OCEAN BEACH DOMAIN BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22612, 2 July 1935, Page 2

OCEAN BEACH DOMAIN BOARD

ANNUAL REPORT The annual report of the Dunedin Ocean Beach Domain Board, to be presented at the annual meeting on Thursday, states, inter alia:— A good deal of yaluabk permanent improvement work was again accomplished by means of U.B. No. 6 labour, the operations comprising—the extension to the St. Clair Esplanade, the construction of hockey grounds adjacent to the St. Clair tennis courts, and the construction of croquet lawns for the Watea Croquet Club. The work on the western half of the Esplanade comprised the construction of three chains of concrete pile walling, with parapet and fencing, and the replacement with concrete steps of the wooden steps from the wall to the beach at the end of Forbury road. In addition, the roadway between the wall and private property was formed and asphalted to a width of 33 feet. Seven seats were also-.placed in position. These works have effected a marked improvement in the general appearance of the sea front in the locality, besides extending the facilities for the benefit and convenience of the general public. The > seaward portion of the walling, comprising a length of three and a-half chains, is now well under way, and it is hoped to have this completed by the end of the incoming year. . The reconstruction of portion of the bt. Kilda-St, Clair pathway necessitated by the formation of the football and hockey grounds n,t St. Clair, was continued during the year. The work was of some magnitude, and involved a good deal of attention and supervision by the foreman. During the period under review a length of 12 chains of the path was_ re-formed on a higher level, and a deviation formed near the new hockey ground. Regular maintenance attention was given to the various recreation grounds on the domain during the year, the grass being cut regularly and the surface of the playing areas otherwise placed in the best possible condition for the users. The St, Clair football ground was t partly topdressed in the spring. Soil is being gathered for top-dressing Hancock Park, and it is hoped, during the current year, to procure additional material and give No. 1 ground a thorough top-dressing. This is a work of considerable magnitude, and *it is estimated that 500 yards of material will be needed to make a job of No. 1 ground. The cost will probably be in the neighbourhood of £BO. On the application of the St. Kilda Beach Improvement Society, the board granted that body permission to construct four lawn tenths courts adjoining the children’s playground at St. Kilda, and the construction of the courts had been completed. The board was fortunate in being able to secure 5000 Pinus Muriata from the State Forestry Department at nominal cost, and these were planted out in the domain during the winter. Existing plantations have been thinned and pruned and fire-breaks attended to. The St. Kilda rockeries and garden plots, which form a feature at the entrance to the domain at St. Kilda, call for a good deal of attention in the way of maintenance ancl planting, and a large supply of suitable flowering plants and annuals is required annually to fill in the spaces. The board has been indebted in the past to a number of citizens for plants of various descriptions suitable for the rockery. The beaches and sandhills suffered no serious denudation of sand during the year. At times the level of the beach, particularly at the St. Clair end, is considerably lowered as the result of south-westerly weather, making up again to normal height when the weather conditions change. The maintenance of the outer line of sandhills is probably the most important of the board’s functions, and these are given constant attention by the foreman and staff. The routine maintenance work of repairing roads and paths, cutting grass and lupines, clearing windblow sand, and other sundry operations were attended to during the year, and the domain is generally in good order. The refuse tip has been maintained in good order throughout the year. The faces abutting_ on the new lawn tennis courts at St. Kilda are being covered with suitable filling material and will later be planted with mesembryanthemum. , ~ The following recommendations for the incoming year are submitted for consideration: — (a). Completion of the Esplanade walling and roadway at St. Clair; (b) raising of the footway at the completed end ot the Esplanade to i°‘ n wit b the new path recently constructed; (cl completion of the hockey grounds adjacent to the St. Clair lawn tennis courts; (d) asphalting of the pathway at the sandhills, St. Kilda, for bathers. Tho board commenced the year with funds totalling £984 5s 8d and receipts during the year amounted to £4820 18s 5d Expend’ture totalled £4875 0s 7d; and the cash balance to commence the new year is £930 3s 6d, of which £382 14s Id represents the credit balance at the Bank of New Zealand, and £547 9s 5d the Post Office Savings Bank deposit.