LIFE-SAVING CONTROL

Taranaki Daily News, 3 October 1930, Page 9

LIFE-SAVING CONTROL

DISSATISFACTION.AT OPUNAKE PROPOSED SOUTH TARANAKI BODY Dissatisfaction with the existing control of ■ swimming and life-saving as administered under. the present Taranaki Head Centre , with headquarters at New Plymouth was manifest at a largely attended meeting of the Opunake Surf and Life-Saving Club last night/ when a motion was passed approving of the proposal for the formation of a . separate South Taranaki centre. The suggestion arose out of a paragraph in the presidential report submitted to the annual meeting. Speaking to it the president said the present Taranaki Centre was practically a New Plymouth centre. Near New Plymouth there was a group of handy beaches from Urenui to Oakura that would form a solid group of clubs, providing there was proper organisation. That group, however, was so far away from Opunake that he felt a separate centre for South Taranaki would be in the best interests of life-saving. < As a delegate to the Taranaki Head Centre, said Mr. Stephenson, he’■ hadseveral times suggested that the head centre should get busy and endeavour to supply reels.for the South Taranaki beaches, but though members had nodded their heads at his remarks nothing had. been done. All the reels had been placed on beaches in North Taranaki, though there were beaches at Kaupokonui, Hawera, Mokoia, Patea and other places, to cay nothing of Opunake, where th'e public had assisted the club to place a reel of its own. He had felt impelled in. the interests of the people of Opunake, who deserved credit, to give a denial to the statement that, th© centre had provided the reel., He did not take any exception to. the beached around New Plymouth being provided with reels a© he thought that every beach in Taranaki should have a properly equipped reel. It might be stated that the Head Centre had not sufficient funds, cohtinued the chairman, but he objected to reels 'being provided by the centre at ■beaches where there were no clubs, such as Paritutu and Oakura, When there were beaches in South Taranaki where clubs had been formed, or were about to be formed, thht were not provided with reels. About £l5O had been collected as the result of a special effort 'by the'centre for the purchase of reels, and the whole of that money had been expended to provide reels for the beaches of North Taranaki in the vicinity of New Plymouth. That, he said, was the action of the Taranaki Head Centre which, as its name indicated, ( should have looked after the interests of the -whole of Taranaki. The interests of the Opunake Club were very widely apart from the centre. Opunake Was more closely allied to the district extending as far as Patea, in which territory, he believed, if encouragement was given, .five or eeven clubs would spring up. He thought the meeting might recommend the executive to make inquiries among existing and proposed clubs in South Taranaki with; a view to forming a South Taranaki , Centre. Where there were no clubs they could ,get in touch with prominent gentlemen who were considering the formation of clubs.

Mr. Stephenson moved that the Opunake Club support the proposal for the formation of a South Taranaki Centre, believing that it was in the best interests of life-saving in South Taranaki. The motion was seconded by Mr. W. Haggett. Mr. J. Pickering suggested it would be better first to get in touch with the other clubs in South Taranaki and ascertain their views. The chairman said that,would be done before any definite move was made, and the matter could be thoroughly threshed out at a conference of the clubs interested. A resolution from the Opunake Club in support would arm the delegates. Mr? S. M. Smith said that the secretary of the New Zealand Council asked him whothet they would form a South Taranaki Ccrfitre. Several members considered that Opunake had not received fair treatment from tjie head centre.

Mr. J. Pickering: Did the head centre send a team to the championships or assist in any way? The chairman explained that the head centre after some consideration had offered them £l5 towards the cost of sending a .team to the championships, the cost of which was £B4. Though that had not been accepted it was still held by the Taranaki Head Centre that the Opunake team should have been sent not as an Opunake combination but as a Taranaki team. That despite the fact that the Opunake people provided all the funds.’ Moreover, he was also severely taxed by the centre officials because Opunake had dared to order a reel which had been paid for by the public of Opunake. \ Mr. Haggett said there was another alternative—to break away from the Royal Life-Saving Society altogether. The Canterbury society had done so and was forming a surf-bathing association to deal mainly with surf life-saving as distinct .from still water work, which was now practically obsolete. The motion was carried unanimously, the chairman making it clear prior to putting the motion that it did not bind the club to anything definite. '