GREATER DUNEDIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2664, 5 April 1905, Page 30

GREATER DUNEDIN.

THE PASSING OF SOUTH DUNEDIN. From midnight on the 31st of March, { 1905, South Dunedin as a borough ceased , to exist, and became merged, for better or -for worse, into Dunedin. To celebrate the last hours of the South Dunedin Borough and the dawn of a new era the Mayors and councillors of Dunedin and South Dunedin met in the latter' s Chain- | bers on Friday evsoiin.^. and participated in j a banquet. Mr J. B. Shaoklook (Mayor of ! South Dunedin) presided, and besides the j members and staff of the Borough Council [ there were present, amongst others, his j Worship the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr T. R. j Christie), Crs Braithwaite, Crust, Barnes, j and M Donald, Messrs Simon (Mayor of Mornington), Marlow (Mayor of St. Kilda), Wilson (ex-Mayor of Caversham), J. H. Hancock, and T. K. Sidey, M.H.R. Apologies were received from the Mayors of Maori Hill, Roslyn, and West Harbour, and Cr Lawrence. After the customary loyal toast had been duly honoured, The- Mayor (Mr J. B. Shacklock) proposed " Gfeater Dunedin," coupled with the names of the Mayor of the city and ex-Mayor Wilson, of Caversham. In the course of an interesting speech he mentioned that the question of amalgamation had been discussed in the press and on the platform for tne last five to six years. Their amalgamation with the City of Dunedin seemed to him but a following of the trend of the age. Everything ' now was done on a larger scale than was the ease some time ago. There was 1 a time when all the duties of a council had been to provide some sort of roads, but nowadays the municipal body had to look after a good many matters besides roads. It liad to form footpaths, provide water and gas, run tramways, and manage other undertakings. It was hardly possible for a small borough to shoulder all these responsibilities, and some accommodation should be made whereby these could be carried out successfully. Although mistakes had been made by past councils, yet they should be oomplimented on what they had done in the shape of roads, footpaths, and drainage with the limited means at their disposal. Many of those present, he concluded, would remember what that part of the city was like, and it said a good deal for those who had charge of the different works that the borough was in its present state. The Mayor of Dunedin acknowledged bis pleasure at being present that evening. He mentioned that the Borough Council had had many vicissitudes and had passed through some hard times. He acknowledged that more might have been done, but they should get credit for what they had done. Some people had" characterised South Dunedin as a little " Garden of Eden," but he ! confessed that 'that was a stretch of the j imagination. After pointing out the ad- j vantages that would obviously accrue from amalgamation with the city, he referred particularly to the great work of widening the Hillside road, and said that that would Be the making of that part of the city. In conclusion, he honed that the boroughs j would all unite and become one united I city. | Mr Wilson (ex-Mayor of Caversham), ; after expressing his thanks for the coupling of his name in the toast, acknowledged the considerate treatment his borough had received in respect to the widening of the streets. He went on to say that although." his borough had not stood so well in tho , repm-t of the Greater Dunedin Committee, - their gceat amount of debt was p<yun,t-er- '

balanced by the compactness of the borough and the easy working. In regard to the negotiations he had with respect to making one combined borough on the Plat, ho had been prepared to take South Dunedin in with Caveisham. In the past there had been great friction between the Boroughs of Caversham and South Dunedin, but he hoped the representatives of both wards would work amicably together in the city. He also expressed the hope that some day the present wards would be- abolished and split up into more suitable geographical boundaries than at the present time. Cr Todd, in proposing the suburban boroughs, sketched the disadvantages that had to be contended with not so many years ago, saying that to get to their Council Chambers councillors had to wade through a foot of water and jump from tussock to tussock. Bui all had been changed, and all had worked harmoniously and energetically for the good of tho borough. Mr Marl 3 w (Mayor of St. Kilda) in acknowledging the toast, said he felt in the same position as a bachelor congrattilating a friend en his marriage. Three meals a day, he remarked, was a very good thing, but if the three meals were taken the firpt thing in the day, the effects might be deleterious. Dunedin had swallowed Caversham. Then six months later South Dunedin, and then he thought it would be the turn of St. Kilda. Mr J. P. Simon (Mayor of Mornington), in acknowledging the toast, said that if the suburban boroughs had had larger borrowing power it would have been many a long day before they would have fallen in with the Greater Dunedin scheme. It was only a question of time when the boroughs at present holding out would join in, but they were waiting to see the results of the amalgamation of Caversham and South Dunedin. Other toasts honoured were: "The Officials," proposed by Cr Wardrop, and repponded to by Messrs Fairbairn, Allen, and M'Kenzie ; r ' The "Visitors." proposed by Cr Henderson and responded to by Mr J. H. Hancock, chairman of the Ocean Beach Domain Beard ; " Ex-Mayors of South Dunedin," proposed by Cr M'lndoe and responded to by ex-Mayors Osmond and Fiddis ; "The Press," proposed by Cr Harrison : and " Parliament," proposed by exMayor Osmond and replied to by Mr Sidey. During the evening: pianoforte solos were rendered by Mr Hilliker : songs by Messrs Christie, Erans, Smith, Dick, and Robertson ; and recitations by Messrs Price and M'Kenzie (town clerk of South Dunedin). At 11.55 p.m. Mr T. K. Sidey, in a neat speech, proposed the toast of '"His Worship the Mayor of South Dunedin," to which Mr ] Shacklock fittingly responded. The evening closed with the singing of " Auld lang syne " and the ringing of the fireball, at the sound of which the firemen (who had not been apprised of this mode of celebration) arrived hurriedly upou the scene, and were liberally recompensed with refreshments. ___—^_— — — i