THE ANZACS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9488, 30 December 1918, Page 3

THE ANZACS.

WELCOME HOM.li:

(From . "Mollxmrne Argus.")

\Vith the most heartfelt enthusiasm vast crowds welcomed back to .ivi.-e-.i----bourne recently the hrdt of the parties oi' Anzacs to ' wiioin special leave was ree&ntiiy granted m view of their Jong and noble- service, i'or four yeans tiiese heroic soldiers' liad been absent from

their, homeland,, galian'tly aiding in the great struggle for the- world's liberty. What wonder that .the people were thrilled by emtlHi.sia.sin as they saw the rot-urn, of these men, who had so long known What it was to.be near death V A roar of full-throated cheers greeted the Anzaes a<iong the whole- Oiive of the route, and in the- city tire immense throngs, could not restrain 'themsejves from pressing close in upon the cars with the hope of gripping the hands of the heroes, and of paying tribute by touch as well as by, voice.

■ The welcome to the living symbolised also many memories of the galliant dead. There could have been few present in the crowd whose lives had not been touched by,th-e. toll of war in. the loss of; relatives'or:-friends., Many had inward .sorrow ■ for those who were gone, but they could not but rojeiice In the fact that others hail returned, or were yet to-return. . ••

Every tiling possible was done by colour and sound to show the general gladness. Flags were to be seen everywhere on the tall • buildings—and; in the (suburbs, on many a humble cottage. Btwds played; and songs and anthems were sung, the children taking a welcome part. Flowers'and other gifts were ■ handed or thrown to the soldiers, and there were;welcomes both at the Exhibition Building and in the various suburbs. The piles of flowers that accumulated-as they were thrown into the motor-cars, seemed to typify the general , feel ing that those ' who have, borne the great task of war must now be helped to forget its horrors in new experience of the beautiful -and precious things that life has to offer at homo. "Welcome were the An/.acs—as welcome as the peace which they had done so much to bring. While the vast crowds which lined the streets had 1 made clear to the Anzacs the love and gratitude which "'Australia feels towards those who have counted life itsolf but as dust in the balance compared to the honour and the safety: o f their country, : it, was within the Exhibition - Building that the men who .have for . four years worked and watched and' waited, fought, and suffered in. foreign lands a.nd under alien <skies, received, their real welcome back to p]\e land which they have served so well. There were waiting those nearest and dearest to them, fa-tiiei-s and mothers, wives and children, brothers and sisters, a.nd sweethearts, those who had been ever in their thoughts during . the, long years of. separation. \ The hour .so' long waited for, hoped for, arid, prayed ■ for both by those who had stood face to face'with death on many a field of fight and by those whose almost harder task was to bear the agony of\suspense at home,, had come at last. _ It was no wonder: that onlookers little given- to emotion felt a catch in the throat and a ' suspicious moistness about the eyes. The relatives were -gathered inside the main hall: of the Exhibition Building. •• In theory- none -was .admitted,but., the two . nearest relatives of each An/ac, to whom passes had been: _is- | sued. But the rule was -not .carried. 1 ! out to the letter; on such an occasion the feelings of even the most rigid-and' ; resolute guardians of. the doors can be appealed to with success. Through the dense mass of people in the centre of the haM a passage way was kept open for the Anzaes. As -each man entered the porch he received his I'eiive pass. On a chair witiiiai the main entrance stood Caj)tain Dyett with a.' megaphone, and a.s each man /entered the "passage" his name, was shouted through the megaphone. Then his relatives rushed upon him and claimed him for their own. With kisses and embraces and downright hugs, with laughter and with-tears, or even' with the banal greetings of everyday life masking feelings too deep for mere words, he was born* away, to the oppusite wing, where lunch was served. A sudden hush and a sense of straineel expectancy fell over the. waiting throng as the first Anzac entered the hall.' Then the megaphone, booming out his .name, .broke.the stillness, and as the soildier's mother, half-laughing, half-crying,, threw herself into his arms and clasped him round the. neck, cheer after cheer broke from the' ranks of those whose burn was still to come.' After this the men filed in steadily one by one, and very few indeed were those who had not'at least two relatives'to welcome them. One was seized upon by five girls, who formed a circle, embracing and kissing their long-lost brother or cousin, and blocked the "gangway,", until Captain Dyett called out, "Half-time; break away." One short-sighted old lady, misled by a resemblance in names, seized and kissed a total stranger. " Well, jiever mind; he's an Anzac, anyway," she said when she realised her mistake. A remarkable feature of the welcome was the way in which fathers embraced and kissed their sons and their -brothers in the fashion common enough amongst tihe Latin races, but rarely seen in tbc case of the, colder and less demonstrative British race. Sonic of the return^ ing men greeted their relatives in a casual fashion, seeking to put off the more intimate greetings till a less nublic occasion; but those who had waited so long would suffer no postponement. And, after all, practically all the onlookers were only waiting for their turn to do the same.

!<Aov some there was grief and sadness, mingled with, all the. joy of the homo-coming. ' Some - mothers who welcomed' back their sons- wore .in mourning for other sons, who never shall return. And in the midst of 'all the. rejoicing one bronzed.and stalwart AitsftK:'stood\isido'with-the. tears stealing down his cheeks, listening to the story oi! some' tragedy wliich had dimmed for him the joy of the liome-

coming

..-Amongst .those, who watched the. reception of the Anzacs in the central hall was Lady Monash. , wife ,of the a'wiera'l who has led the Australians to victory. ' "Isn't it splendid ?"■ she said. " Melbourne has risen to the occasion .nobly. I do hope that the A'hzaes who have, still to arrive -will' meet 'with just 'as great a reception.'' An excellent lunch had been provided for the .returned men '.and their, relative* by the Anzaes' reception cominit'teo. The attendants wero drawn from the Y.M-.C.A. helpers, the 'Glieet'-up Brigade,' the St. Kildn. Lounge.: and the.Friendly "Union of Soldiers' Wives, Many .of"the' guests' made: but a, ijoor meal, good as the service, was,- for they were too excited to eat. S-omo .made no pretence of doing so; they had too

,k .w .':•'■■.-...,' - - ...■ .. ..., . ... . ■ ; . t _ '-.^ much to say to one another. Lunch-1 time brought little rest to tlio " man with the megaphone," for a continual succession of relatives, who had missed their particular soldier in the excite,ment, came to ask Captain Dyett to 'will out his name in the hope'of-, finding him by that means. Very soon the Anzaes and their rebegim to drift away, in little groups and knots, and it was not long before the- vast building was left to those who remained to clear away the debris.

One of the most touching, and certainly the prettiest feature of tho scene in the Exhibition Building was •the. children's welcome. A choir of State school children many hundreds strong completely filled the organ p-al-Icrv. It was a striking picture, the white-.dresses of tho girls filling.most of the space, but'with a darker triangle marking tho boys, and a band of white drawn across the. front- of the gallery, while the- colour formed a set-ting for the fresh and flownr-like, but 'eager, faces of the children. • No more enthusiastic welcome was given jo the Anzaes than by the. children, and- it obviously pleased the men, The children's cheers, into which they put all their heart and voice, rang and reechoed through the building,-and many a. bat tie-worn "digger" waved'a brown

hand in mute but feeling■_acknowl«d<Tmont' of the joyous reception of the little ones. The tribute was a fitting one, as those wcro the men who had srone forth at the first call to preserve the present and secure the future of the rising generation. Knowing this, nothing could have given ■ £ho children greater delight than to | have been allowed to swarm over the-'Anzaos, but the little ones were, under discipline to remain in their places, and they admirably obeyed. Their chance came when the -soldiers were at lunch, as. with great heart, they sang the National Anthem. " See the Conquering Hero- Comes," and " .Au'ld •' Liing Syne,"