EGMONT RACING CLUB

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXVIII, Issue LXXVIII, 14 June 1919, Page 5

EGMONT RACING CLUB

EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS CONTEMPLATED. The Eginont Having Club, at Thursday nigut/s committed resolved 10 ia\'ite Air Luttreil, aienitect of Christcnurch, to v*sit Hawera and report on the improvements to the appointments on t^e course that tiie commute contemplate carrying out in the near future. Mr Luttren is <i specialist' in designing raeeeouise appointments, and as the impiovements that I tne committee hope to undertake Wall bo extensne, thfly desire tile best expert advice uiat can De piocured. Tiiey anticipate, amongst otiier tilings, erecting a new stewards' stand, a new totausator nouse, and considerably enlarging trie public suuid. The course itself will receive attention, and Mr Sturrock's report on this will be submitted to a special committee lor decision tomorrow night. Tne beaut-neation of. the course lias also L.-en under consider- ; ation, and the comm.ttte practically j decided to adopt a special report pro- i pared by Messrs C. Goodaon and Peter ! Jiiack, and incorporate same as part of the big improvement scheme. Messrs Goodson and Biack, reporting on their plan for beautifying tiie grounds say ; inter alia: ' \ entrance —On the proposed plan, the mam entrance is from \va.hi Koad, and it as intended that all cars enter by this gate. Tne exit gate is by jb'arithani street. IJxi s circuit route would, we believe, obviate any congestion on race <ia.ys. .Passengers entering by car could be dropped at the turnsiyi^s immediately inside tiie entrance gates, and cars t-omd then be driven to tne paddock allotted to them, or, if on lure could drive right out by x,he i'anthain street gate. . Drives and Paths—The main drive is ' rit> reet wide except, near the exit gate where the width is increased to 40 reet. in addition to tiie car-way there is provided a road 20 feet wide tor horses oniy, and it is intended that all raoehoises going to and irom the course iso this load. The path from the turn-i-.0-.les to the grandstand is 24 feet wide l ;.ad is for pedestrian traffic only. The! i-ath to the saddling paddock, from near j che tea kiosk, is lb feet w:de; other' wnall paths near the lakelet are eight; ■feet wide. These paths are of various widths to serve the public convenience and to give unity and proportion to too .design. Plantations—The winds are mostly from a westerly direction, and as heavy a planting as the space will allow has been placed on the westerly side, i.e., on the side next to tne mauii road. Na-. tive trees have largely been suggested, these, in our op^on, being the most suitable; for the object in view, j It is intended that they be planted' closely together to give cue appearance j of a miniature native bush. This, we ' know, can be accomplished in a comparatively short time, and at no great expense, inside the native tree planting, flowering shrubs, such as rhododendrons, rosiis, etc., can b^ planted w v every hope of their doing weil, and the background of native trees add much to' their appearance. Other plantings near the looseboxes and the saddling paeidock are placed there primarily lor appearance sake, but also for shelter purposes, and to hide some of the buildings and fences from the grounds.-The elms (weeping) shown round the lakelet, and those on the grass nearby, would' give needed shade, and could, have seats \ placed under them. In addition to1 those shown on the plan, it would not disturb unity of design, if some were planted on the lawn between the tea kiosk and the grandstand. Generally. speaking, our aim in arraying the planting has bean to combine beauty with utility and avoid as far as possible unsightly straight line hedges. Lakelet—This would add greatly to the beauty of the place, and the' soil excavated from it could be stacked and used latvu- for top dressing purposes. If there is more soil than would be required for th; s purpose, it could, with advantage, be used to raise- the planted borders above tho adjoining ground. Existing Trees—You will notice, w heh xooKing over the plan, that the existing trees, haver not been incorporated in the This was found impracticable, for to ratan them would have made patchy work, and ho have no | hesitation in saying that their loss will not be long felt. The weak point about the plan is that portion of the grounds near the totalisator and the outside, lawn. The land there however i s so' cramped that little if anything can be done. We would ask you to go very carefully into every detail before adopting the plan. Alteration? can easily be made on paper, and we are not' only willing, but desirous, of making any alterations you may think necessary * and we will further take the liberty of saying that when once the plan is approved and adopted, ,it should be rip-idly adhered to.