A.A. LOOKS TO FUTURE

Southland Times, Issue 25795, 5 October 1945, Page 2

A.A. LOOKS TO FUTURE

Larger Office And Club Rooms ADJOINING BUILDING BOUGHT In order to provide for more office accommodation, and possibly also for club rooms in a few years’ time, the Automobile Association (Southland) has purchased the building adjoining its present premises in Kelvin street. The purchase price was £5lOO. The building is at present occupied by Bowden’s Mart on the ground floor, and by the Commercial Travellers’ Club on the second floor. The club, however, is moving to new premises shortly. Mr S. C. K. Smith, president of the Automobile Association (Southland), said yesterday that the present proposal was that the S.I.M.U. .Mutual Insurance office should be shifted to the ground floor of the premises that had just been bought. This would leave the whole of the present office accommodation, which was shared by the S.I.M.U. Insurance and the association, to the association. A larger private office could then be provided for the secretary of the association, and the office staff would also have more accommodation. The rooms at present occupied by the Commercial Travellers’ Club could readily be converted into club rooms for the association, if this were thought to be desirable. The present lounge of . the association was too small and inadequate, and was also too public, since it was really only a portion of the main office. The association had a membership of nearly 5000, and, therefore he did not see why club rooms could not be successfully established. The A.A. in Timaru, with a much smallei - membership, had club rooms. Mr Smith added that it was not proposed to make the alterations immediately. The lease held by Bowden’s Mart had nearly three years to run, and it was not proposed to do anything before the expiry of that period. An endeavour would be made to let the second floor rooms, after they had been vacated by the Commercial Travellers’ Club.

The building that the association had purchased was sodndly constructed, and, with some slight alterations, it could be made to conform in outward appearance with the present building of the association, Mr Smith said.