CAROLINE BAY HALL.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18259, 8 May 1929, Page 6

CAROLINE BAY HALL.

To the Editor of the “T'marti Herald." Sir,—X am given to understand that the proposed alterations to the above hall include raising the roof and adding another storey to be used as tearooms, but' without increasing the size of the present hall on the ground floor. Now, sir. in view of my experience in our Waimataitai School fancy dress carnival, I would like to suggest to the new Council that the above proposal be reviewed seriously before being carried out. Let us look at the facts of the case. Timaru is a rapidlygrowing town, and sooner or later a large hall must be buhc in which to hold public functions At present we have to go to a wool shed when any important dance is held, the Bay Hall being much too small; for even in the ordinary school socials the floor is generally much over-crowded. At our fancy dress carnival the limit was reached, for there was room for only one row of chairs, and the majority of the spectators had to stand all evening. For this I must apologise to parents and friends, but I trust it will be the means of making them realise how inadequate the capacity of our Bay Hall is. Half the children had to leave the room while the other half had their dance, and the many beauti-

ful costumes were certainly not shown to advantage owing to the crowded state of the hall. What the state of affairs would have been had we tried to hold the carnival on one night instead of two I leave you to imagine. The present Bay Hall is quite an artistic building, but to alter it as suggested is not going to improve it. Besides, alterations invariably cost a great deal more than was expected, and are hardly ever satisfactory in the end. I would like to suggest that the present Bay Hall be turned into tea rooms, and that a large hall not less than eighty feet square be erected alongside the present hall on the sea side, the two halls to be connected by a short but wide corridor, so that the tea rooms could be utilised as a supper room and lounge whenever necessary. I am convinced that this scheme would cost very little more than the proposed alterations, and it certainly would be of far more practical use. Large picnics visiting the Bay and being caught by rain find the present building much \ too small, and I have no doubt that there are many occasions on which our Band would make use of a larger hall when they wish to give indoor concerts. Caroline Bay is the finest asset that Timaru possesses. The town is growing rapidly, and will soon be a city, so it behoves the citizens to see that they get a hall of which they will not be ashamed. And where could a better position be found than on the Bay, where the site will cost nothing, and where there is abundance of room to accommodate that modern necessity—the motor-car. So to the new Mayor and Councillors I would say, “Review the position carefully so that the citizens of Timaru will get full value for their money.”—l am, etc., R. MALCOLM. Timaru, May 7.