The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1926. OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC PLAY. GROUNDS.

Waipa Post, Volume 31, Issue 1731, 11 March 1926, Page 4

The Waipa Post. Printed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1926. OUR PARKS AND PUBLIC PLAY. GROUNDS.

THE improvement of our parks and public play grounds is, perhaps, an outlet for what may be best described as civic pride. As a public work the beautifying of parks and, open spaces in and about the town is no doubt secondary in importance to the major undeigakings which have to do with the commercial progress and development of the borough, but it is, well to remember that old truism about all work and no play. Our parks are the public pla'y grounds: civic pride demands that they should be mad,e attractive. So surely as one sees in the town well-appointed play grounds, with, perhaps, a little justifiable extravagance in the direction of treeplanting and beautifying, it will invariably be found that civic prid,e is not unknown in that neighbourhood. By no means essential in terms of commerce, but decidedly advantageous are these parks improvement schemes, in that they serve to evidence a pub-lic-spiritedness which is essential in any community which seeks to enjoy a well-ordered progress.

Although in Te Awamutu- there is cause for much gratification in the state of our parks and reserves, there remains considerable scope for future effort. In Victoria Park, thanks very largely to the efforts put forward by three voluntary organisations, the

grounds present a most attractive appearance. In Albert Park a good foundation has been laid for future effort. At the memorial site the Beautifying Society «has • laid out an attractive plot. Latterly, however, there has been little mention of any concerted endeavour in the direction of further improvements. That there is scope nobody for one moment can entertain a d/oubt, and it all seems a matter of leadership. iWe imagine if the Beautifying Society were to embark upon a more comprehensive scheme the public would not be slow to give an adequate response. A suggestion which reached the Borough Council a few weeks ago might well be further investigated. The approach to Albert Park is unsightly; it could be transformed into one of the most attractive features of the park. Instead of a swampy gully covered, with noxious weeds, why not an artificial lake in the hollow which Nature has provided? Meanwhile, the lake could, remain an ideal for the future. At the present time a survey could be made to determine the levels of the lake-to-be; its surroundings could be planned; and tree-planting could be begun—thus setting out upon a scheme which may take several years to complete. It would very certainly prove a great improvement to this park, and, is well worthy of the effort that would be necessary.

A more urgent need at Albert Park is adimitedly a grandstand. But. the Domain Board has neither the funds In hand nor in sight to contemplate such an undertaking. It is for the public to display an interest, and the Domain Board may then discover the ways and means. This park, however, has become more than the playing area for the borough: it serves a wid,er territory; and it would not be far wide of the mark to suggest that the district bordering upon Te Awamutu would! show more than a passing interest in schemes for its improvement. Little by little should be the method of approaching these schemes. There is surely the room and the scope for a voluntary body to act in conjunction with the controlling local authority.

In one respect Te Awamutu has lagged behind other towns. Very few of its citizens have made individual .gifts for use in the parks, m most places there are garden seats and various other appointments which have been donated; in Te Awamutu these are almost entirely lacking. It cannot be saidi that there is less public-spiritedness in Te Awamutu than elsewhere: we suggest that it is merely want of thought.

The ideal should be to constantly endeavbur to improve our public parks and reserves. Nobody need do very much if everybody does just a little. The parks belong to the people, and they will be just what the. people make them. And if we pause to recall what we have thought of other towns by what we have seen in their parks, we realise in a moment what it means to us to so impress those who will judge Te Awamutu on precisely the same basis. ’Civic pride will compel us to bestow more attention upon our (parks than we have perhaps done in the past. Our parks certainly deserve our constant- attention.