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MEETING OF RATEPAYERS AGREE TO ACCEPT
RESPONSIBILITY
The meeting of ratepayers, held on Thursday night, for
the purpose of considering a suggestion by a meeting of
ratepayers at Strathmerton that the Numurkah town ratepayers
should make themselves responsible for any shortage that
might occur in the revenue of the proposed Town Hall, was
attended by over 70 ratepayers. A motion was agreed to
that Numurkah town assume responsibility for any loss, conditional
on any profits that might accrue being devoted to
town purposes. A suggestion was added to the motion that
in the event of a loss occurring in any year the council pay
£50 to the funds by way of rent of its administrative offices,
infant welfare centre rooms, etc. The motion was carried
with only two dissentients.
Cv W. G. Hooper {President of
the shire) presided. Messrs T. B.
Halden and J. Ryan were present in
the interests of ratepayers in the
northern portion of the Eastern Riding,
and at the conclusion of the
meeting said that the northern opposition
to the erection of the hall
would be withdrawn.
Cr Hooper said that the meeting
was the outcome of a meeting held
at Strathmerton. At that meeting a
number of those who had been in
opposition to the proposed hall had
changed their attitude when the position
had been fully explained. The
council had gone carefully into the
matter, and personally he believed
that the proposition was the best he
had ever heard. A hall would be
presented to the shire free of
charge, and he did not think any
better offer had even been made
anywhere.
Dr Parker, chairman of the building
committee of the Mechanics' Institute,
said there was a lot to be
said for those who were opposed to
the hall. The new hall would not
be a personal asset, a s it could be
said it would be as far as Numurkah
people were concerned, and the
argument that as they had to maintain
halls at Strathmerton and Bearii
without help from Numurkah
they should not be called upon to assist
in the building <3f a hall in Numurkah
was a logical one. On the
other hand there was the position
that the hall would be a shire hall
and not a public hall for Numurkah
people alone. Personally, he did not
think there was any risk of the hall
not paying its way, and that was
the reason that the matter had been
brought before the people of Nu--
murkah. The Mechanics' Hall was
too small now, and frequently people
were turned away from entertainments,
while others refrained
from trying to gain admittance,
knowing that such would be impossible.
It was a usual experience to
find the hall too crowded for comfortable
dancing. The hall was also
crowded out when special pictures
were shown, and he ventured to say
that with a larger and more comfortable
hall the earnings would be
nearly doubled. The Mechanics'
Hall could be enlarged to accommodate
an additional 125 people at a
cost of £5000, but there was no
room for a supper-room, which was
.almost a necessity, and so the committee
had been compelled to do
something more than merely en-
large the present building. The shire
was even in greater need of a new
hall, and so the present proposal
had been made. No one could say
that the shire hall was worthy of
the district. They were not asking
the council to build a hall for the
Numurkah people. What they had
suggested was that the two bodies
co-operate, and the Mechanics'
would hand over its assets towards
the capital cost and assist in paying
interest and depreciation by
renting the hall for picture purposes
only at £500 a year. Other towns
had done the same thing, so that the
idea was not an experimental one,
and they had the assurance of the
architect (Mr Leith) that in no one
instance had failure resulted. There
was no reason to expect that Numurkah
would be the exception. If
the offer now made was not accepted
and adequate accommodation
provided, some private enterprise
would be allowed to come in, and
the people would then have to pay,
not the 44 per cent now asked, but
10 or 15 per cent., as a private person
would require that on his outlay.
If the outlying districts were not
prepared to accept any responsibility,
they could have no objection to
Numurkah retaining the profits for
town purposes, and he believed the
hall would show a profit. At the end
of 30 years the shire would have a
hall that had cost it nothing and
which would -continue to earn revenue.
He asked the meeting to have
sufficient confidence in the council,
the Mechanics' committee, and the
future of the district to back the
project.
Mr F. J. Webster gave the same
set of figures as he had put before
the Strathmerton meeting. The
Mechanics' Hall had been valued at
£1500, the office occupied by Messrs
Morrissy and Deane could be sold
for £000 right away, the picture
plant was valued at £750, and the
seating, pianos, etc.,-at £250. The
bank overdraft was £1100, less £200
that was on fixed deposit, so that
there was a definite asset of £2200
that would go towards the erection
and support of the new hall. The
pictures committee would lease the
hall for £500 a year, at least £150
would 'be gained from other leasings
of the hall, an office had already
been asked for at £70 a year, and
two other offices would bring in at
least' 211i, br a total ^ £83!? to
meet an estimated yearly expenditure
of £786. The actual expenditure
would be*'£948, Jmt from ifcat
had to be deducted charges the
council was already paying, includ
ing caretaker', (£7$J f^inniEaiice
£30) and Electric light (£64), and
thus a surplus of.£111 of revenue
over expenditure would fre'&own.
If the hall were not ^qld lt could be
converted-into * - --
least £2 10/- a Wfifik-
paper. A certain hostility had been
shown to the proposal, which was
enly to be expected from those who
had* not had an opportunity of making
a study of the figures. He could
quite understand the hostility of
people who had no direct interest in
the hall, but after going carefully
into all aspects of the proposal, the
shire councillors had come t© the unanimous
conclusion that it was a
good one. He had travelled a good
deal in Victoria, and he had not seen
r. shire hall anywhere that was not
better than the one at Numurkah.
The shire was one of the most prosperous
in the State, and was worthy
of a better chambers. It may be
thought that the Mechanics' committee.
needing a new public hall, was
trying to foist its responsibilities* on
to the shoulders of the council, but
on the contrary the committee was
offering to co-operate in the erection
. of a shire hall that was badly needed.
He did not believe that the
ratepayers would turn down such an
offer as had been made. In a few
years a new shire hall would have to
be. built, and if the proposal was
Viot accepted the ratepayers would
have to pay the whole cost, instead
cf, as was now offered, getting a hall
for nothing. He would not ask his
ratepayers (in the Central Riding)
to heli) build a hall in Numurkah,
but he was sure they vrould all agree
to pay a proportion for the use
of the offices by the secretary and
engineer, which, in fact, they were
doing now. He believed, after having
thoroughly studied the matter
from all angles, that the proposition
they were now considering would be
in the best interests of the shire.
In reply to Mr Deane, the figures
quoted by Mr Webster were again
stated.
Mr A.. Stringer (shire secretary)
said that from the Mechanics' point
of view the £500 to be raised each
year was a low estimate, as with
better facilities greater attendances
could be accommodated and pictures
shown more frequently, particularly
in the summer time. Under present
conditions bad weather often
kept people from attending open-air
shows, but in the new hall provision
had been made for showing either in
the hail or in the open, so that in
the event of bad weather occurring
in the summer-time, the projecting
plant could be turned into a hall on
v, turntable at a minute's notice.
The supper-room would be let for
small gatherings, thus increasing
the rentals. Applications had been
received for two offices at 15/
week each, and an inquiry had been
made for a shop at 30/- a week
The Mechanics' estimated that it
could increase its takings by at least
£125 a year, and it was intended to
•put this sum aside and use it to co
ver any possible losses.
Mr Deane said he was convinced
that the proposal was a sound one,
and he did not think the town ratepayers
should hesitate to guarantee
to make up any loss, which was an
unlikely eventuality. He moved that:
' In the event of a shire hall being erected
at a cost of £12,500 this meeting
of ratepayers of the township of
Numurkah agree to accept liability
for any annual loss that might occur,
conditionally on any profit accruing
being spent in the township."
Mr C. Campbell seconded. The
Mechanics' committee were the only
people who were accepting any worry,
and if they were prepared to accept
the responsibility the townspeo
pie should stand behind thenr. If this
opportunity were missed it was not
likely to occur again. He believed
Numurkah would grow, and they
should look to the future.
The chairman said that if the peo
pie bore any loss, it would only be
fair that any profits should be spent
in the town.
Mr Stringer said that it had been
suggested that profits might be used
for town beauti£cation purposes.
The Strathmerton meeting had agreed
to that.
Mr W, L. Moss said it appealed
to him as a wonderful proposition,
and he could not understand anyone
opposiing it, for it meant that
Numurkah was providing an asset of
£12,500 that would eventually belong
to the ratepayers who had contributed
nothing towards its erection.
The suggestion that Numurkah
should accept liability for any
loss and have the profits used in
the town could not reasonably be
opposed. In the statement of estimated
revenue no account had been
taken qf rents for the offices which
the council might reasonably be expected
to pay. If a new shire hall
had to be built it would cost at least
£4000, and the council might take
that as a basis when fixii^Htlie am-
ount it wpuld pay % ic^t fti
had been demonstrated liafc larger
attendances at entertainments could
be secured if proper accot&modation
^s pr^ed, «nd |t isouMte
for ipnoM**'!)^
'ture.;'Wi>iild: be greater than in
pasfcT
Cr- Gordon saidhe
thought
tof°the
I S P '
TSte
only pay about 7/6 a year, even
ff no revenue was secured.
Mr J. Campbell asked what it was
considered would be a fair thing for
tiie council to pay as rent. If the Mechanics*
paid £600 a year it would
only be fair for tie ratepayers to
"pay a few i ob."
Cr Gordon said at the Strathmerton
meeting it was generally agreed
that the shire should pay something,
but only the council could fix the
amount, if anything at all was to
be. paid.
Mr Stringer said that if £100 had
to be made up the Moira Riding
would pay £8, the Central Riding
£16, and the Eastern and Western
Ridings'£38 each. He was unable to
work out what percantage in the £1
that would mean to each ratepayer.
Hie chairman»said that as a rep-'
resentative of the Central Riding he
would bp prepared to pay a fair
rent. He did not think the ratepayers
would want something for nothing.
In answer to a question, Cr Gordon
said that that meeting could not
bind ratepayers, but the decision
would be taken as an. indication by
the council as to the willingness of
the Numurkah people to accept resposibility.
When the counciI"carried
a motion it would be binding.
Mr Stringer said that an extra
rate could be imposed at any time
on the requisition of any two councillors.
If the Eastern Riding representatives
declined to move for
an extra rate to make up any loss,
the members of the other ridings
could force one on the riding. Once
that was done it would be mandatory
for the Numurkah ratepayers
to pay the rate.
Mr Halden said he was not opposed
to Numurkah having a good hall;
the opposition had arisen because
they did not think the proposition a
good one. The northern ratepayers
were in the unfortunate position
that all their rates were spent in Numurkah.
(Dissent.) They could
not afford an increase in rates. Before
money was spent on a hall the
roads should be put in order. The
roads were- in a shocking state, and
it was no use building up a town if
the ratepayers could not get into it.
It had been agreed at Strathmerton
that if there was a shortage in any
one year the council might pay £50,
but any further deficiency was to be
met by the Numurkah people.
Mr Stringer said it had been suggested
at Strathmerton that some
lent should be paid.
Mr Halden: In that event the ratepayers
would be putting up the guarantee,
and not the Numurkah people.
Cr Gordon said the shire was already
paying about £60 a year.
Mr Stringer said that if the shire
paid £50 a year it would be put into
a i-eserve fund and used for the
maintenance of the building, etc.
Mr Halden said that would mean
building up a reserve fund and saving
the Numurkah people. He would
not agree to the shire paying £50
every year, but only in such years
as a IOBS might occur.
Mr Moss said that if the council
used offices in the hall it was only
light that it should pay some rent.
He did not believe any ratepayer
would agree to that.
Mr Ryan said the Strathmerton
people did not want to "loaf" on
the Numurkah people, and they did
not want the council to have the
use of the hall for nothing. Strathmerton
and Bearii people had to
maintain their own halls. What the
ratepayers "up north" wanted were
good roads, and if a hall were a failure
their rates would go to the hall
and not to the roads. They were
prepared to pay a certain amount if
the hall did not pay, but if it did pay
they should give nothing.
The chairman said the Strathmerton
meeting was distinctly in favor
of the council paying some rent,
and no stipulation had been made
that it would pay only if the hall
showed a loss. Every riding was using
the hall, and each should pay
something towards its upkeep.
Mr Halden said all the talk had
been that the hall would pay its way,
and until its erection had been opposed
there had been no mention of
a reserve fund.
Mr A. S. Marshall said the shire
was already paying more than £50,
and surely Mr Halden did not want
to be relieved of that as well as get
a new hall for nothing.
Mr Halden said he was prepared
to. agree to the payment of £50 in
the years that there was a loss, but
not in the years that the hall paid
its way. The money was being borrowed
on the security of the whole
shire, and if the hall paid its way
there was no need to pay rent.
The motion was carried with two
dissentients, a provision being added
that the council be advised that
the northern ratepayers were willing
to pay £50 In the years that losses
wefe sustained.
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