1917: Government Pool Explodes
June 19, 2019
By AHNZ
But without The State, who would build public swimming pools?
In May 1908 the Christchurch City Council did so, and by adding only £50,000 to public debt. They had to. It was their “civic obligation” they said. They’d never had one before and few, if any, cities ever had so I guess it must be one of those latent obligations or human rights that wait for the right election cycles…
“Mayor Payling believed that a public bath may not be a profitable investment but they were very valuable when it came to building up healthy citizens. When he opened the new baths he told the assembled crowd that the baths were expected to run up a small deficit but that would be more than counterbalanced by the benefits the community would derive from it. Although the majority of Christchurch schools had swimming baths…”- ref. Lost Christchurch
(So it’s the old ‘public good’ psudoeconomic argument then, eh?)
“April 1. About 7.30 this morning the big new 6000,000 gallon reservoir which had recently been erected in the City Council yards, Manchester street, near the destructor, burst, and the liberated water in a few seconds did damage estimated between £2000 and £3000. The brick wall of the city morgue was completely demolished, and the battery-house of the electrical department, containing £2000 worth of batteries, was razed to the ground..” – North Otago Times (1917,) Papers Past
Mr. G.E Billson (left) arrived from England in 1908 to join the Christchurch police force. An expert swimmer and life-saver, he became Custodian of the Baths in 1910. In 1916 The War called Billson away to active service. Someone else would have to mind the store back at the Tepid Baths.
Gee, I hope they know what they’re doing as well as this staunch fellow.
Alas not, the next guys in control are more of a General Melchett¹ than a Mr Billson….
In 1917 The Municipal Tepid Baths exploded at 6:45am on April Fools Day when a newly installed wooden tank burst some 227,000 litres all over the surrounding public property.
The morgue and any corpses in it were rinsed out of service and the electricity plant next door was ruined, the municipal batteries alone costing £4000 to replace.
The smashed tank room itself, The Destructor, was supposed to heat the baths by incinerating city rubbish. So, that would have joined the milkshake of bricks, possible corpses, and electrical hardware flowing off to the Avon River.
Bravo once again for getting involved in the marketplace, The State!
:: Round of applause ::
—
1 Blackadder Goes Forth
Ref. Lost Christchurch
Ref. LIFE-SAVING DIPLOMA. GAINED BY G. E. BILLSON; Star, 22 November 1910
Ref. Christchurch, The Way Our Ancestors Knew It; Facebook
Image ref. The Sun, via Papers Past
Image ref. Christchurch City Libraries, via lostchristchurch.wordpress.com
Update 2023: Added in NOT quote as a reference to show I’m not making this story up!
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