HOME FOR CARILLON

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 114, 16 May 1931, Page 14

HOME FOR CARILLON

NATIONAL MEMORIAL

ERECTION OF CAMPANILE

FOUNDATIOMTONE

LAID

■ When we were at Home we had the pleasure of hearing the Wellington War Memorial Carillon in Hyde Park, and I assure you that it is an instrument that is capable of giving some very sweet music indeed. I f'oel sure it will be ii source of inspiration and pleasure to. the people of Wellington for many j'ears to come. —The Eight Hon G*. W. Forbes, P.C., Prime Minister of New Zealand. < " The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of . the National War Memorial Campanile, which is to house the Wellington War Memorial Carillon, and which, situated some distance in front, .will form the dominant feature oi the Dominion Museum and the National Art Gallery when these are erected on the Mount Cook site, was performed by the Prime Minister yesterday afternoon in the presence of a large and representative gathering of citizens. The Mayor of .Wellington (Mr. G. A. Troup) presided, and among those present, in addition to the Prime Minister, were the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers), the Hon. H. Atmore (Minister of Education), Major-General W. L. H. Sinclair-Burgess (Commandant of the Now Zealand' Military Forces), Commander Graut-Dalton (New Zca--| laud Air Force), Mr. L. P. Blundell.| (patron of the Wellington WarMemorial Carillon Society), Sir Harold. Beauehamp (vice-president), Air. H. B, Bennett (chairman of the executive \i& the society), Mr. B. J. Dunsheatli (representing the bell-founders, Messrs. Gillett and Johnston), Sir John Luke, and Messrs. P. Fraser, C. H. Chapn-aiui, E. A. Wright, and K. Semple, M.P.'?.. A. guard of honour was provided by . the New Zealand Permanent Staff and Royal Now Zealand Artillery, and. detachments of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides paraded. HISTORY OF THE SITE. The Mayor, in opening the proceedings, said the foremost thought in the minds of those present, and as a Matter of fact in the minds of the cs.tizens of Wellington, that day was (fliat at last they were to see the long-clu-:rished hope fulfilled of having the Mount Cook site, the iinest in Wellington, clhangcd from its original purpose to purposes more in harmony with their .feelings. For upwards of 45 years the p/eoplo of Wellington had endeavoured to correct that great initial misfako when such a commanding site was set aside for the purposes of a gaol. Ouc of his earliest recollections of.the city, extending over a period of 45 years, was seeing a design setting, forth proposals for the conversion of the gaol buildings into a Wellington University. Tftc Government of the Day, however, did not agree to that conversion, and from then on until recently constant agitation . had been made to effect a change. It was only shortly before his dcs th that the late Prime Minister, the Eight Hon. W. F. Massey, said there, might be a chance of getting the Mount Cook site for the Dominion Museum and the National Art Gallery, and it was only when the Eight Hon. J. Gl-. Coatcs was Prime Minister that the terms and conditions for handing over: the site for the present scheme wore finalised. It fell to his fortunate lot t»j be Mayor of the city at the. time, anV.l as Mayor he was able to negotiate the terms of the gift. These provided that the site would be handed over for the erection of the Dominion Museus.ii and National Art Gallery, and that 'the Government would contribute £100yfJ00 on condition that the citizens first raised an additional £100.000 toward! 3 the cost of the scheme. Mr. Troup read tho correspondence which pass.cd between himself anil Mr. Coates, and said that the letter of Mr. Coates granting the site gave him more pleassm-e than any other which he had received during his whole term of'office, as .Mayor, because he realised the tremendous importance and far-reaching effect- it would have on the future well-being of the city. The site oil which they, we.ro then standing comprised Di acres}, and ran back from Buckle street to as far as tho Technical College, ancl was invaluable for tho purppse for v^hich it would bo used —tho home in Wellington of the exalted sciences, scieutee, art, and music, all contributing to the highest ideals of public life, uplifting and spreading general knowledge, and placing Wellington, tho cajjatal city, at least on an equal footing With tho other throe outstanding cities in the Dominion with regard to these institutions. EFFORT TO RAISE £100,000. . When all was completed, when Buckle street was widened to a width of 80 feet, a, very great transformation would take place, not only in the site itself, but also in the whole environment, convertiug To Aro Flat from a region of slums into a great thriving commercial and educational centre. An Act of 'Parliament had been passed creating a Board of Trustees for the scheme, with the Prime Minister as chairman, and the Mayor of Wellington for the time being as vice-chairman, and representatives of tho various Governmental and civic interests involved. Partly Governmental and partly civic, he ventured to predict that the Board of Trustees as the governing body would' pirove more satisfactory than if it' were, composed entirely of the one element or tho other. As to the conditions that the citizens should raise £100,000 before a commencement could be made with the scheme, he was proud to 'be able to say that to date £99,342 had either been subscribed or promised,, and that of that sum they already had in hand £64,217. (Applause.) ' Tho largest donation of £15,000 had yet to be handed over by the Institute of Fine Arts, and £6000 by the Wellington City Council, making £21,000 that was absolutely certain, and ho was sure that the remaining outstanding promises would be just as satisfactorily fulfilled. He paid tributes to tho work that had been done for the scheme by Mr. H. D. Bennett, chairman of the executive of the Wellington War Memorial Cotillon Society, who, ho said, had taken a leading part, and also to Mr. Ilurst-Seagar, who had given valuable aid in determining the ■ character of the various buiWings to be erected. A contract had been lot for £17,100 to Messrs. Graham and Sons, of Christchurch, for the erection of tho campanile, a further contract of £4000 had beeii let for the erection of the stairways and approaches, and still another contract of £1800 for the demolition of the old gaol^. buildings. It was a mattir of the greatest satisfaction to himself to see 'the various sections of the old edifice !>lown up, and no doubt to the citizen?; of Wellington likewise. To him it wag a profound satisfaction that as Mayor of the city this was the last important function at which he would preside.

I trust, he concluded, that when tho campanile is completed, and its bells; ring out their sweet, notes, it

will not only bring to the hearers I many happy aivrt peaceful moments, but will also be an instrument in mutters civic smd'political, in matters national and international, to the willing arid to the making of peace; and, above all, that its rich tones will b<> to us when we hear them as voices speaking out of the past of devotion, duty, courage, and sacrifice. (.Applause.) THE GiJRAND CARILLON. Mr. H. D.. Bennett, as chairman of tho Carilloii Society, expressed their pleasure at. being present on such an important occasion. The Carillon Society came into existence in 1925, and at that time it seemed to'many of those interested that the carillon proposal shou Id /be combined with the silent symbolical memorial that, had now been erected at the corner of LambtoiL quay anil Bo wen street. At the sairw.' time there were many who thought that there was room for both memom.ls, and co it was decided, and after overcoming many difficulties the stage was reached when tho whole of the beDs were given by private citizens in one. short week. Finally the Government agreed to provide the campanile as a .^National War Memorial, and in this tho carillon was to be housed, and' a Hall of Memories erected at tho roar of the campanile at a later date. In the meantime the grand carillon liad been cast by the firm of Messrs. GillAtt and Johnston at Croydon, and was one of the finest ever turned out by. -that famous firm. (Applause.) It had been loaned to the Newcastle Exhibition, and -ut Hyde Park, London, ai\'d had proved so popular in both peaces that the society had received a proposal to sell it to the British people. This, however, could not bvo done, as the bells were individual j^ifts and memorials. Next it had been sought for the Buenos Aires Exhibition opened by the Prince of Wales, but this ■proposal fell through. ONLY TO BE PLAYED ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. The bells were now here. Whether tho control of the carillon would eventually be handed over to the City Council or the Board of Trustees remained to bo determined, but so long as the Carillon Society' had control of it, it would only be played on special occasions, such as tho anniversaries of the more important battles in which New Zealand soldiers fell in the Great War. These generally averaged once a week. At the commencement, however, it would be played daily for one month by Mr. Clifford Ball, England's premier carillonist, whose services were being so generously loaned by Messrs. Cadlmry Bros., of Bournville. Tho society opposed the playing of the bells except on very special occasions. After Mr. Clifford Ball the bells would bo played by Miss Gladys Watkins, of Wellington, who had qualified at Malinos, Belgium, and had received her diploma. They were pleased to have Miss Watkins* with them there that day. ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD. The carillon, said Mr. Bennett, was one of the largest in the world. Although at present it comprised 49 bells, provision was made in the apparatus for the installation at some later date of four •'larger bells, the largest of which would weigh ten tons. The largest of the present bells, the Bourdon bell, weighed five tons. The carillon was played by the carillonist from a clavier, but it had been provided with a mechanical apparatus as well by which it could be played from an_ organ manual or by paper band, like a pianola, and it could bo set by a clock which would start it whenever " required. Mr. Bennett said the society wished to tender its grateful, thanks to all those who had rendered voluntary services in helping to bring the project to its present stage. These included the Treasury Department, tho High Commissioners (Sir. James Parr and • Sir Thomas Wilford), Mr. Ranald J. Harvey (consulting engineer to tho New Zealand Government in London, who had given hundreds of pounds worth of service free .of charge—applause), the shipping companies who had transported the bells out free, the Government for remitting duty charges aggregating £2000, the master carriers of Wellington for free cartage of the bells and apparatus, and the Wellington Harbour Board and the Wellington City Council for remitting, wharfage dues and storage charges., (Applause.) THE TUNING OF THE BELLS. The bells, they would be glad to know, had all been properly tuned, and, they were assured, could never get out of tune. Their tuning had been tested by one of the foremost musical experts in England, Dr. Sydney Nicholson, late organist of Westminster Abbey, who, after the^final test, gave the following certificate: — The tuning is perfect, and the tone of the bells exceptionally line; I would specially commend the excellence of the small boils, which arc so often a weak point. Th'c mechanism is also admirable. I consider this to bo an exceptionally line peal. Tho name of tho Bourdon bell of live tons, which had been given by Mr. and j Mrs. Louis Blundell —(applause) —was "Eeo Wairua"; it meant "Spirit Voice," and was,she thought, very fittingly inscribed on the foundation-stone. The experts from England would soon be here for the installation of the bells in tho campanile, and ho hoped they would bo able to hear them on next Armistice Day (11th November), though one could not be certain. Ho concluded by expressing the hope that they would duly fulfil . their mission as a memorial. (Applause.) Mr. P. Fraser, M.P., as representative of the district, congratulated Wellington on the near fruition of the erection of such a noble pile of buildings on tho finest site in tho Dominion. He said it was their duty, not only to commemorate the glorious dead, and those who had suffered for what they considered their duty)-but also to see that the men who came back were at least given an opportunity to earn a livelihood and live in comfort. (Applause.) That would bo the greatest monument of all. PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH. The Eight Hon. G. W. Forbes, Prime Minister, who was received with applause, said he considered it-a great honour to be asked to perform the laying of tho foundation-stone of such an important memorial, which meant 60 much in the history of New Zealand and of Wellington. He was interested to learn from Mr. Troup that there were Governments that made mistakes, even in that far-off day. (Laughter.) The citizens of Wellington, however, had persisted in their agitation for a proper utilisation of the site, and after 45 years tho gaol building had at last been blown up. He referred to the amicable relations that had existed between the Government and the municipal authorities of Wellington, and said that the Government recognised the claims of the Empire City, as evidenced by the gift of tho present site. He thought that the idea of tho carillon as a war memorial was a very fine one, and that those1 who had taken a foremost part in achieving it were entitled to the grateful thanks of the people of Wellington. As chairman of the Board of Trustees he specially appreciated the enthusiasm and interest taken by Mr. Troup in successfully piloting through the larger project, and commended also the work of Mr. H. D. Bennett, Sir Harold Bca.uchamp, and Mr. George Shirtcliffe and others. He highly praised the condition of the graves of New Zealand soldiers in France, which ho had seen, and said that so far as the men who had returned were concerned no country had treated them so well as New Zealand.

The Prime Minister then laid the foun-dation-stone, which is inscribed as follows: — REO WAIRUA. TO THE GLORY 01? GOD. To the memory of the New Zeahimlers that died in the Great War, 1914 to 1018. And in honour of those that served or suffered this stone was liiid by the Right Honourable G. W. Forbes, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of New Zealand, On lath May, 1931. "I declare this stone well and truly laid," said the Prime Minister, "and when the building is complete and contains the peal of bells, I hope it will give pleasure to the people of Wellington for many years to come." , Cheers for the Prime Minister and Mrs. Forbes, and the singing of "God Save the King" concluded the proceedings. __^__________