the winter months, the prospects though seemed to be good. But some directors at the annual meeting expressed concern that profits weren’t as high as had been projected.

The “railway station” at the park burned down on 1 February 1928, but that was the limit of the damage, as the organisers had set up an auxiliary fire-fighting plant on site.

In the face of the gathering depression, it was announced that there would no longer be a charge for admission to the park from 31 March 1928. But overall receipts were well down, the depression being partly blamed but also daylight saving. By October 1928, however, for all the reasons and excuses, one thing was clear – the park was running at a severe loss, the lease payment to theHarbour Board was proving to be onerous. In November 1929, reports appeared in the press stating that the directors were considering closing everything down and shifting the park to Australia. The following month, the Harbour Board agreed to reduce the rent to £1000 per annum. By November 1930, however, the directors agreed to shift the park over to Sydney at the close of the summer season. It closed finally on 7 February 1931. It was dismantled over the course of that winter; Auckland’s “Coney Island” had ended.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

This image, from Lyn Dear’s collection, dates from 1922 six years after the Ponsonby Boys Brass Band had started in 1916.

PONSONBY BOYS' BRASS BAND

A public meeting of residents of Ponsonby was held at the Leys Institute last night for