EARLY WELLINGTON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 14, 17 January 1940, Page 6

EARLY WELLINGTON.

PROVINCIAL MEMORIAL. PETOXE BEACH CEREMONY. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON', this day. Scenes reminiscent of early Wellington, including the first contacts between the Maori and pakolia. will be enacted in Petone on Monday next, when the Wellington Provincial Centennial Memorial will be dedicated and unveiled by the Governor-General, Lord Galway. After the. memorial on the beach has been dedicated, an historical pageant, arranged by Mr. Harison Cook, will be presented on the Petone Recreation Ground. The chairman of the Wellington Provincial Centennial Council, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, will preside at the dedication ceremony. A simple church service, similar to that conducted by the Rev. John Macfarlane on Petoue Beach in 1840, will be held- The officiating minister will be the Rev. Brian Kilroy, M.A., Moderator of the Presbytery of Wellington. Speakers at the dedication ceremony will include the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, the Marquess of Willingdon. representing the Government of the United Kingdom, and the Mayor of Petone, Mr. London. A presentation will be made to Lord Galway by MY. H. L. Massey, the memorial architect. The official party and about 100 others will be entertained at luncheon. The first scene of the pageant will 'be "on board the Tory in 15;59," and will depict the sale of * Whanga-nui-a Tara. What took place between September 20 and September 2\ will, for pageant purposes, be combined in one composite scene on board a representation of the Tory. The second scene will deal with the hoisting of the flag at Pito-one on September 30, 1839. There will follow an intermission during which, as in 1839, there wilj be a hakarj, a feast provided in true Maori fashion from heated stone untu. A Maori cooked meal will be available to the public at a charge of 1/, but there will be pakeha refreshment for those who prefer it.

The third scene will show the arrival of the early settlers from the Aurora and the cementing of the friendship be. twcen Maori and white man. "God Defend New Zealand" will end the pageantry portion of the ceremonial.

A display of historic documents liv marly settlers will be on view on, the grounds. Haka*. dances and waiatas will be presented by the Maoris beforts the beginning of the siiorts.

Rfforc the doiication ceremony there will 'be a procession through the* streets of Petone.