STURGES MEMORIAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22673, 10 March 1937, Page 14

STURGES MEMORIAL

UNVEILING AT OTAHUHU LORD GALWAY TO OFFICIATE The unveiling of a memorial to tho late Mr. Alfred Sturges, who was the first Mayor of Otahuhu and the donor of Sturges Park, the chief recreation reserve in the borough, is to be performed on Saturday afternoon by the Governor-General, Viscount Galway. The park will also be formally declared open as an improved athletic area. On the formation of a borough at Otahuhu in September, 1912, Mr. Sturges was elected Mayor and held oflice until 1915. On tho evening of his last night in office, when presiding over a council meeting, Mr. Sturges announced that ho desired to hand over to the borough the area of 14 acres on Fort Richard Estate. The deeds of tho property were handed over to the Borough Council as trustees for the residents.

The area embraces a ring of volcanic cones surrounding an extinct crater, and from the higher eminences a splendid view is obtained. From a rugged and boulder-strewn crater and steep, rocky slopes successive borough councils have formed what is now regarded as one of the finest athletic areas in the North Island, and terraces which are estimated to accommodate about 30,000 people have been constructed. At present the council is extending the athletic area to provide a cycle track banked at the ends with an inner running track of quarter-mile circumference. The slopes on the southern side are being reserved for the ejection of a grandstand with suitable dressing accommodation. The memorial to be unveiled by tho Governor-General is a drinking fountain with an inscribed tablet inserted in a pillar constructed from rock excavated from the park. It stands on tiie outer slopes on the northern sido of the park and was designed in its present form to be in keeping with tho su rrou riding 1 a ndsca po. At tho same function on Saturday, the former Mayor, Mr. H. T. Clements, is to be presented with an illuminated and illustrated address which will depict several of the major advancements in the district during his term of office. The present Mayor, Mr. C. R. Petrio, M.P. for Hauraki, will make the presentation on behalf of the council.