Know your town

The Ramsden and Kelly’s dragline aboard Chapman Brothers biggest truck, about to be unloaded to dig the hole for the baths . From left: Sandy Chapman, Bill Broughton (dragline operator) Jack Ramsden and Harry Kelly

1940 marked the centennial of New Zealand’s being declared a Dominion and the citizens of Martinborough decided take celebratory date as an opportunity to mark the pioneer settlers by way of a memorial. A much needed town swimming baths was chosen.

The first record of a swimming pool being mentioned was in 1918 when a Mr T E Evans offered a section on the Eastern side of Dublin and Regent streets. The site had a natural waterway running through it. The proposal was to dam this and construct a pool with the water running through to an overflow and thence back into the watercourse. An added advantage would be as an extra water source when it became short during long hot summers. However the idea did not get beyond preliminary planning.

Twenty years later the Martinborough Home and School Association again raised the subject. They were joined by others and by 1939 the project had really got off (or into) the ground. On 13th March the site in the corner of Considine Park was chosen and later in the year the Council formally granted the right to water from the town system.

The main fundraising event was a Grand Queen Carnival in which the various clubs and groups each vied to raise the most money had so have their Princess crowned Queen. Miss Joyce Grant (later Mrs Ussher, the Mayoress ) was crowned Town Queen and Miss Kitty Campbell (later Mrs Knox) from the Dry River area crowned Country Queen.

The Carnival raised four hundred and forty nine pounds nine shillings and seven pence ( 2011 = $41,735) the County Council fifty pounds (2011 = $4,637 ) and the Borough Council One hundred and fifty dollars (2011= $13,911).

The project relied on a huge amount of voluntary labour and goodwill from local contractors. Harry Kelly and Jack Ramsden, whose dragline dug the hole (see photo), Harold Parson, Bill Blisset and F Duffy were given season tickets as a mark of gratitude – as was Laurie Turner for his organisational input. A quote of five hundred and eighty pounds (2011 = $53,792) for the basic construction from Mr R J Davies was accepted.

The baths were officially opened in November 1940 by Mayor Charlie Skill. At the end of the first season Laurie Turner organised a swimming carnival which was also described as a huge success.
Mate Higginson