A well-attended meeting of Port Macquarie’s Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday night failed to elect a new president, after the resignation of Mr Brian Heagney was received.

Mr Heagney was elected president at the last annual meeting; in a letter to the Chamber he said growing business commitments made it impossible for him to carry on as president.

The meeting at the Royal Hotel received Mr Heagney’s resignation with regret. After several nominees had declined the position when a new president was sought, Mr Charles Morgan had a motion carried that the matter be stood over until the next general meeting.

The question of car parking for Horton Street and the possibility of a shopping mall with no cars was given another airing when Mr Peter Vaggelas was asked to give his impressions of overseas trends.

Mr Vaggelas said situations arose where something had to be done about car parking. He said he saw great holes dug in streets in Paris to make provision for underground car parking – when no other alternative was offered.

Mr Vaggelas said he was not suggesting this for Port Macquarie, as for the present number of people it would be far too costly. It illustrated, however, how extreme measures had eventually to be taken to provide for the motor car.

Mr Jim Boardman spoke against the proposal for the exclusion of traffic and the creating of a shopping mall for Horton Street. He said most of the small shops had no other means of vehicular entrance other than from Horton Street, and were unable to get stuff into their shops, they would go out of business.

He said talk along such lines was more appropriate to a mother’s meeting, not a Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Boardman went on to say there is not a ghost of a chance of creating a shopping mall in Port Macquarie.

“I can’t see how we can expect such a move to succeed here when efforts have failed to create one in Martin Place,” he said. “I can’t find too many in Horton Street that want it anyway,” said Mr. Boardman.

Mr Boardman said a more sensible move was the setting up of parking facilities on the old council chambers site. People want to park close to the shops, do their business and go home. There are not many who want to spend a day in town.

The feeling of the meeting was that Port Macquarie should have something better than the present public toilet facilities on the waterfront green. Suggestions were that an attended rest room, with a charge, should be aimed at. With this in view, Chamber decided to take the matter up with the municipal council.

Mr Peter Vaggelas enthusiastically proposed having “courtesy maids” available in the town over the Christmas holiday period. He said they should be dressed in period costume, as during the sesqui-centenary celebrations week. Mr Vaggelas said that “courtesy maids” would be able to overcome such adverse publicity as people not being able to get into the historic church, and finding their way around generally.

The Chamber is looking into the proposal.