THE DISORDER OF CHAOS

NZ Truth, Issue 1272, 17 April 1930, Page 8

THE DISORDER OF CHAOS

RSO42D

+ Dunedin Reserves That Badly Need Attention APATHY OF THE CITY COUNCIL

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.)

iiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiftiitiiiiiittiiititiiit iMiimtif iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitKii'^f | With hundreds of young people about to enter into 1 | their winter recreations, it is not too much to ask the | | Dunedin City Corporation to cast an eye over some of | 1 its sports reserves with a view to putting them m order | | and giving them some vestige of attractive appearance. |

WHILE it cannot be said that the city authorities adopt a parsi- . monious policy m. keeping the gardens and main recreation grounds up to the mark, an inspection of some of the minor playing areas is not particularly edifying. At the North Dunedin Recreation Ground, or the old "Cally" aa it is more familiarly known, where senior Rugby games will soon be one of the'weekend attractions, the . conditions are anything but m accord with what one would expect of a city playing ground situated right m a thickly populated area. Although only small, the North ground provides one of the most convenient plots for young citizens to indulge m some form, of sport. Yet, but for the mowing of the grass, the ground appears to get but little attention. Bounded on three sides by an illrepaired wooden fence which is minus half its palings, and with an. old derelict pavilion to accentuate the enterprising spirit'of the Rugby authorities who were responsible for the erection of- a, fine newly-finished structure, the ground is not a credit to the Reserves Committee. IN CRUDE STATE ; Any evening, or Saturday one may see boys cycle racing round the ground, while a well-defined "bridle" path leading right across the playing, area marks the trail of the short-cutters from the corner at the junction of King and Dundas Streets to the opposite corner at Cumberland and David Streets. The same applies to the Montecello Ground, another senior football ground, and situated on one of the finest sites m the city, where ' another well-worn path across the playing field gives pedestrians a short cut from* the corner of Eglington Road and "Haywood Street. N This excellent area is m a shamefully "crude state. i So . far as being

level is concerned it reminds one more of the rolling ocean. Small shoots of gorse can be located m all parts of the playing field, while a few yards distant from one goal-line corner the noxious plant has taken charge of a large space of ground. Is it any wonder that some of the f qgtball clubs have a big ' bill at the end of the season for punctured football bladders? Higher up Eglingrton Road we find Unity Ground, a fine area where girls' hockey matches are played. This area also has its quota of gorse within the playing boundaries, but its most perturbing feature takes the shape of a City Council rubbish dump which has been established just a few yards away from where healthy youth must take its exercise'! To prevent flying rubbish being taken by the wind fright across the ground on to the nearby road and residents' front premises, the authorities have, erected a manuka scrub fission barricade. . When "Truth" inspected the locality it was obvious that the idea is to extend the ground by filling m the hillside with rutobish /and then cover the refuse with earth as it accumulates. . » The fact that this frugal method of killing? two council works birds with one stone may indirectly result m killing a few young citizens does not apparently enter into the minds of Dunedin's shortsighted city fathers. At all events, there is ample grounds for demanding that something be done to bring these grounds up to the level of the city's reputation m the Dominion, both from the point of view of health and sport, and with the object of improving the. city. ' Moreover, it is time the Reserves Committee considered the question of keeping cyclists and pedestrians from making use of actual playing ai-eas, except where otherwise permitted.