Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17, 1913. BEAUTIFYING THE BEACH.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XL, Issue 13258, 17 December 1913, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 17, 1913. BEAUTIFYING THE BEACH.

For many years arid m many minds ! has been the desire to improve the i beautiful beaches with which Gisborne is endowed. Most of the foreshore, unfortunately, was allowed to slip out of public luinds long ago and only two tracts remain — one near Grey street, m possession of r the Government for railway purposes and one near the groyne, belonging to the Harbor Board, over which the Borough Council has certain rights. As our city grows the necessity for public recreation spaces is borne m upon us, and m our beaches, were they made suitable, we have ideal playgrounds for old and young. These I bieaches are splendidly situated, adjacent to the most closely populated areas of the town, a playground within reach of ■ children who most need it. But at present the foreshore, is singularly unattractive. Its background of treeless waste, its ■ lack of shelter, its hideous sheds, its general air so uninviting, make it comparatively a wasted asset. On all sides are repeated complaints of the unpleasant conditions existing at the beach and we feel that these unsightly and unsanitary condi- | tions could be corrected to a great extent by a real ljvo body of people m every one season. The beach is ours and our children's, and we must improve and maintain our own property. The Gisborno Women's Club has initiated a movement m the right direction by taking m hand tho work of improving part of the foreshore on tho Waikanar beach. One of the objects of the Club is that of taking an interest in ' the social and civio work of the district. A elu^ working for civic betterment and of civic usefulness should be of value to the citizens of the present and the future. Onco the club decided to endeavor to improve the foreshore, a committee was formed to approach the Beautifying Association, who welcomed their proposal to undertake this work and promised their advioe and sympathy. They also gave the ladies permission to call themselves The Lndies' Branch Committee of the Beautifying Association. This committee invited representatives from other women's organisations at work m Gisborne, and the existing committee is fully repfe-' seritative of all grades of thought and

work m Gisbonie. The committee is seeking permission from the Borough Council for beautifying a portion of the land between Lowe street and the groyne or near Grey street, the portion considered most suitable for initial

efforts being that which lies near and ', lacing the Borough Council tea-house. Tho Borough Cr, '•■.:io" ! began the: good work of making ihe i. ach n.i ro attractive by putting up a place of refreshment. The tea-house is m charge of a married couple who attend to the wants of the visitors. Among tho duties of the caretaker of the tea-rooms is included the patrolling of the beach ; this m itself will act as a deterrent to undesirable characters and make the boach a, safe playground for children. The caretaker is also instructed by the Borough Council to keep the beach free of tins, broken bottles, paper, etc. The scheme the Ladies' Committee has before it is. briefly,, as follows: — To fence off one or two acres of the land and to level it. To enclose this' area with a fence, to cart soil, and within the fence to plant a hedge which will stand the salt breezes; to plant trees of like nature; to put up a gate arid seats and make paths : to suspend tins for the collection of rubbish, and to instal conveniences for children ; to erect a shed for shelter, and m many other ways make the beach an ideal place of recreation for parents and children. To see| happy children enjoying a swim, digging m the sand, building sand castles,] getting all the clean, life-giving air as they play spurs the women on to greater effort, and the Ladies' Committee want the whole town to co-oper-ate to bring this scheme into action. They ar^ starting :in ' a small way and feel that if the '" City of 'Gisborno did not reap the benefit of their efforts for another twenty years those efforts would be entirely worth exerting. The Ladies' Committee propose to raise money for the initial work by asking everyone who can possibly afford it' to give ono shilling for this purpose. Collection cards will be m the hands of the committee's collectors. Meantime anyone interested m the scheme is asked to communicate with the secretaries ,Mrs W. F. Anderson and Mrs W. Harrold. The result of the combined efforts of the Beautifying Association, the •. -citizen 3 themselves, and th© Ladies' Committee will be a most attractive beach and an impulse to civic pride which will lead into other and more difficult accomplishments for the benefit of our city. We heartily commend the movement to the generosity of our citizens and hope that every individual citizen will make a point of contributing to the funds, and thus mark a definite interest and stake m a work of civic adornment which m the future will be pointed to with pride as one of the most pleasant attractions of Gisborne.

success