DOMAIN BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18679, 7 October 1922, Page 18

DOMAIN BOARD

ANNUAL INSPECTION. The members of the Ocean Beach Domain Board made their annual inspection of the beach yesterday morning, under tho charge of the chairman (Mr J. H. Hancock). A visit was made to St. Clair, where it was found that there was a good deposit of sand on the beach. With the idea of getting even further results from the groynes, the city engineer (Mr M'Curdio), who accompanied the party, was asked to prepare an estimate of wiring and fencing scrub to tile westerly groyne for a distance outwards of- a chain and a-half. He was also asked to give an estimate of repairing about 20ft of the wall which runs out from the baths. Members generally expressed themselves as very pleased with tho conditions of the beach. 1 i Members inspected a site at tho back of Forbury Park, which tho St. Clair Tennis Club has asked for, and decided at once to ?;rant the area. Mr Hancock said the space or four courts and a pavilion could bo cleared in a fortnight, and then a horsedrawn scoop could be put on to level the ground. He predicted that the game could bo played there in three months. It was decided to ask the club for a rental of £lO a year from January 1 next year. A level stretch of sand will bo handed over to the club, which will have to undertake the laying of the asphalt. Mr M'Curdio (city engineer) was of the opinion that the club would have no difficulty in sotting asphalt on sand. It was decided to ask Mr M'Curdio to prepare an estimate of the cost of laying an asphalt track about 18ft wide from the entrance to tho St. Kilda Beach to where tho railings cross tho track at tho sea end. This will'allow motorists to- travel to tho end of the track and almost get a view of the sea from their cars. On an 18ft track there will easily be room for two cars abreast. While at St. Clair, members of the board held a meeting to deal with several minor matters and to receive tho chairman’s annual report. Mr Hancock traced the history of the erection of the groynes, and went on to state: “It is gratifying to bo able to record that with the cessation of tho heavy southerly weather conditions the accumulation of sand steadily increased, and though there were reversions of the process from time to time, tho position at tho close of tho year was that the beach was again Well covered with' sand to a clisiderablo depth, and sand was still coming in. It is hoped that during the incoming year the engineers may devise some means of getting tho best possible results from the groynes. In tho meantime other protective work they recommend is a continuation of the rock walling along the face of tho sandhills and the filling in of the spaces between the rooks so that tho wall will present tho smoothest possible surface to the sea during stormy weather conditions. During the year the board made a grant of £SO to the Unemployed Relief Committee on the condition that the grant bo subsidised by a like amount and expended on improvement works on the domain under the supervision of tho board’s foreman. The work carried out consisted of levelling and grassing portions of tho domain for recreation purposes. The usual maintenance work was carried out during the year. Marram grass was planted for sand-binding, fencing erected and repaired, and tracks attended to as necessary. Fires on the domain have caused a good" deal of trouble and, what is more unfortunate, (he destruction of a largo number of vigorous young pine trees during the previous ■ season. The marram and lupine have since come away very strongly in tho fire-swept areas.’’ The report was commended and adopted. The expenditure by tho board during the past year amounted to £1207 6s, Tho chief items were: Wages, £543 9s Id; St. Clair temporary works, £449 15s; groyne works, £6B 19s 3d; unemployment relief, £SO; materials for fences etc., £37 17s 6d. The revenue of the. board for the year totalled £1449 7s 7d. Levies on contributing bodies produced £897 Os lid ; Oovernment subsidy on St. Clair works, £B9 15s; and a special grant from the City Council for temporary work at St. Clair. £4OO. It was reported that the hoard had a credit balance at the bank of £IOB 6s lOd. The statutory yearly levy of Id in the £ on the Citv C'ornoration and the St. Kilda Borough Council was nßreed upon. Tho former yields £B7B 14s Bd, and tho latter £54 Is 2d.