THE MEMORIAL PARK.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 30 March 1925, Page 4

THE MEMORIAL PARK.

(To The Editor.)

Sir, —May I be allowed to ask a question re above? What is going to become of the Memorial Park? To the public of Masterton who don’t know, may I be allowed to explain that at present there is a mortgage of about £2OOO on the Park, and a second martgage or bank overdraft of £looo'—total about £OOOO. The second £IOOO was raised on the Park to pay for the soldiers’ memorial in the Masterton Park, owing to the then committee losing about £IOOO in the meat works failure. The Memorial Committee of that time held about £IOOO in war memorial funds and as there was delay over ihe monument, the trustees placed that £IOOO at call in the Waingawa meat works, only to find, when the monument was completed, the £IOOO had vanished. Theonly asset left to realise the. £IOOO on. was the Memorial Park, so it was con- „

sidered better to have a second mortgage on the Park than not to erect a monument in the Masterton Park ta commemorate our fallen soldiers. Son etime back a few of the trustees tried to raise a sufficient sum to pay off this second £IOOO but so far failed. Some ten good folk signed up for about £25 each, but the objective was not reached. The first mortgage is at a low rate of interest, and this should be gradually paid off, but founds have not. been available. As a citizen, I would suggest that if possible a new board of trustees be formed to take over this splendid recreation ground, hold same exclusively for sport, and see that sports should pay for their sport, when using same. Would it not .be possible for the Masterton Trust Lands Trustees with the mayor or a representative of the Borough Council, and some individual representative of sports to take over this property and hold same for and on behalf of‘the public of Masterton. 1 honestly believe that if such a body was to take the matter in hand debentures could be raised to .pay off the £3OOO odd and so assure us of full' 1 local control of a splendid sports area/ I can go further and say that I can. place a debenture of £IOO and I am assured that it would be possible to raise another £2900 of debentures at (£IOO,. and I trust some movement in this direction will take place, otherwise, "What will happen?” —I am, etc., " SPORT.’*