THE CENTENARY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 210, 18 June 1936, Page 5

THE CENTENARY

PLANS FOR THE CELEBRATION. PROPOSALS BY GOVERNMENT. NATIONAL AND LOCAL EVENTS. PERMAMENT MEMORIALS. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This 'Day. The policy decisions of the Government in the preparations for the celebration of the New Zealand centenary in 1940 were placed before the National Centennial Committee by the chairman (the Hon. W. Parry, Minister of Internal Affairs) to-day. The Minister said that the Government had decided that the event will be celebrated by:— (1) Permanent memorials, including a national memorial to be erected by the- Government. (2) A series of historic surveys of the first 100 years of New Zealand's national life. • ' (3) Suitable celebrations, both national and local, throughout 1940. Apart from the cost of the national memorial and the historical surveys, he said, the Government contemplated providing £2-50,000 for the celebrations. On the question of permanent memorials, Mr Parry said that the Government would provide the cost of, audi will erect, a permarient national memorial. Further than that he could not go at present. Its form was under consideration by the Government, and an announcement would be made in due course. . The Government would make provision for subsidising moneys raised locally for memorials duly approved. A national committee would be set up at an early date to go fully into the question of historical surveys. He visualised a series of works by the most competent authorities in New Zealand on every phase of our national life, written, moreover, for general reading as well as for the purposes of a historical record. As to the actual celebrations, the Minister divided these into five classes:

(1) Celebrations of events of national importance at the places where the events actually occurred. The signing of the Waitangi Treaty at Waitangi, the proclamation of sovereignty over the South Island at Akaroa, were quoted to illustrate what he meant. (2) Purely local celebrations. This was devisible into (a) Particular local events, and (b) General celebrations in honour of the centenary.

(3) Maori celebrations. (4) Exhibition at Wellington. (5) Special attractions 'for overseas visitors.'

In regard to the expenditure of £250,000 mentioned above, Mr Parry said that this provided up to a maximum of £750,000 as loan and subsidy for the exhibition at Wellington, and the balance for national celebrations held by the Government itself or by provincial organisations on behalf of the Government, and subsidising £1 for £3 on moneys raised locally for local celebrations or memorials.

In addition to all the above, the Government would bear the cost of suitably entertaining guests from abroad invited by the Government, and would also, between now and 1940, suitably increase the vote to the Tourist and Publicity Department for advertising abroad and' for providing special tourist attractions.