PARNELL'S NEW BATHS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15552, 9 March 1914, Page 8

PARNELL'S NEW BATHS

THE OPENINL CEREMONY. i 'If RESULT OF JOINING CITY. | AN IDEAL BATHING POOL The fine new salt-water baths, erected by the City Council, under the shelter of the cliffs at Point Resolution, Parnell. were formaty opened by the Mayor 'Mr. C J Parr) on Saturday afternoon. The cere! mony was attended by large numbers of residents of the district, representative* of outside local bodies and the citj municipality, Mr. J. S. Dickson, MP. fa Parnell, and several youths and boys eaej for their first swim in the large baibL pool provided. Tha gathering waf distri bated over the beach, up the steps, and along the top of the cliffs. Under ideal weather conditions the bath* were seen by the viators to the beet ad vantage. General admiration was ex pressed with regard to the scheme carried out. All down the seaward side and far end of the basin enclosing the water, runs ' a concrete wall, available to bathers, and from which they can take their ph>„ llie remaining s:<le and end are wide' Weltered promenades, eminently suitable for comfortable sun-bathing. 'j'here are large dressing sheds for either sex. The ' oaths are about 15 minutes walk from the ' top of St. Stfepuen's Avenue, and arefinally reached by steep step.., which tt zag down the face of the cur. A Magairjcent Asset. la declaring the new baths open tin, Mayor sa.d tiiat it was about a vtar 'sine! ParneL jomed the city, one o.' m e con duiuna 01 the amalgamation being tne tak 2£?i»* { PollOn , *■• ?°P° sal L ° «Z *tf),uOO lor public works in thai district the poll in question was take:, in July last, and earned. The City Looacil ua d lost no time in pushing on With tne works. the new baths represented the completion of the-first of them, and were, he declared a magnificent a*set. to Parne.l. (Applause! A careful examination of the wuole coast■we had been made in selecting the site Campbell's Point had leen considered but li was found that it would be too' ex pensive, besides which it was exposed to the north-east wind, and so was out o- the question Furthermore, had they built the baths there they would had had to so 100 yds out, leaving an ugly mud flat to he traversed at low tide. The beautiful sheltered spot they were assembled in' that day was ideal, the baths had cost £2Lso to date, lhat was well within tha loan money allocated (£2500), and left sufficient to do certain further work ia connection with them. Details Regarding the Baths. The baths, continued the Mayor had been constructed by day-labour, under the supervision of a council official (Mr. James Tyler), at a cheaper price than anv of the tenders received, which had been rejected. They were the largest salt-water swimming baths in the Dominion, measuring 194 ft in length by 149 ft in width. The Enclosing walls were 7ft high, Bft wide at the base and 3ft wide at the top. It was intended to add Ift to the height of the walls, as at high spring tides they were raider water, '' and it was thought desirable to build them higher, though it was net absolutely necessary-, so as to keep drift-wood, etc., from floating into the pooL . The men's shed would accommodate 60 ' to 70 bathers, and the women's shed about 50. Bbth were provided with showers and other conveniences, and bathers would find them in every way comfortable. The baths, Mr. Parr announced, would be opes to the public from the next day. It had been decided to make the charges 2d for adult? and''ld for children. This was lower than t-e charges imposed at the Shelly Beach baths. Season tickets were to ce obtained cheaply.

City Council Congratulated.

Supervision would be maintained daily and nightly by an official and his wife, who had been employed at the Ponsonby' 5 baths, said Mr. Parr, so that parents need have no iear in allowing bovs and girls ' to go to the baths. The Mayor closed > with a reference to the question of tie provision of a motor-'bus service to make the baths more accessible, and an invi- : tation to those present to visit the Gillies Estate, which it is proposed to acquire as . * public park. *£ Mr. R. S. Briggs. formerly Mayor of)% Parnell, and now that district's representa-' s |? tive on the City Council, said that jjr.lli Parr was to be congratulated for the pro-;/' r vision of the baths. Some years ago the Parneli Council went to the ratepayers with a loan proposal to procure baths at Campbell's Point, out, whether because , the site was deemed unsuitable, on tie ratepayers had no confidence in the conn- • cil, the loan was not authorised. >He '' hoped the people would take full advant- ; age of the new baths. " '"'■ Help From the Harbour Board. ' The Mayor mentioned that the Harbour , Board, which had control of all the foreshore from the high water-mark down, had been very generous, and had raised no ; difficulties about giving the council the bath site. He thanked the board for its courtesy in the matter. Mr. A. J. Entrican, member of the City Council and of the Harbour Board, congratulated the people of Parnell on having joined tie city, and also upon the fine new baths. He pointed out that they were getting the latter without any addition to their rates. No other council, that he knew of in the British Empire would have provided such baths without increasing the rates. They stood on the borderland of the properties of the City Council and the Harbour Board. Occasionally these two bodies had conflicting interests, but he \ was confident there would be no difficulty in future in arranging matters between Ihem. Both had appointed special committees to consider questions regarding the . Parnell waterfront, and he hoped the out- % come would be that Parnell would secure si its baths and beaches for all time. . f, First Bathers Enter the Water. ' : Mr. Dickson said the City Council f should be congratulated for ca'rrving out ~ its promises to Parnell, as evidenced in the new baths. The formal part of the ceremony over, /< a haka was danced by the boys from S". Stephen's Maori School. The Mayor theft ': gave the signal for tie waiting bathers to disport themselves in the water, and there ensued a general plunge. Promiscuous swimming was indulged in for the remainder of the afternoon, the scene bein* \ a very animated one. On dispersing many of the visitors made their way round to the Gillies Estate, which was open for public inspection.