The building in Maclaggan St, Dunedin acquired by the Salvation Army for a new shelter. Photo: Otago Witness, issue 3780, August 24, 1926, page 40 After a long search the Salvation Army has at last acquired suitable premises for providing shelter to men who have have been temporarily stranded. Another few weeks will see the building in Maclaggan Street, next door to the Catholic Apostolic Church, fitted up as a shelter with accommodation for 60 men. With a frontage of 66 feet and a depth of 60ft, it is a solid two-storeyed brick structure in excellent condition, which, with a little alteration, will be admirably suited to the purpose for which it will be required. To meet the requirements of the present winter, these alterations are already being pushed ahead, and it is anticipated that the shelter will be fully occupied as soon as they are completed. Although the price of the property was £1050 only, Brigadier Burton estimates that another £700 will be required before the shelter is in proper running order, and as these amounts have not been provided for in the Army’s yearly financial budget, he stated that he is looking to the public to provide the money. Support has already been promised from several mercantile and financial houses in the city, and in addition the Mayor (Mr H.L. Tapley CMG MP), and the Town Clerk (Mr G.A. Lewin), have promised to consider favourably, and to bring before the City Council, any request which may be made for the reduction of rates and licensing fees. A tentative promise has also been made that so long as the premises are safe and sanitary the usual regulations governing boarding houses will not be enforced too strictly. Regarding the upkeep of the shelter, Brigadier Burton stated that it was proposed to provide two classes of accommodations — one for those who could not pay and one for those who could. In this way the profits from the latter would go a long way to balancing the expenditure on the other. Ostentatious record attempt A policeman who chanced to be in Moray Place East at midnight last night was somewhat surprised to see a number of cars pulled up outside the Otago Motor Club's office. Around them quite a crowd had collected. From the remarks of bystanders he gathered that nine Austin cars, privately owned and driven, were then about to leave for Christchurch and were to complete the return trip in 24 hours. One “Baby Austin’' was prominent among its larger brothers and sisters. The Otago Motor Club, with which is associated the Royal Automobile Club, London, intends to issue certificates which vouch for each car’s performance on the trip. Before the convoy started bonnets and radiator caps were locked and sealed. Officials of the OMC accompanied the cars so that if a seal were broken on the journey it could be done only in the presence of an official. Swimming school An unusual sight was witnessed in the steamer basin near the cross-wharf yesterday afternoon, when visitors to the waterfront had their attention drawn to a countless mass of small fish swimming near the surface of the water. They resembled an army of millions in close formation, and their silvery backs glistened when making a quick dart after a morsel of food. They were baby mullet, and as they were not much larger than a full-sized whitebait, it was evident that they were only a portion of an extensive spawn. The fish covered a fairly large stretch of water near the bows of the steamer Kurow, and remained in that vicinity for some time. — ODT, 10.7.1926
