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NEW TOWN COMMUNITY I
CLUB. \
THE CLUB DESCRIBED.
WHAT IT IS AND DOES.
Impressed by the suggestion m C
E W Bean's fine book, "In Your'Hands,
Australians," that something should be
done in the way of providing recreation
for the young men of the cities and
villages of Australia along the lines
which were so' successfuly adopted at
the front, Mr Wilson J Baile/, of New
Town wrote a letter to "The Mercury"
just twelve months ago, in which he
advocated that the former municipal
buildings there should be utthsnd as a
community, or social and civic, club, for
the benefit of the residents generally
The idea immediately found favour,
and Mr Bailey himself was induced to
ta\c over the task of getting such an
institute going That work bus now
been accomplished, and the Governor is
to perform the official opening on Sat-
urday afternoon, when there is certain
to be a 1 irge attendance 01 the resi-
dents of the toi|n, who are whole heart
edly behind the scheme
A M-it was paid bj a "Mercury" re-
presentative to tho former municipal
buildings jestcrdav It would be diffi-
cult for one of the ex councillors to
recognise the intenot of the building
in its altered form Instead of the
somewhat depressing iir of officialdom
and importance generally ÍOUIK* around
the headquarters of a mumcipalitj and
the meeting place of the wise men of
a tribe, there is now an atmosphere
of warmth and liveliness It is pre-
sent everywhere, in the newly calcined
walls, the redecorated rooms and the
general furnishings With half a dozen
young men in the council debating hall
playing billiards and cricking jokes, as
there were jesterday, it assumes quite
i human air The whole building makes
an ideal setting for a community club
-a place where the young men and
women (foi it is intended to welcome
these as members also) of the town
maj meet and spend their evenings in
indoor recreation and amusement Man
is a gregarious animal, and likes to
foregather with his fellows, and the idea
lying behind the movement is to pro-
vide for that desire There is no doubt
that it will succeed exceedingly
The four main rooms have ull been
well and brightly furnished The hil-
liard room, about 36ft square, contains
tsvo full-size Alcock tables, and all the
appaiatus pertaining to their use, with
plenty of chairs and seats and radia-
tors In one corner is to bo put a soft
drinks canteen, where all kinds of re-
freshment will bo supplied Next door
is the lodge-room This, svhen not in
use for that purpose, svill bo at the dis-
posal of members for the accommoda-
tion of their lady friends, whom they
may bring in of an evening for supper
and rest Downstairs are the reading
room and the gamos room, both filth
fine big fireplaces, and points for rad-
iators Newspapers aro available here,
and several lesidcnts have promised
gifts of current issues of weekly papers
More of these will still be welcomed
At the rear of the building is a block
of land, and a vision of_ the future is
to place upon it a concert md meeting
hall, and a gjmnasiura A secretary
has\ been appointod, in the person of
Mr L E Pulford, a returned soldier,
who will have charge of the building
Naturally, all this has not been ne
complishcd without much hard work
and a certain amount of capital When
the club is established, it'will bo en-
tirely self-supporting, and nothing will
reallv be given awaj The annual sub-
scription is 10s, payable in advance,
though in special cases members: will
bo admitted for a smaller fee But to
get the thing going a cortain amount
of initial capital his been nccessaij
To obtain this £5 debentures have been
issued, non-interest bearing, and repay-
able by the drawing of lots as funds
become available To grasp the fine
community spirit svluch 6\ists in the
district, it is only necessary to glance
over the list of debenture holders One
of the main reasons for the formation
of the club was the fact that 6 o'clock
closing deprived many men of their
meeting place and ' club" of an even
mg Now the local hotelkceper is a
debenture holder and an enthusiast
There is a baker, a draper, a school-
master, a minister, all sections of the
tosvn have joined together, realising the
need, und the fine character of the work
Just over £250 has been laisod by
means of debentures and donations
Approximately £100 is still needed to
furnish the reading-room and games
room, and there is little doubt that an-
other 20 citizens will be found to come
forsvard with the loan of £5
The time may come when such clubs
will bo established m every town and
village, and be a much recognised fea
tute of the district's life as the muni-
cipal council or the public house is to-
day The influence for good of such
clubs must bo great They keep num-
bers of young men, who would otherwise^
bo forced on to it, off the street, and
provide them with recreation and en
joyment Here «11 clasHes may meet
Tlfero is no~caste in a club
There is nothing very new in the
idea It has been tried in a hundred
villages in England, and proved a great
success Already clubs ire in progress
of formation at Sandy Bay and Belle-
rive, and others will probably shortly
follow _
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