IN SPITE OF FIRE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16847, 25 September 1922, Page 9

IN SPITE OF FIRE

THE DAY in the CARDEN? c BUSINESS AS USUAL.” ~ 1 Tile fact lirjt, the tea, kiosk in tile j Botanical Gardens had been burnec | down meant that an added attrsetior j had been provided for Hie rufTorei j who spent Dominion Day in the gar- | dens to-day. The heap of debris olialI longed fixe curiosity of every boy, anc | called for the closest investigation. 'The j fire-scarred stove, prominent in the i centre of the heap, called for first at | tention; then other and smaller ob- | Sects ot interest were discovered, from ■■ the remains oi the scales and the i twisted egg-beater to the half inciueri a ted rat. The incursions of the enili dren to delve in tile asli Tieun were j repelled now and again by watchful atvrmunr.LS, v.*ho warnings oj ; the effects on nave feet of broken glass I and still hot non work, but tne- mI quiring knots ‘ still encroafch eJT. uT » hints of punishment sent them soat- ! ter ing to th© swings and the paddlinc j pool. j It was in the swings and the pool ‘ that tnc enduring interest centred, I When, stern officialdom forbade oxj peditions of discovery to the Tmiferlatri of the debris, everything but the noveli ty was gone, and novelty soon becomes j commonplace, and what boy will waste j time on the commonplace? So the swings did not- have a day j off, or the pool lack patronage. From i quite an early hour children began to I arrive—the real early birds with nn j adults to hinder their actions or check | the spirit of adventure. Later came | children with their parents—Tommy i with the hamper and sister wheeling i th© baby in the push-chair. The burned len kiosk meant no discomfort to these | picnic parties. ‘Business as usual” | was the axiom of the garden -authori ties. Before 11 o’clock coppers were j heating water and a marquee, to take j the place of the building destroyed, ! was already on its poles. Soft drinks I were obtainable as usual, so that the j fire meant- nothing more than an added ' spectacle-—something to remember I>oj minion Day by. • As the crowd about the pool grew j the swings were given heavier loads, land tlieir creaking mingled plaintive!v i with the shouts and laughter of the : revellers. For the boys, however, the ! big attraction was tiie water. There j were boats of all sorter and sizes, and every make known to the merchant or royal marine, and many makes utij dreamed of by either. An early arrival ; brought a new boat obviously about to , undergo its trials. Frankly, as a sailer, j it- wasn’t a success. The course set by it.s young navigator was a matter of . perfect indifference to it. and it mademore leeway than any self-respecting ! boat should; But still, it did move about in one direction or another, and, ! when it did happen to take a straight for a while could easily outsail the other early ships, which comprised just, i a piece of board with a paper sail that crawled clumsily about and made onlv a very poor uretencc* of being a fullrigged ship. The fleet grew rapidlj. The square rigged ship> 79 predominated, but there were yacht*, and eut--1 ters and schooners, and ail The rest. It ; was Bobbie who created the real sensation. His was no new craft. It was | a tried and trusted sailer .possessing j two masts and rigged as a fore and aft j schooner. And it gleamed redly in the j new coat of that father had i given it in especial preparation for this j day. The owners of the full-rigged ; ships, the catamarans and the rest, ' eyed it- with due deference while Bobbie •; advance to the water at a pace that- gave plenty of time for him to drink in the ! full effect- of his ostentatious advent. At : the water’s edge he paused, and considj ©red, and then, with tantalising delibj oration, sauntered off with his boat to- . wards the swings. Bobby was in the J limelight and knew it, and was going j to enjoy popular attention as long as i possil)Je. When, finally, he did place his ship in the water it was with an air of concession to a popular demand. o ‘‘ Aw, not much,” said the owner

of the ship that made the leeway, as the iieAvcomer made her maiden run. Really, however, she behaved quite well in the estimation of the unbiassed children. Disaster overcame her, however. A full vigged ship, thfcfc really ought to have known better, threw its clumsy form iu the track of the aristocrat; there was a collision that didn’t do much harm ; but the racer was thrown on to the wrong tack, and. piling herself among the rocks in the centre of the pool, became the object of sfdVage operations. And so it was throughout the day. That pool represented every romantic sea known to boyish history, and the ships did ull the deeds of valour that ships did in days of yore. Mainly, one suspects, they were pirates, doing dark and terribly realistic things. For a little boy, a little boat, a little water, and a little imagination can go a very long way. Once the boats were all fairly at sea the swings were left to the monopoly of the girls and their very young brothers. Scarcely had the maternal escort found a seat and produced the knitting needles than the girls were off to the swings. Long before midday the lawns adjacent to the pool were crowded, the coppers were steaming busily, the marquee was discharging the functions of the defunct tea kiosk, and the holiday was spent without any privations consequent on the fire. PROSPECT OF REBUILDING. Mr G. Be-swick. who was chairman of the board when the kiosk was built, stated to-day that the matter of rebuilding would have to be considered bv the board, and possibly_Q?e chairman (Mr George Harper) would <-aIJ a special meeting. Whatever builcfing • as erected, Mr Beswick said, would have to be of a design that would provide shelter from every wind, and he ';-.i . 2er?q looking through designs of .iw.iiar buildings in the Old Country. 'Athough he had not yet seen what he thought would rmet with the approval m ;.hc board. Something of. classic design to harmonise with the surrounding scenery had been suggested, and j there was the alternative suggestion cf < log hut, with a thatched roof. T»ut the difficulty in. that C3?®c would be to provide proper lighting. Mr Beswick indicated that he would place his suggestions before the board-