GLAD TO BE BACK

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 282, 10 September 1941, Page 3

GLAD TO BE BACK

SICK AND WOUNDED RETURN.

SECOND HOSPITAL SHIP.

OFFICIAL RECEPTION GIVEN

Obviously delighted to be back again

afte? ip Greece ana s . Crete and the Western Desert, more than two hundred New Zealanders returned home by the hospital ship Oranje, which has been given by the Netherlands East Indian Government, to the Australian and New Zealand Governments for the transport of sick and wounded. Though the! coming <?f the ship was kept secret, word Pf her arrival quickly flew round the city as she was sighted coming down the harbour, and by the time she berthed there was a large crowd assembled on the waterfront. The first to go aboard were the Acting Prime Minister (the Hon W. Nash) and an official party, and in the ship’s luxurious lounge the returning men were given a formal welcome?, ifAfter that they gathered their kits — the. majority of them were walking cases—-and as each filed down the gangway his name was announced over a loud-speaker and he was given a great reception by the crowd. i

Mr Nash’s Speech.

The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Nash), welcoming the men for the Government, thanked them for what they had done overseas. He had been told hy one man as he entered the lounge to “make it snappy,” and he would start by thanking the Queen of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Government for the magnificent gift of the ship to Australia and New Zealand. He had received a message the day before from Major-General Freyberg, saying that the boys left behind were ip magnificent fettle and feeling happier than they had been for a long time.

The Government Would see the returned men back into their home lives as soon as possible, and all would work

to see that the liberties the men over~seas were fighting to preserve would be stronger than ever when they came back.

The Minister of Defence (the Hon. P. Jones) thanked the men for the service they had given, the reputation they had earned, and the manner in which they had maintained the traditions of the men who had fought for New Zealand in the past. The people of the Dominion did appreciate the work that had been done in Greece, Crete, and Libya, and he hoped it would not be long before the men would be able to take their places in the economic life of the community. He thanked the Netherlands Government for its splendid gift, and good wishes went out to the Queen ofl the Netherlands, with the wish that she might long be spared to reign over a reunited race. Fighting the Same Enemy. I Commodore Potjer, captain of the ship, reciprocated on behalf of the personnel. It had been a great pleasure to do everything for the comfort of the soldiers; they were fighting the same enemy, the enemy who had invaded Holland. It was the vessel's first voyage as a hospital ship, and its success had been due to the excellent co-operation of all concerned. Others who spoke were the Chairman: of thfe Harbour Board (Mr W. H. Price), the Mayor (Mr T. C. A. Hislop), the President of the Returned Soldiers' Association (the Hon. W. Perry, M.L.C.), Colonel Gerards (Chief Medical Officer), Matron Helena Drielsma and Sir Apirana Ngata. The warm appreciation of all New Zealanders for what, is being done for New Zealand troops by the Dutch medical and nursing staffs was expressed by the Government at a State luncheon, at which Commodore B. A. Potjer, commander of the Oranje, Colonel J. C. Gerards, chief medical officer, and other senior officers were entertained while they .were in Wellington. In the presence of the guests, the Consul for the Netherlands in New r Zealand, Mr M. P. Vlgeyeno, presented the insignia of fhe Order of Knight of Oranje-Nassau to Commodore Potjer, upon whom it had just been conferred by Queen Wilhelmina. THREE MEN FROM COUNTY. Two Ashburton men, Privates W. H. Gowans and J. McGrath, returned to Ashburton and were welcomed on the station by the Deputy Mayor (Mr A. A. McDonald), the Town Clerk (Mr R. C. Major) and representatives of other organisations. Private D. G. Holmes, of Methven, also returned by the hospital ship.