THE EXHIBITION SITE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14923, 22 February 1912, Page 4

THE EXHIBITION SITE.

OBJECTIONS TO VICTORIA

PARK.

THE MAYOR'S OPINION.

CRICKETERS OPPOSE PROPOSAL.

The proposal to hold the projected Auckland Exhibition in Victoria Park is meet-

ing with a good deal of opposition. A j request for the uso of this reserve from the : president of the Exhibition (Mr. Bart. Kent) will bo before the City Council tonight, thus bringing the matter under discussion. A further statement on the subject was ; made to a Herald representative yefter- . day by the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr), who j has already expressed his opinion that tho j Domain would be tho most suitable site. "The question has aroused considerable ! public interest," said the Mayor, "and 1 j rind there is a practical unanimity of feel- j ing against Victoria Park for various rea- ! sons. Tho trouble with the park is its j surroundings. For instance, when the i wind is in the south it carries the choice j smells of the city destructor, which is only : a chain away, across the sward. With ; tho wind in the west, sulphurous smoke J from the Gas Company's works is blown | across the park. From the east the wind, ! when in that direction, brings contribu- j tions towards the nuisance from the numer- | ous timber mills and workshops. Whilst, ! when the wind blows from the north, as j it. does very often in summer (when tho i Exhibition will be open), tho effluvium j from the open sewer in front of the park, I carrying the sewage of 20,000 people, is | distinctly perceptible. '• However," Mr. Parr concluded, " the whole question will be before the City Council to-morrow night." GAMES AT VICTORIA PARK. PROTEST FROM PLAYERS. i jJChe opposition on the part of cricketers j And others in Ponsonby and the western i portion of the city, to the use of Victoria ; Park as the Exhibition site, was strongly voiced at a public meeting held at the j . Leys Institute, Ponsonby, last evening, j The meeting was convened by the Churches' Cricket Association and the Ponsonby Cricket Club, both of which bodies have their headquarters at Victoria Park. There was an attendance of about 30. Mr. J. Court, a vice-president ' of the Pcnsonby Cricket Club, presided, j Mr. W. McMath, one of the promoters j of the meeting, said that if Victoria Park were used for the Exhibition it would very ' detrimentally affect the interests, not only | of cricket, but also of the other sports for j which the park was used. In view of j tho large sum that the City Council had j, spent on tho park, he did not think it • would grant the use of it for the Exhibi- ■ tion. If the Exhibition were held there it \ : would mean the suspension of cricket in ' the park for the whole of one season, the j' latter end of another, and the beginning ' of a third. Such a deprivation would ; paralyse the Churches' Cricket Associa- | . tion, and also severely affect the Pon-j eonby Cricket dub, and the 11 other clubs j that'had their headquarters at the park. : These 12 clubs each had a membership of ' from 25 to 60, and in addition they had to j ' consider the interests of footballers, tennis players, bowlers, hockey, croquet, and lacrosse players, all of whom used the park. He did not agree with Mr. Kent that the interference with cricket and other games j would not be a serious matter. He moved a motion protesting in the interests of cricket and kindred sports against the , use of Victoria Park for the Exhibition, \ and urging the City Council to select another site. Mr. H. White seconded the motion. Mr. B. Brigham (chairman of the Auckland Northern Union Football League), Mr. L. Metherall (on behalf of the Churches" Cricket Association), and Mr. F. Wilson (school cricket), supported the motion. Mr. P. White read a resolution which had been pass* that day by the executive of the Auckland Cricket Club, protesting against the Exhibition being held in Victoria Park. He pointed out that many cricketers, besides those in the western district, used Victoria Park. Mr. D. Hay endorsed the remarks of Mr. White. , Mr. J. Gittoa, as a spectator of cricket matches, also voiced his protest. He said that had Mr. Kent taken the trouble to ascertain the extent to which Victoria Park was used as a sports ground, bissyes would have been considerably opened. The Chairman said that at the meeting of the City Council to-night he intended to speak against the use of Victoria Park. So far as he had been able to gather there was not much chance of the park being granted for the Exhibition. He was de- ! cidedly of opinion that Mr. Kent had made a great mistake, even from an Exhibition point, of view. No one would take friends to Victoria Park to show them the beauties of Auckland. They would rather go to the Outer Domain or the Metropolitan Grounds, if available. When they came to the question of cricket and other outdoor games, he felt that it would be disastrous to use the park for the Exhibition. It would 1 take from 12 to 18 months to restore the cricket.pitches to their present condition. It had cost nearly £2000 to make the pitches and to place the ground in its present condition. The revenue that tho Council derived from the use of the park from various clubs amounted last year to £479, and this was an important thing to consider. Then again, the park was largely used by the children of the Freeman's Bay district, and to deprive these girls and boys of the use of their only playground would be cruel and wrong. The only thing in favour of Victoria Park, as against the Outer Domain for Exhibition purposes, was its proximity to Queen-street. The difference in distance, however, was not great, the park being rather less than a mile from Queen street, whilst the Domain was only about a mile and a-quarter. The resolution was carried unanimously, and it was resolved that the data upon which it was based, be handed to the chairman to place before the Council. The following resolution was passed at a meeting of the Auckland Cricket Association yesterday:—" That the Auckland Cricket Association views with concern, the proposal to use Victoria Park for the purpose of holding an Exhibition, and urges upon the City Council and the Exhibition Committee the desirability of obtaining accommodation elsewhere before taking" a step which will have such disastrous "effect on Auckland cricket."

LETTERS FROM CORRESPONDENTS.

WHY THE DOMAIN SHOULD BE

CHOSEN.

Sir,—My experience, like that of many others, may just now bo useful as to the suitability of Victoria Park for the proposed Exhibition. My reasons against the site are:—

1. The destructor. \v hen it blows from the south or west, and the destructor is in us©, and it necessarily is every day, then the smoke, smut, and smell are offensive, and visitors there have had to leave the grandstand and the ground because of the nuisance. 2. When it blows from the north, and the tide is out, it is sometimes unpleasant. 3. When it blows from the cast the smoke and noise from the mills aro also' un- ■ 4. And when it blows from ho west you know at once where the gasworks are. View there" is none. People no doubt ■would visit Victoria Park to see tho Exhibition, but not often. Tho insurances on the buildings will be heavy,, and it will need a fire brigade in constant attendance to check incipient fires.

The Outer Domain, eastern slope, is free ] from all these objections, and, while the cost of preparation may bo more, why not make one of tho Exhibition buildings a per- j manent building. A use, and a profitable use will sure to be found for it by the Oity Council in summer weathor, when thousands would visit the Domain if there was admission to a Rood building and refreshments. Tho Outer Domain is very little used, white thousands weekly uso Victoria 1 irK, ana their rights ought not to be takeni away. . The cost of excavation in the- Domain probably has been the chief reason for selecting Victoria Park as an exhibition site, but the excavated site, if made under the supervision of the City Council, could, after the Exhibition, be readily made into a good cricket ground, which is most urgently needed, and probably tho Council would, ! under tho circumstances, contribute towards I the cost. The Domain is more readily available for the bulk of the population of the provincial district of Auckland, which is I eastwards. A. Devore. Sir,—Allow me to use your space in order that I may enter my protest, in common with man}- others, against, the use of Vici toria Park as the site of the proposed Exhibi- ' hition. Of all available sites, apart from the buildings thereon, it is tho least suitable. I Auckland, famous for her scenic beauty, is going to place that which should bo beauti- • ful, and surrounded by beauty, in that which : is perhaps the least beautiful part of the dis- • trice. Place it there, and the more beautiful 1 you make it the more out of place it will I look. On every side the outlook will be de- : pressing and dreary. In front the destructor, i to the west the gasworks, on the east the j sawmills and fish-dryers' sheds, to the north ! a mud flat. Surely wo are not so devoid of a i sense of the fitness of things as to commit j this crime against good taste. Ido not know ■ which particular part of the Domain is best j suited for the site of an exhibition, but there j arc several there which would fill all the I requirements of the —beautiful for situaI tio«», with an entrancing outlook over land I and sea scapes of almost unrivalled beauty. ; Surely if we are going to ask the people of I the world to come to our show," it bejnoves us to make it as oerfect as possible, I ami if wo cannot spare the £5000, of which ; tho president speaks as 'being the monetary advantage to be derived from the use of ; Victoria Park, then let us drop the scheme • entirely, and let some other city, whoso j citizens have more public spirit, take hold of j the matter. I trust that, if tho people of • Auckland are in earnest about this thing ; they will insist on its being placed on | a site of which they will be proud, and which will add to, instead of detracting from, tho 1 attractions offered by an exhibition held in the city of Auckland-—" Last, loneliest, lovliest." H. N. Bagxall. Sir,-—From an aesthetic point of view, there is no doubt the Domain would be tho best, site, but tho question to bo faced by | the president and hts committee is to make tha Exhibition pay. lam perfectly certain ! that unless the site is somewhere close to j the centre of the city it will be a financial I failure. I have spoken to quite a number ! of people, who say that if the site were in i town they would go continuously, whereas iif they had to catch various cars to the i Domain, they would only go a very few j times. The site should bo where all cars I terminate, and if there were a site at the I bottom of Queen-street, that would be the j place for it, as there tho cars would pour' tin people out in their thousands- As there j is no space at the bottom of Queen-street, jwo must set as near to it as possible. Our j last Exhibition in the Metropolitan Grounds wa: a success, because it was near town. I The cars ran down Svmonds-street, and it ; was only a few minutes' walk from Welles- ! ley-street, while the city, Newton, and Pon- • sonby people had practically onlv the same distance to walk from the corner of Wellesley and Queen Streots. If the Metropolitan Grounds are not now big enough, then Victoria Park is the only other place in the city where the Exhibition could bo expected to bo a financial success. It is five minutes' walk from Queen-street. Cars could run right to the orates from all directions, and tho bulk of Auckland's population, the citv from tho wharf to Wellington-street, and Newton and Ponsonby, some 30.000 or 40,000 people. are all round it. If tho Exhibition is held there, you will find thousands visit it nightly, to hundreds who would tro to tho Domain. One has only to note the crowds who turn out to a circus, or Besses of the I Barn Band performance, to see whether the ! site would be popular with the public. As I said before, if the Metropolitan Grounds are considered big enousrh. then the same applies to that site, but I repeat it would be •financial suicide to go to the Domain, and it is mr opinion the committee would have jrreat difficulty in obtaining [guarantors for i the Exhibition if the Domain site were chosen. Business Man. Sir.— consider "V.P.'s" su?ge«tion in fo-dav's HKBALD a very eood one. I do not think a more suitable site than Point Erin Park can be* obtain in Auckland. The park is not nronerly laid-out vet, and before much more is done the committee should eonsider it. T.M February 20.