THE COLUMBIA SKATING RINK.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 816, 21 October 1887, Page 14

THE COLUMBIA SKATING RINK.

The fine large building in Viyian-strqet which , has attracted so much attention and' 'cariosity its- 'construction .is now, finished, nnd.was openedfor business on Wednesday as a'skating-rink. Mr A. N. Ridgeley, ah enterprising Amerioan citizen, has established similar rinks in the sister colonies, and from our exchanges we learn that unprecedented success has attended these links, which are crowded daily by the elite of the principal Australian towns. The building in Vivian-street has been erected under the per- . sonal superintendence of themanager, Mr A. V. Harris, and is splendidly adapted for the pur, pose for which it is specially designed. The rink proper is 166 ft long by 66ft wide. The floor is laid with picked matai, 2in x 2in, and iB planned aB smooth as glass. At each end of the rink the flooring boards are laid in a semi-circle, so that skaterß going round the rink do not meet with those disagreeable jars in crossing the joints which were so objectionable in the early form of skating floors. The building is well ventilated. The height from the floor is 34ft. A seri~* of shutters line the walls on both sides that can be opened in a second '.as an' escape for. all heated air. A balcony or promenade surrounds the interior of the building, on which are placed 500 cane-bottomed chairs for the convenience of non-skating visitors. On the left is a commodious band stand. The skate department comprises at present 900 pairs of the latest improved American roller skates—the well-known Raymond patent, which are on the self-adjustable principle, that is, each skate is capable of fitting the foot from the young miss of 8 or 18 to the full-grown up-country settler owns to a number nine sized boot. The skates have a rubber attachment whioh acts as a buffer, preventing jars or vibration. Special attention has been paid to the comforts of visitors—a spacious iavatory and smoking room for gentlemen, a depositary for hats, cloaks, umbrellas, &c., and commodious retiring rooms for ladies show that the management are fully alive to the wants of their patrons. The formal inauguration of the Rink took place on Tuesday night, under most auspicious circumstances, and was in every respeot an unqualified success. A very large number of invitations had been issued by the Manager, Mr V. Harris, and in response a large gathering assembled, among , whom were a number of prominent citizens. The . building was opened at 7 o’clock,-and before 8 o'clock the portion of the building set apart for spectators was crowded, nearly two thousand people being present. The interior of the building presented a very gay appearance, being decorated with an enormous number of flags and a quantity of green stuff. Skating began almost immediately by a large number of gentlemen and several ladies, the latter proving themselves quite adepts in the art. As the evening wore on the number of skaters increased until fully 200 persons, including about 20 of the fair sex, were whirling round on the beautifully smooth floor of the building. Of course there were innumerable "spills,” which provided a great fund of amusement for the spectators, but, considering the large number of skaters, collisions were very few and far between. Two instructors in the art were present, and lent valuable assistance 'to those who required ’ it. Shortly after 8 o’clock Mr A. A. Stuart Menteath, M.H.R., came forward and addressed the spectators. He said he had been requested by the management to open the rink, and he had great pleasure in doing so, because he recognised that a man who provided recreation in which health and amusement were combined, as Mr Ridgeley had done, was only less a benefactor than the man who devised a new mode of Instruction, because an hour spent in healthful exercise fortified one for the morrow. He felt confident that the youth of both sexes of the city would appreciate the efforts of the promoter of the rink to cater tor their amusement and enjoyment. He was also pleased to perform the duty cast upon him, because Mr Ridgeley was a cosmopolitan, and they all knew that any provision made by him for the amusement of the people would be most ably carried out. As they were aware Mr Ridgeley had established similar rinks in Melbourne, Sydney, Geelong, Launceston, aud other cities, and in all these places they had the one invariable opinion that the establishments were most ably conducted, and everything done by the management to ensure the success of the venture, and make it in every sense deservedly popular with the public, and he felt sure it would be so in Wellington. Mr Menteath went on to say that there seemed at the present time to be a great revival all over the Australian colonies of rinking, and he believed the amusement was peculiarly adapted to our nineteenth century. It was the fashion «to speak of the path and railroad of life, now it would be more appropriate to say the “ rink of life.” In life, as in riuking, the great question for ns to consider was how to go fast and keep our balance. (Applause.) They generally went at a great pace, and the requirements for success in life were very much the same as those required in rinking. The pursuit of rinking was therefore the pursuit of life in miniatnre. We learned in one to keep our balance when going at full speed, and he hoped that those who indulged in the pastime provided by Mr Ridgeley, whether Bingly or with a fair partner, would keep their balance when going fast and avoid tumbling down. In conclusion he said he hoped the citizens would manifest their approval of the undertaking by affording their most liberal patronage to it. Mr V. Harris, manager, then formally declared the rink open. Skating was spiritedly continued until the rink closed at 10 p.m. During the evening a band, under the leadership of Mr Jenkins, stationed on a commodious bandstand erected about the middle of the building on * the eastern side, performed several selections of music. The general arrangements appeared to give universal satisfaction. The ventilation of the building is excellent, as, notwithstanding the enormous crowd of spectators present, the air was very cool, and not the least inconvenience was experienced in this direction.