AN ADMIRABLE WORK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16548, 23 November 1915, Page 9

AN ADMIRABLE WORK

" THE "OCEAN BBACH DpMAIN. ANNUAL VISIT OF INSPECTION. Not all public bodies are wise. Still fewer . can hope to have the -wisdom and the beneficence of their activities generally recognised by their constituents. The Ocean Beach Domain Board, however, certainly has a right to 'find itself in that happy position. Not; that that body has cscaped its share of criticism, public and private, or has ever been embarrassed with floral tributes „ from' admirers; but. at least it may with absolute confidence await the judgment of any inte#gcnt person who knew the sandhills from Lawyer'sv Head to St. Clair 20, or even 10, years ago, and who will now take a look at the Appearance of tho same .. area. The change that lias been wrought ■ is a-most marvellous transformation for the better; and the most pleasing of it i 3 . that all' has been accomplished with trifling fuss or expense simply by tho wise direction of the foreo3' of Nature themselves It is customary for the members of the Ocean Beach Domain' Board to make a visit ■ of inspection to the territory under their control once a year, and naturally they choose • ' the time when the yellow lupins are in full bloom and everything'on the sea front looks its best. Such were the conditions yesterday morning, when the members in motor cars ' traversed tho domain from Lawyer's Head to. St. Clair. The party consisted of the chairman (Mr J. H. Hancock), Mr C. J. M'Kenzie (public works engineer), Messrs P. L. Clark,. J. E. White, G. Hodges, J. B. Shacklock, E. Sincock, R. A. Johnston (secretary of the board), and a couple of pressmen. Ffom Tiihuna Park eastward to Lawyers 7 Head there was ample evidence of the board's wise activities. What was a comparatively few years ago-.a barren wilderness of shifting sandhills is now an undulating mass of sweet-smelling lupin, with here and there a sturdy pine plantation, a stretch of marram grass, and even in one sp"ot a healthy-looking' patcfy of potatoes. The mesembryanthemum, or " ice-plant," does very well in places, but only on the eunny slopes of the sand dunes. So effectively has the movement of the sand been controlled., in this part that the road presents a hard, smooth surface, with no traces of sand at all. A plantation of pine trees put in some 10 jjears ago on the landward side of the road is doing very well, and already affords, good shelter. Other cnain-wide • plantations of pious insignia, pinus muricata, / and pinus. maritima, on both sides of the road, are of much more -recent 'growth; but they promise well, and will before very long effectually shelter the road from all the winds that blow. The, security, that the board's operations. Have afforded Tahuna Park from the danger of shifting sand is very qbvious, and the possibilities of the domain' from the point, of _ view of recrea.tion grounds' seerrf to be. very great. On the landward side-of'the road, just,beyond the park, members were shown ii smooth and nicely-sheltered area among the sand hills which has been prepared for a ladies' hockey ground. ' Probably at no. point do the board's works show to better advantage than from the, short piece of road that continues seawards from the St. Kilda tram terminus. Here, by the judicious use of groins, marram grass, and lupin, the board' has, in the course of a few years, completely done away with the old lagoon, absolutely secured the safety of "the flat" from invasion by the sea, and reclaimed and Revelled acres, and acres of ( ground that in a comparatively short space of time will make excellent and extensive recreation grounds,for the young people of the city. On either side, of this little pieoe of road there'is a healthy-looking plantation of pines and shrubs that will be affording pleasant shelter before long. On the St. Clair side of the road thje board expects to reclaim about three acres, for recreation purposes, while on the 'Lawyer's Head side the extent of ground to be devoted for this purpose is seven acres and a-half. The board's sand barriers are now extended as far seaward as it is intended to go, and so its work in this part is nearing completion. . The chairman gave members to understand that the fence which now bars vehicles from access to this road will shortly be removed to the outer end of the road, as. the object of the fence is simply to prevent traffic from getting access to the beach." From the St. Kilda _ terminus members) proceeded along Victoria road 'to Given street, where the cars turned off on to the newly-constnicted St. Clair esplanade, which has not yet been opened for traffic. The road winds prettily among the sandhills for most of the way, and affords very pleasing views both seawards and towards ijt. Clair and the city. Before the road ,is thrown open to public traffic it is intended lo have it fenced on both sides,-this pre-' eaution being necessary to keep horses off the' sandhills and the beach. Tho end of the road at St. Clair was negotiated with some difficulty by the cars,. and here there were some very evident reasons why the road over half a mile of which has been completed, has not yet been declared op6n. The corner' leading from | Forbury road on to the new esplanade is i an exceedingly sharp and "narrow angle. A wooden shed, at present leased by the lessee of the St. Clair public bathe, practically blocks the way. The exact position of theAp-ivate boundary is in dispute, however, and yest-erday the public Works engineer \ (Mr M'Kenzie) undertook to get that set at rest by one of his staff shortly. At present it looks very much as if those responsible had concentrated their energies on the construction of a, fine road, and had overlooked the very essential detail of access to one end of it. Obviously what, is most desirable is that the new road should be directly joined up with the old bit of St. Clair esplanade leading round to the baths, but it seems that a purchase of land will' be necessary before that can be satisfactorily effected. The attention of members was drawn to. a very bad pieoe in the old St. Clair esplanade •where there are two levels and a fence in the middle of the narrow road. About an . hour and a-half was occupied in the visit of inspection, which should surely leave members with the pleasing consciousness that they form part of a body whose activities confer a great boon on thewhole of the City of Dunedin,. and provide it with marine attractions that suffer nothing by comparison with those to .be found in any other part of . New, Zealand.