SYDENHAM PARK.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIII, Issue 12158, 23 March 1900, Page 2

SYDENHAM PARK.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I read Mr T. A. Williams’s letter, in this morning’s issue, and partly in defence of the Sydenham Council, and also in defence of the Sydenham Cricket Club, I feel that a reply is necessary. The Sydenham Cricket Club obtained from the Council the right to prepare and use as a cricket ground a portion of the Park during the summer months. The club has no control over the ground during the winter. The club has spent over £350 in preparing and keeping the ground in order. It has also erected a pavilion at a cost of £2OO. It is therefore only reasonable that the club should, receive some little consideration. As the club had no control over the ground during winter, the Sydenham Football Club and the Sydenham Hockey Club applied for and obtained permission from the Council to use the cricket ground during the winter months. Surely this cannot be construed into showing favour to the Cricket Club.; The Park being public, the Cricket Club could make no charge to these clubs for the use' of the ground. Notwithstanding Mr Williams’s emphatic statement that football and hockey do not injure a cricket ground, the fact remains that they do injure it. Anyone with a knowledge of cricket must see that playing a game with long hooked sticks on a wet ground during winter must injure it, and the hockey players did damage the ground considerably, in some places knocking pieces of turf clean ■ out. It cost the club a considerable sum at the beginning of the season in attempting to repair the damage. The club received practically no remuneration from the Hockey Club. I may here mention that the rest of the Park was open to the Hockey Club, but Mr Williams explained to the Council that it was not good enough.' Therefore had the Cricket Club riot laid’down ’a portion of the Park, rio hockey could have been played. The Coun-; ell has favoured the Cricket Club this much:—they have allowed the Cricket Club to spend about £BOO on the Park, and they have granted the football and hockey players the. benefit of ' that expenditure, and yet Mr Williams says the Council shows partiality to the Cricket Club. ' ' The tone of Mr Williams’s letter would lead the public to think that the Sydenham Cricket Club had applied to the Council to close the whole of Sydenham Park during the coming winter, whereas they only ask them to close the cricket ground. Mr Williams also states that the club made the application in -February of the present year. On referring to the club’s letter-book, however, I find that the application was made in April, 1899. I would ask you to kindly publish the letter as follows :■ — “ April 14, 1899. The Sydenham Borough Council. Gentlemen,—l am requested by the committee of the Sydenham Cricket Club to, ask you to close (during the winter of 1900) that portion of Sydenham Park used by them as a cricket ground. We find that to make the ground a success, it is necessary to re-plough and sow it afresh. We acquaint you thus early ,of our wishes in order to give you ample time to consider the matter, and also that you will be able to give notice to those clubs at present using the ground during the winter.—lam, etc., H. G. Goodirian, Honorary Secretary.” J feel that Mr Williams has unduly, distorted matters, and has allowed a veiled aniriiosiJ-v to the Council to override his good sense and wisdom. I believe the Council is actino- /» .the best interests of the ratepayers and sport ,in 'their determination to improve the Park. The object of the Council in closing the Park is to level and lay the remainder down in grass, so that there will be ample room for each class of sport to have a ground for itself and thus do away with that friction which has existed in the past. I am informed that the Park will not be wholly closed, but that a portion will be set aside for school children and others. The Council also,(I believe, selected winter for improving, the Park becduso it is the proper time to break up ground. . I have written this letter because I consider Mc Williams has been unduly harsh on the Council, and to endeavour to show that they are not partial, but working in the best interests of the community. I hope that the effect of this reply may cause you to modify the criticism of the Council in your leader this morning. I trust that the next time Mr Williams takes up his pen that he will do so in a better spirit and for abetter cause.—l am, etc., -

, H. G. GOODMAN, Late Honorary Secretary Sydenham^ : Cricket Club. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Having carefully read the Rev T. A. Williams’s letter and your able leader on same, I am thoroughly surprised at the action of the Sydenham Borough Council refusing the use of “ the People’s Park ” to the Football and Hockey Clubs, and giving the Cricket Club the full benefit of the Park. It falls very hard on the young men of this “Model” Borpugh to be debarred during the winter months of spending a’ few hours on the weekly half-holiday in manly exercise, and I much fear that some may be driven''to find enjoyment in a way that would be detrimental to their health and a source of sorrow to their friends. I write in no antagonistic spirit to the Council’s decision, but I would suggest, firstly, that a petition from the inhabitants of Sydenham asking them to rescind their resolution regarding the Hockey and Football Clubs be started at once, so as to reach the Council before their next meeting, or, secondly, a public meeting be called without delay in one of the Church schoolrooms.— I am, etc., S. H. SAUNDERS. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—l was much pleased with your subleader in this morning’s issue regarding the above. I, with the Rev T. A. Williams, think it monstrous that the Park should be closed to the public, more especially the children. They are very indignant at the idea, one of mine, fourteen years old, actually stafing his intention of writing to the papers about it. The Park is, as you state, a public reserve, and no particular body should have a monopoly of any part of it, as that means thousands being debarred for the benefit of tlx© few. I would suggest that Mr Williams call a public meeting to protest. I for one will bear my share in the cost of a hall.—l am, etc., W. H. GIBBS.

TO THE EDITOR

Sir,—You have published a letter from, the Rev T. A. Williams embodying a complaint with regard to the treatment of the hockey and football players of Sydenham by the Borough Council as controllers of Sydenham Park. This you have backed up in a sub-leader, and. have taken upon yourself the task of lecturing , the Council for granting privileges to the Cricket Club entirely opposed to the statute by which the reserve is vested in the Council. ifou, we hold no brief for the Councillors, who, no doubt, can take care of themselves. But, as officers'of the Sydenham. Club, we deem it right that the one-sided statements made by ill- Williams should not be allowed to go uncontradicted. Mr Williams makes several statements in connection with the cricketers which are absolutely untrue, and if the gentleman in question was not aware of this°when he wrote, .then we are .sorry, for his own sake, that he made the statements in such a definite manner without further inquiry. .. . First, Mr Williams’ states that the Cricket Club applied to the Council for permission to hold the ground all through the.coming winter, that, all winter games might be prohibited. Your correspondent also affirms that this application was made, ostensibly (note the sarcasm)' with a view to improve the ground for their own play next summer Now what are the facts? Some five years ago, when the property was purchased and handed over to the boiough, as a recreation reserve, a Cricket Club was formed, and obtained permission to use a portion of the ground for the purpose of playing cricket. Now-the veriest tyro knows that to play anything like decent cricket, one must have » specially -pre- -

pared ground, and in addition to that, the ground needs constant attention. The first season the club had to be satisfied with cocoanut matting pitches, but after that we were able to play on turf, and now look forward to the time when the ground will be one of the best in the colony. The laying out of the ground and other improvements have, in one way and another, cost us about £3OO, in addition to which we pay about £SO per annum for work done on the ground. Our total expenses to date under this heading have been £524, of which the Council contributed, in the first year, about £2O. Notwithstanding this, the ground ■has not been making the progress we should like, and we applied to the Council for leave to have certain work done to the ground,. at the most suitable time of the year, which would permanently benefit the ground not only for cricket, but also for hockey and football. This work will cost us from £SO to £6O.

Mr Williams, however, plays hockey, and as ! the ground is at present good enough for hockey, he objects to Us making it fit for any other game. What selfishness! Had it nob been for the money spent on it by the cricketers, the ground would not have been fit even for hockey. All we have asked is that the portion of the ground used by cricketers, not the whole of the Park, shall be closed to football and hockey for this winter, to enable the ground to be thoroughly top-dressed and levelled. Permission that this should be done has been granted, and this is the sort of thing which Mr Williams describes as “ making a gift of half the Park to the Cricket Club. ’ Mr Williams knows as well as we do, that we only desire to have that portion of the Park used by us, closed for the coming winter. Anyone reading his letter would think we wanted exclusive right of it—an absurdity. Your correspondent is grossly misleading when referring to the expert evidence forwarded to the .Council. Let me tell you that when this expert furnished his first report, it was based on information supplied to him by Mr Williams. That gentleman has not told you that the expert, when told by the officers of the Cricket Club what was required, unreservedly withdrew his former evidence, and stated that the winter games would certainly injure the portion of the Park set apart for cricket, if indulged in during the coming winter. Mr Williams thinks that he makes a great point when he refers to the treatment of the children of Sydenham. Why, the Sydenham 'Cricket Club has done all they possibly can to encourage the children. At their own cost they provide pitches for school matches, material when required, and have, for each of the last two seasons, given to three of the most promising schoolboys, free inembership of the club. We are very sorry, indeed, that Mr Williams has rushed into print in this way. The only object that can be gained by such action is the fostering of a feeling of resentment between the representatives of the various branches of sport. Hitherto, there has been the best of feeling between the footballers and cricketers of Sydenham, and we are sure that it will take a great deaf more than Mr Williams’s letter to disturb this feeling. The Hockey Club is a comparatively new institution in Sydenham, and it will not take long before.the members will find that they also will get along much more comfortably if they would only look upon those who play football and cricket as fellow-athletes and not as persons who are continually striving to take some advantage of them.—We are, etc., O. CAYGILL, T. W. REESE, For Sydenham Cricket Club.