WAR MEMORIAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 50, 28 February 1923, Page 9

WAR MEMORIAL.

UNVEILED AT WHAHGAREI.

AN IMPRESSIVE CEKEMONY.

There was an unprecedented influx into Whangarei on Saturday from all parts of the North, to witness the unveiling of the memorial which has been erected in the Triangle to tbe memory of the fallen. It ia estimated that at the actual ceremony fully three thousand people were present,'every point of vantage, being filled. It w ß s a marked tribute to the nicmorv of the dead, Additional interest was added by the attendance of the officers and men from 11.M.5. \ cronica, lying at Onerahi. Splendid weather prevailed, the heat being somewhat overpowering. Inside the. Triangle was reserved for officials, officers and troops, as well as returned soldiers, the available space being fully occupied. The public roadways were densely packed, all business places bein~ closed.

Assembling at the Drill Mall, and headed by the Municipal Band, a parade was formed to the Triangle in the following order: Returned soldiers, R.N detachment from H.M.s. Veronica; 9th North Auckland Mounted Regiment (dismounted); 3rd Battalion Auckland 'Regiment: 52nd Company Whangarei High School Cadets; Senior Cadets; Boy Scouts. Lieut.-Col. McCarrojl was parade O,C„ with Captain A. Bongard, M.C, N.Z.S.C, orderly-officer. A firing party pf a sergeant and 12 men, was provided by the 3rd Battalion, Auckland Regiment. .Entering the TriaOgle at the'southern end, the units were placed so as to face three sides tq the'centre. In the space to the north of the memorial were grouped officers, returned soldiers, and veterans in mufti. Punctually at 2 p.m,, Major-General Sir E. W. C. Chaytor, X.C.M.0., X,0.V.0., C.8., G.O.C. N.Z. Foreeß, entered by the northern gate to perform the unveiling ceremony. In attendance was the Mayor of Whangarei, Mr. D. A, McLean, and members of the local committee, and a gathering of officers of high rank, including the commander of the Veronica, Lieut.-Col. Potter, Lieut.-Col. C. E. R, Maakesy, and many others, On this occasion there was a full display of 'trder?, war decorations and medals, the shole making a very striking picture.

A SACRED DUTY. Mounting the first step of the memorial Mr. D. A .McLean, Mayor of Whangarei, said they were present that day to carry out the sacred duty of unveiling a memorial to tha ; memory of those from this district who fell in the Great War. They died for King and Country, and for US, To them we owe the peace and prosperity we now eiijoy. Two years Bgo a form of memorial was chosen, and it was decided to erect it in the Triangle. A committee was appointed, an! finally the work was completed by public subscription. He trusted this monument to the fallen would mean a lasting and long peace. We all trusted that our young men of the district would not have to "face the same as those did who left in 19J4-101S. This memorial was only a small token of recognition, but it would serve to remind us and the rising, generation, what we owe to those who gave their lives. Not only to the dead, but our duty to the living, lest we forget, which we might he liab'e to do. We still had our duty to those who were crippled by the war, and their dependents.

, A PERPETUAL MEMORIAL, Prior to the actual unveiling, MajorGeneral Sir E. W. C. Chavtor, Iv.C.M.G,, _,t,V.g„ C.8., and G.O.C. N.JZ. Forces, said he bad been Reading the motto of the text engVved on the memorial. "Let those who"come after, see to it that these names be not forgotten," and he thought it a most excellent one. "But you want to remember,'' he said, "all these men gave, and all other men gave and what they es|ood for—our present pleasant surroundings and comradeship." Now the war ira sover, there was a disinclination to speak, by those who went through it. Therefore, they would not hear from their young men, brothers or fathers, what they went through. They would have to imagine it. The horror was now in the background, but we did not want our children to go through the same. Whjle that memorial stood to perpetuate the memory of the deal, it also stood for thousands left be'.iind, and t oensure that we did ou rduty to those whose lives are crippled. We had to think of the dependents of those who could not properly look after them. The best of men were failing, old men when they should be young. The truest memorial to these men was the comfort around us. If their sacrifice had been in vain, •'< wpuld be hard to realise how bad it might have been. Pulling the .cord which released the Union Jack, and disclosed the inscribed names, General Chaytor said: To the clorv of God and perpetual memory of those whose names are written lwe. 1 unveil this memorial." The ward then fired salvos, after wIS fZgler sounded tbe "Las Pos<" W The ceremony concluded With tt» playing of the "Dead March," by the Municipal Band. The whole proceedings were most solemn and impressive, and many people in the huge crowd were of wreaths followed the unveilng- These were in bea.utiful profusion and came from relatives, local bodies' and societies from wide areas. Dead silence prevailed while this respect was paid. I. _. , „ Tim hymn. '%cad, Kindly Light, was then sung, after which the Rev. Locbore pronounced the Benediction. - "God Save the King" concluded the unveiling ceremony. General Chavtor spent some little time conversing with some of the veterans, and subsequently took the salute as the troops marched past, ft lengthy procession.

THE MEMORIAL. This is a splendid example of the sculptor's and stonemason's art. Constructed on a base of Coromande] granite steps, the design is carried out in Aberdeen red granite, which sustains a seven foot carved white marble female fl~ure symbolical of Peace. Tile total height of the memorial i» seventeen feet. The granite faces and fluted columns and plinth have been beautifully polished, and the whole is enclosed by polished Coromandel granite, polished posts, interconnected by massive spiked armorial chains. The figure faces the north, and inscribed in gilded letters on this face is: — Whangarei and District Memorial. To the memory of those from this district who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918. THE GLORIOUS DEAD, This memorial is raised to the memory of those who, at tbe esll of Kin" and country, left all those dear to them, endured hardships, faced danger, «_d finally passed out ef-t-e

sight of man by the path oi duty j and self-sacrifice, giving up their j own lives that others might live inj freedom. (Lower) Let those who come after see to it that these names are not forgotten. The other three sides are filled, in alphabetical order, with the names of 271 fallen from the north, and include one Sister. Out of many competitive designs, that of Mr. M. L. Staples, of Whangarei, was selected, and he carried out locally the whole of the preparatory work, with the exception of the white marble figure which was specially imported from Italy j and is- of Carrara marble.

THE SITE. No better site could have been chosen for a perpetual memorial to those from the north who paid the supreme sacrifice in the war than the triangle facing Whangarei railway station. It commands the entrance to the town, and has been improved into a beauty spot, and is regarded as sacred ground. It was here that each contingent, as it left the north, was finally assembled and accorded a civic and public farewell and Godspeed. It was the scene of many harrowing partings. Of those who left not all came back.

The cost of the memorial, some £1600, was all publicly subscribed previous to the unveiling.