NEW OBJECTIVE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26532, 6 August 1947, Page 6

NEW OBJECTIVE

CENTENNIAL PLANS EARLY SETTLERS’ PROJECT INCLUDED SUM OF £IIO,OOO SOUGHT The increasing of its objective to £IIO,OOO in the public appeal for funds for the suitable observance and commemoration of the centenary and the incorporation in its programme of the Otago Early Settlers’ Association’s project to raise £40,000 for the enlargement and rearrangement of its museum were announced yesterday by the Otago Centennial Association. The original project to mark the centenary was the extension of the Otago Museum at a cost of £60,000. Of the sum required for this project the museum authorities have given £27,000, which carries a Government subsidy of £9OOO, so that the public’s share of the cost is £IB,OOO which will carry a subsidy of £6OOO. In the general appeal a total of £63,000 has been promised to date. With the Government subsidy of £ 1 for every £3 collected, the public will be called upon to contribute £19,500 to attain the new objective of £IIO,OOO. , Appeal for Funds

The Centennial Association’s campaign for funds was launched officially last night by the Mayor, Mr Cameron, in a broadcast appeal to the people of Otago. He announced the inclusion of the Early Settlers’ Association’s project in the Centennial Associations appeal and asked the public to give generously to the funds. “ The executive decided on the museum project after a great deal of thought and after many major and unquestionably desirable schemes were eliminated on account of the very high cost involved,” the Mayor said. “The museum authorities had already raised £27.000 by voluntary doriations which, in effect, meant that with the subsidy over half the cost was available for the memorial before the appeal was launched. . , ', .. “Now the executive has added the Early Settlers’ project as an additional memorial scheme,” he said. “It was not possible to do this earlier, because the early settlers did not then have any long-term security of tenure of their building. Now that such tenure has been secured they are going ahead with their plans and have already raised over £7OOO. As it is the early settlers of the province that the centenary is commemorating, it was felt most fitting that their particular scheme should now be officially incorporated with the Centennial Association's appeaj, Interest in Centennial

“Apart from these major projects, however, money is required,” Mr Cameron said, “for the completion of the official history of Otago which will be the best work of its kind ever produced in New Zealand. Arrangements are also well in hand for a carnival week on a big scale and finally, it is intended to decorate and illuminate the city for the first three or four months of next year. “ Otago has always done things well,” the Mayor said. “The exhibition in 1925 is still talked about, and people all over the Dominion are even now discussing next year’s celebrations. Every national conference and every national championship is being held in Dunedin—in fact, never before has Otago had such a programme of events. We want every visitor to feel that once again Dunedin has produced the goods. “All these projects require money and the sum aimed at is £110,000,” the Mayor stated. “ Thanks to the generosity of firms, local bodies, the museum authorities and the Early Settlers Association, the sum of £63,000 has already been promised. Now I want to call on the general public and all those people in town and country who owe so much to Otago to subscribe the balance. After allowing for the subsidy we require approximately £19,000 to reach our objective. I am sure that everyone will wish to contribute generously towards making the centennial year a success.”