CITY RESERVES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26114, 29 March 1946, Page 4

CITY RESERVES

IMPROVED IN WAR YEARS SURVEY OF PROGRESS A claim that, in spite of the numerous difficulties which had been encountered, the reserves in Dunedin had been maintained in better condition than those of any other centre in New Zealand during the war years was made by the chairman of the Reserves Committee of the City Council (Cr D C. Jolly) in an interview yesterday. Cr Jolly began by surveying the condition of various grounds, pointing out the progress that had been made since 1940 in improving their appearance. Referring to the Gardens ground, he stated that the Leith embankment had been .graded and was kept regularly mown, the useless holly hedge had been removed, and the ground generally had been kept in a more tidy condition. The margins of the North Ground and the Museum ground had been regularly mown. The former swampy area of the Kaikorai ground had been converted into a children's playground, and similar improvements had been made at the Oval and at Bayfield, where the surface of a former rubbish tip had been cleared and was now regularly mown. Cr Jolly referred to similar improvements at Cameron Park,' Kew. Woodhaugh, Scarba street and the Maori Hill “ clear,” and also pointed out that the Dundas street-Leith walk, formerly surrounded by a complete wilderness, was now bordered by regularly-mown grass, and the steep slopes of a former dump from the Leith had been planted with kowhais. Difficulties Surmounted

The area of regularly-mown lawn. Cr Jolly added, had been increased by approximately 100 acres since February, 1940, despite labour shortages, the high cost and difficulty of obtaining mowing- equipment, and excessive breakdowns and repair costs due to the continued operation of worn-out equipment. Since February, 1940. 165 seats had been erected throughout the city. These were permanent seats, with reinforced concrete erfds and jarrah slats, and in many cases a concrete base had also' been provided. The standard of flower beds had been considerably improved. Variety had been greatly increased, and colour blending had been studied with effective results. This had been achieved during the war years despite the great difficulties and increased cost of obtaining seeds, bulbs, plants and horticultural sundries.

Referring to the Botanic Gardens, Cr Jolly stated that during the war three houses at the Winter Gardens had been rebuilt and the remainder repaired and painted. The old caretaker’s house and yard had been cleared, and, instead of being an eyesore, the area had been converted into an attractive children’s playground. It had been necessary to neglect some portions of the Gardens during recent years, but these were areas which required complete renewal when labour was available. Included in these was the rockery, which required complete rebuilding because, as at present constructed, it had neither aesthetic nor horticultural value. Buildings throughout the department were in a state of collapse in' February, 1940, but a majority had now been restored to reasonable order, and some extensions had been made. Labour and Costs “This work has been accomplished in spite of the tremendous reduction in labour,” Cr Jolly continued. “In February, 1940, over 500 full-time fullysubsidised labourers were engaged in the work of the department. From that date the number rapidly diminished, and for the last few years such labour has not been available. Until recently, also, it was difficult to obtain physically fit men to replace the younger members of the permanent staff who were in the services.” With such a large amount of labour available, said Cr Jolly, total expenditure on gardens and reserves in some years prior to the war had exceeded £IOO,OOO. Against this amount, the present expenditure was £17,655. 7 The latter amount was insufficient to purchase an amount of labour equivalent to that which a grant of £10,900 for permanent staff and overhead costs had provided in the year ended March 31 1932. The result was that, compared with 1932, there were now approximately 20 per cent, fewer permanent workers in the gardens, and reserves and no relief workers compared with several hundreds in 1932. In conclusion, Cr Jolly made a comparison in the amounts allocated for the upkeep of reserves in the various centres and quoted the following as the grants for the current financial year:—Dunedin, £17.655; Timaru. £13,680; Auckland, £50,000; Wellington, £50,000; Christchurch, £33,000. “In general.” he stated, “Dunedin has more extensive and more difficult reserves to maintain than the other centres mentioned, and it has been due to hard work on the part of the staff that it has been possible to maintain these areas in their present condition. The efforts of the workers are all' the more to be commended when it is remembered that during the war years a majority of men have been in the upper age classes.”