HOMELY ADVICE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 70, 7 May 1943, Page 5

HOMELY ADVICE

GOVERNOR GENERAL'S ADDRESS

SCHOOL CHILDREN'S WELCOME

Cheerful informality and 1 homely advice were the keynotes of Sir Cyril and Lady Newall'fe visit to the Whakatane School yesterday afternoon, which was definitely a red letter day with a vengeance as far as far as the 800 child-ran. present were concerned l . Their Excellencies spent a considerable time walking- amongst the children chatting to many of them and generally winning their confidence and affection, so much so that the youthful cheers which followed the Vice Regal car as the party left were described by one teacher as the , most spontaneous and most en- , thusiastiC he had ever heard from children. Scouts and Guides The guard of honour on this occasion was furnished by the local Scout troops and Cub pack and tlic popular Girl Guide Company and Brownies. This section came in for a ciose and personal inspection and many a young heart thrilled when engaged in a conversation with the guests of honour. The Vice-Regal party were welcomed by the headmaster, Mr Hubbard, who had associated with him the chairman of committee, Mr F. W. Lysaght and Mrs Lysaght, the Mayor and Mayoress and Miss Tait representing the teaching staff. A graceful tribute was the pres;entation of a dainty bouquet by two smiling little girls Kay Saunders and Dorecn Scragg who- could not have been more attractive or more demurely courteous, in their action. Maori Songs 1 of Welcome Their Excellencies warmly appreciated the action songs by groups of children from the Ruatoki, Poroporo and Paroa Native Schools. The songs were beautifully rendered and, sung with a wealth of harmony and precision, which drew the warmest applause. . Perhaps the antics of a prancing young imp with a war spear delighted the crowd more than anything else and as lie advanced and retreated in front of the official group the realism and vigour he imparted into his dance fairly thrilled the spectators. Advice to Maori Children Speaking first to the Maori j children after expressing l hisi appreciation of the general welcome extended to him, Sir Cyril Newall said that he was pleased to see the Native sorigs and dances being preserved. "I say to you, keep them' all," he said', "keep your folk lore, your dances and your songs and never let them jpass away. They are the very piri't of your people and if you let them die then the sipir- , it of your race dies also." 1 Very Important People He was delighted to meet so mam* children as both he and Lady Newall realised that children were very important people and liked to be among them. Notjiing gave them greater pleasure. What they should remember however was that they in New Zealand were particularly fortunate (in living in such a lovely land. It was therefore up to them to keep it lovely. Not to let it grow untidy for then they would lose their love for it. Keep it tidy and attractive so that not only would thej' continue to love it but other pcpple would also. Don't leave papers about after going on a picnic in the beautiful bush land, don't carve names on trees. The trees, belonged to God and nobody wanted to see their initials on the bark in any case. Citizenship A second point he emphasised was that because the children present were citizens of New Zealand find in a wider sense of the. British Empire, it was neccs.sary for them to give back something in return and

the best that they could do was by endeavouring to become good citizens. "Train yourselves for the future," he said. "Try to do something for somebody else. Don't be selfish and before you do anything, 'think whether it would be harming anybody else. You will find, you are much happier in the process." A Popular Announcement His Excellency then announced that he had asked Mr Hubbard to declare a school holiday the. further to mark his visit, the popularity of this thought being 'shown by demonstration from the seated assemblage. After a further informal mingling with the children for another fifteen minutes Their Excellencies de parted their progress down the drive from the school to the road being marked, by cheer upon cheer from the rows of high school children who lined the way.