BEAUTIFYING SOCIETY

Southland Times, Issue 17307, 1 April 1913, Page 2

BEAUTIFYING SOCIETY

ANNUAL REPORT. Following is the second annual report of the Invercargill and Suburban Beautifying Society:— Owing to the time required In the necessary preparation of land in the selected public reserves before planting can be carried out, tlie Society has not" been able as yet to make a great displaiy ' of accomplished work. This has been the case particularly with No. 2 reserve' in Gala wdiere a sunk-garden is contemplated. The Corporation has had considerable work in formation, ploughing, filling, and. drainage before it wa» possible for us to do more than advise on i.ts general formation and plan. Owing to much of It being filled with, road scrapings and other rough material, it will yet take a considerable time before the ground is fit for more than the most elementary part of our projected plantings. We notice that the Council purposes immediately handing this reserve over to our Society. We propose improving the reserve at. the corner of Biggar street and Elicit Road, with a view to there having eventually a Band Rotunda with grass area, and the margins of reserve planted with ornamental trees and shrubs. The Council adopted our sug-n gestions according to a plan and des- : crlptlon which we submitted, and agreed to our request that the street boundaries should be ploughed and harrowed,. Through apparently some misunderstanding, the two low places at its northern corners w'hlch we desired to be" left and to make features ©f, were care-.-fully graded off to tame and meaning-, less slopes at considerable unnecessarycost, and the other margins were ■ left untouched. As the season was then into we made the best of the case and dug, small patches for the trees and so get. in the first essential plantations. The., time is now at hand, when the shrubs, should be put in on this reserve. At the new Government Buildings, adjacent, to the Post. Office the Society, advised a scheme embodying grass areas with hardy trees and native shrubs, .and. with asphalted approaches bounded by concrete kerbs. The Government, how-, ever, decided on asphalting the. entire area and sent emphatic instructions to. its local officers to that effect. Wo were permitted to plant the, .cabbage.. trees now there at intervals In the asphalt. The trees for this were supplied gratuitously by Messrs Dennis and Sons. Tho first intentions of the Government included fairly high iron fences with crete bases to replace the old decayed wooden fences In the Post Office Square and in other parts of these grounds. In response to our suggestions this was modified, and the low concrete kerbs built substituted. It Is a matter, for regret that the cabbage trees and other hardy native shrubs formerly In Post Office Square were so ruthlessly removed instead of being thinned out or reduced where necessary for the. better lighting of offices adjoining. Tour Committee had no hint even ,of this till, the mischief was done, and the growth of twenty odd years thrown away. ’ We now have the permission of the Public. Works Department suitably to replant these areas, and this must be done within the next few months. The Corporation has now formed and planted about one half of Coronation Avenue in Queen's Park, as far as and Including The Arena. We notice by press reports that the gravelling of its roadways is contemplated in the near future. The accomplished work has been well done. It embraces probably the heaviest part of the completed Avfenue entailing much grading, excavation'and drainage; arid Including much of the work in the formation of thefuture water garden. With thß“groW’th. of the trees planted the public“wlll ’lri ’S> few years begin’to’realise"'the'value -of, this work to the city arid its.-eventual beauty. Tlie reserves on r Olthiar .side-of-the Gala street approaches are-as yet almost untouched,, and the Jit lie- don* leaves much to be desired. Immediately the work in other reserves is sufficiently advanced, the Society will do well to put its shoulder to the wheel with a will and assist, in getting Coronation Avenue right through to Gladstone. To get proper uniformity of appearance, the sooner the rest of the elms are in the better, and this might even be done in advance of the road work formation. We notice that an effort is likely to be made to have Winter Gardens immediately in Puni creek reserve. In our opinion such action would he premature. We consider the town should first provide suitable trees and shubberies In its reserves, and until funds are more plentiful avoid so expensive a luxury as Winter Gardens, which entail heavy first cost and annual upkeep. Moreover, the future Botanical Gardens in Queen’s Park would provide a more suitable site where ihe gardener then resident there would be better equipped to give the necessary' attention. During the past year a lithographic copy of the scheme for Queen’s Park was prepared by this Society and circulated broadcast. It was. intended it should be followed up by a vigorous canvass, but this did not .eventuate. It now remains for the incoming Committo follow this up. and find the funds "Uired for the work we have pledged ourselves to do. Collecting may at a later date be supplemented by perhaps a Garden-Fete. ■ We notice with pleasure the work undertaken and projected by the Corporation in the newly acquired W athopai Reserve. If funds allow this might well assist in the planting of the river banks. For the lime being this reserve lias diverted public attention from the greater work In Queen s Park. Last July, it having come to the knowledge of the Society that there tt as a loner strip of bush land facing the Ward Parade at Bluff, which it wa« verv desirable should be conserved for scenic purposes, a deputation wm arranged for. consisting of your Executive officers. Mr W. Hinchey. the Mayor ef. Bluff and Councillor Tipping to interview the Prime Minister to urge upon the Government the importance of securing this land under the Scenic Preservation Act. The deputation met with considerable encouragement, and as the land can he secured for a£ there is every prospect that it will be obtained by the Government.