PARNELL'S NEW BATHS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15548, 4 March 1914, Page 11

PARNELL'S NEW BATHS

OPENING ON SATURDAY.

BIG SALT-WATER BASIN.

COST OF NEARLY £3000.

The new salt-water bathe, which have been erected by the City Council on the beach at the base of Point Resolution, Parnell, are to be formally opened by the Mayor (Mr. C. J. Parr) next Saturday afternoon. Special invitations have been issued for the function to representative public men, to the member for the district (Mr. J. S. Dickson), and to members of the City Council. The general public are also asked to attend. Speeches will be giveu, and after tho formal part of the ceremony is over there will be a short programme of swimming events, including some races for children.

The Point Resolution baths are considerably larger than those at Shelly Beach, their dimensions being 194 ft by 149 ft, as compared with 155 ft by 60ft, the size of the latter. They are, the Mayor states, the largest salt-water baths in New Zealand. Their final completion will represent a total cost of nearly £3000. The bathing basin has been enclosed by concrete walls about Bft high, but the natural sea-bed has been left as a bottom for the bath. This shelves away with a fall of 1 in 15 from the cliff end, with an average depth at low tide of about 2ft, a central depth of sft 6m, and a depth at the far end of 7ft. At high tide and spring tides the sea will wash over tho outer wall, and so keep,tho contents of the bath fresh. A hardwood fence has been constructed on top of the seaward wail to ensure the safety of bathers. Convenient steps have been placed at each comer, in the centre of the basin, and at the women's quarters. The new baths have no "top-decking," such as exist*, at Shelly Beach- The only structures are two dressing-sheds, each equipped with shower-baths, one for men, and one for women. These sheds, which will eaoh accommodate 60 or 70 persons, have been placed at opposite ends of the bath, and will be convenient for mixed family bathing, which it is proposed to recommend the City Council to permit under strict rules, such as obtain in Wellington and Christchurch. Mixed bathing will, it is anticipated, be restricted to certain hours, ami at other times the baths will bo open to men and women alternately, on practically the same timetable as at the Shelly Beach baths. A feature of the Point Resolution baths is their adaptability for sun-bathing, so favoured by many." The absence of other structures than the two sheds leaves the baths open to sun and air. At the back the cliffs will afford shelter from winds, and will give privacy.