Wednesday, Feb 8, 2017
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
Newcomers welcomed Ashburton College students, principal and teachers were officially welcomed at a powhiri yesterday.
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Ashburton College principal Ross Preece (right) is welcomed to his new community with a hongi from Mark Ellis at the school’s powhiri yesterday. PHOTO SUSAN SANDYS 070217-SS-0091
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Pool demolition now under way BY SUSAN SANDYS
SUSAN.S@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
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It was a landmark project in its day, but yesterday demolition equipment moved in and the former Ashburton Community Pool was pulled to the ground. Decades after townspeople got together and put a roof over the facility to make it their own, the $75,000 demolition project got under way. “It’s a bit sad,” said one onlooker, Pam, above the sound of crashing debris. “It’s been around a long time. The kids all used to come here, and my grandchildren learned to swim here,” she said. From water babies and learn to swim classes to squad training and competitive meets, the pool was at the heart of
a thriving Mid Canterbury sporting and recreational community. Among those recalling its long history yesterday were former pool manager Dave Jones and the original building foreman Dick Hansen. The 33-metre pool was initially the Ashburton College outdoor pool, then the community got together to fund the building project so it could become indoors. At the same time, around the early 1980s, the learners’ pool was established alongside. The borough council came into the picture, the Ashburton Licensing Trust contributed funds, and the education board leased the pool back to the community. It was a fantastic facility, but always had its problems.
It had been built directly over a flowing creek, and as such needed relief valves. “You could never actually empty it properly because it would fill from the bottom up,” Jones said. With children who were keen swimmers, he was involved in pool activities and was the facility’s manager from around 1998 to 2000. “We did renovations to keep it alive for a number of years. At the end of the day it was past its use by date.” As well as its age, the length did not meet national swimming event standards.
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