CENTENARY MEMORIAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23046, 24 November 1936, Page 6

CENTENARY MEMORIAL

DISCUSSION IN CITY COUNCIL NO DECISION REACHED The question of the form of a centenary memorial for the city was discussed at the fortnightly meeting of the Dunedin City Council last night. No decision was reached, however, and further consideration of the subject was deferred until next meeting, when a full attendance of councillors would be present.

The subject was introduced by the Mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox), who said that the Women’s Centennial Committee proposed that some form of memorial building should be erected. He was of the opinion that the council should associate itself with that committee in an endeavour to reach some satisfactory decision.

Cr Cameron suggested that the committee consider the question of erecting new city baths as a memorial. If the project for the building of new baths was not put in hand before 1940, he thought such a scheme would serve admirably as a centenary memorial. The present tepid baths were too small and were unsuitably situated. Cr Allen said he thought that as the matter of new baths had been introduced in committee, any further discussion on the project should be in committee. Councillors should also remember that if the memorial was to carry a Government subsidy it would have to be subscribed for by the citizens. The erection of public baths, however, was a civic undertaking, for which a loan would be necessary, and no Government subsidy would be available for such a project.

The Mayor said that if the Women’s Committee succeeded in raising £ 10,000 as it proposed to do, it would stifle the council’s effort unless it decided on some course of action. The baths would be a suitable memorial, but if the council raised a loan for their erection, no subsidy would be forthcoming. Such a memorial as the Women’s Committee proposed had a wider application, and if the council could join with the Women’s Committee he was sure it could accomplish something. Two separate efforts in one city would be rather superfluous. On the motion of Cr Allen further consideration of the question was deferred until next meeting.