessary that space oe found for me large carry-over or past seasons’ wool, in order to clear the commercial stores for the appraisal of the new clip coming in from the country. If the wool were not appraised, the farmers would not be paid for it, and dial vvoula precipitate a serious situation for everyone. He appreciated that the drill hall was of great value in patriotic work and in other directions, Dut felt that everyone would agree that wool storage was of greater national importance than the handicaps that would be placed on people who had hoped to use the hall for other purposes. The town had managed to get along without the hall, under difficulties of course, for several years. He thought that patriotic and other efforts would still succeed, if it were realised that storage of the surplus wool was of the first importance. He agreed with the view that the hall should only be used after other available space was filled. Mr. Quigley added, but if storage could not be found elsewhere, the council could hardly raise an objection to the use of the drill hall. He was surprised to hear, after the investigation that had been made, that there was any building capable of storing 20,000 bales which the investigation had overlooked. Co-operation Among Wool Firms Mr. Morse: If there was more cooperation among the firms owning wool-stores in the town, it would be possible to hold much more wool in these stores. There is not one store in Gisborne really full. The firms could get over a lot oi their difficulties by arranging that one store only should be used for display, and the others filled up with the surplus wool. Mr. F. Tolerton expressed the view that there was not likely to be any building in Gisborne capable of holding 20,000 bales, as was suggested by Mr. Morse. He could hardly believe that the investigating committee would have overlooked such a building. Mr. Morse: Have you ever thought of the brickworks? Mr. Tolerton: Is it floored? Mr. Morse: Yes. Mr. Tolerton repeated that lie did not estimate the capacity of any available building, including the brickworks, at 20.00 U bales. At this stage Mr. White read a copy of the telegram sent by the Mayor to members of the Cabinet, stressing the fact that the drill hall should be used for wool storage only as a last resort. He moved that the Mayor's action be endorsed by the council, Mr. Quigley seconding this motion. The motion was supported unanimously.