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CHEER-UP lIIUT
RAILWAYS MAY USE IT
Concreie Replica Urged
When the Cheer-Up Hut was built in
the early years of the war it was on
land lent by the Railways Department
on the undirstanding that it could be
reclaimed when needed. Now the Gov
crnment has asked the board of man
a-enlcnt of the hut for its use as tem
porary offices in connection with the re
construction of the railway station. The
board will dictcuss the matter at a meet
ing tomorrow.
It is probalie that a replica of the
hut will b1e built to preserve its many
a;ssociations and incorporated in the
memorhl,1 !ar??used by the Returned Sol
diers'-League. Negotiations are not yet
finalised. There ha:,ve been several sites
suggested fo, such a memorial, includ
ing Elder Park, but the league is wait
ing on the City CouIncil and the
Government.
"I think 1th hut should be preserved.
and for some- definite purpose," said
Mrs. A. Seanger. "The best use it could
be put to, I think, would be as a war
museum. There are many relies which
cannot he allowed to go. and which
must go if the hut goes. There are, to
menti:,n in.l:. a few things, photogrTaphs
of alrmost everyv unit before it left here
for the front. hiere are panels paid
for by country districts on ccin lition
lthat they 'hlouhld h, p)ecserved alwavys.
There is the lag which Admiral Jelli
coo autographcd when he was in Aus
tralia, and which has been signed by
many of the onicers and men of the Im
porital ileet. There is a flag auto
graphed iby Cen. Pau and many other
prominent Frenchmen. and many flags
which have been at the front. Perhaps
the hut could be used both as a war
memo:rial and for entertainment pur
poses."
AIr. F. J. Mills (secretary of the board
of management of ihe Cheer-Up Hut),
while realising that to remove the pre
sent hut would to a certain extent re
move the associations and memories
connected with it, gave reasons why a
replica shouid be built in its stead. He
said that the board: with the Returned
uoltliers' Lcague, was negotiating with
the Governlmeint to have a replica of
the hut made. T'his would be coml)ined
with the so!drirs' propoeed memorial
1:nil. The hut was the only existing
lhk lotweni the so'tiri.s and the war in
the way it cntcrtaincd them. There
were hund:ceds of memorials of
doce;secd soldierrs in the hut
which -were dear to mothers and
relatives. Perhapsrs if the hut were
taken awa.-. many of thie old associa
tions which cling. to it would be lost.
The hut was only- a temporary struc
ture, and it would have to be removed
sooner or aInter. A structure which
would ii'co for all time was d-sired.
The b,!ilding couhl be re-erected, Mr.
Mills said, hut that wrulld only- mean
hat it wodd still inevitably perish. lie I
thought that veiryone .wou.ld be satis
fied wHh a replica in concrete as a
memorial.
"Anz?ne Arch is another structure
which is onoI temporary." Mr. MIills
said. "This has .a concrete base, buit
the superstructure is of timber and
asbestos. That wa.s a compliment to
the Anzacs, and might be 'rebuilt with
concrete and placed alongside the new
Cheer-Up I-Tin in another site. It can
not stand as it is much longer, or it
will become a danger to passers-by."
ihr. A. I-I. Talziel (secretary of the
Returned Soldiers' - League) said that
the league favored some sort of scheme
whereby the Cheer-un iHut would cease
to l)e tcmnorary nnd could be used.
incorporated with "the soldiers'
memorial., as a war museum. Last year
the leaun:e had banded over to the Gov
ernment £4.0000 toward a war memorial
hall. and £.n000 had boen put on the
estimate, for the construction of an
othir Cheer-Up -Hut. Now they were
wniting for the delccision of the
City Council in r-cnrd to thoir rernnest
for a s;te for the hall. and of the Goy
ernment for a substantinal grant toward
the cost.
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