PAPANUI WAR MEMORIAL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17426, 10 April 1922, Page 5

PAPANUI WAR MEMORIAL.

FOUNDATION STONE LAID. An impressive ceremony was held at Papanui on Saturday afternoon, when the foundation stone of the war memorial Town Hall and Library was laid. The walls of the building, which is situated nearly opposite the Post Office, have already been erected, and they were decorated with flags. At about 3 o'clock, on the suggestion of the chairman of the A\ ar Memorial Committee (Mr L. B. Hart), the gathering, which consisted of several hundred people, stood in s'lence for one minute and "The Last Post" was played by Bugler Andrew, of St. Andrew's College. Immediately after, "A'rdc witu me" was played by the C.E.M.S. Band and sung by those present. Mr Hart then addressed the gathering. Ho was, he said, practically a newcomer to Papanui, but, as chairman of the committee, ho had tin important duty to perform. Out of Papanui s total population of 2500, no fewer than 163 of her finest boys had gone to tho front, and the people of the district thought they could not do less than dedicate to them a- fitting memorial. On August (sth a public meeting had been held in tho \\ a.iinairi Ccunty Coun.cil Chaml-crs, end it was there decided to build a Town Hall and Library. A committee had been elected to carry ont tho work, and on November 18th a 110! I had been taken to raise a loan of Tho propos.il was carried, and the prosent section bought for £SOQ. Tlio plans were prepared by Messrs Guthrie Bros., and Mr J. Smith's tender for £5950 had been accepted. The memorial would include a library, a reading room, and a hall capable of holding 400 people. Unfortunately, there waa no allowance made for a supper-room, but the speaker honed that one would he erected at the l>ack. He would like to say that, as far as ho could judge, the action nf Papanui in putting up its memorial was unique as far as Now Zealand was concerned. Tho (scheme had not been left in the hands of a few, but had been subscribed to by ail. It was a utility memorial, and there was no chance of its being shifted. Gererations to come would use it, and would receive literacy benefit from it as well as social amusement. A marble slab was to be embedded in the front, and on it would bo inscribed tho names of those who had fallen in the Great War, as follows: —C. Chapman, G. W. Smith, H. Hopkins, L. Jesson, L. Derrett, G. G. Cassin, F. Coates, F. Daniels, T. Devening, A. Elvc.rton, A. Patrick, G. Robert, G. Kerridge, G. Lowe, J. McArthur, E. Mawson, J. Riordan, E. Schumacher, F. Schumacher, J. Schumacher, and any other Papanui boys whose names were handed in to the committee." Inside the hall would bo placed the framed photograph of every Papanui man who went to tho front. (Applause.) ' Mr J. Smith then presented Mr "W. J. Walter, the chairman of the Waimairi County Council, with the trowel for the laying of the foundation stone. Mr Walter thanked the people of Papanui for the groat honour they had done him in asking him to lay the stone. He had spent_ his school days and his football days in Papanui, he said, and hoknew personally what a fine lot of fellows the memorial was to represent. He congratulated the district on the way it had worked for patriotic purposes during the war, and on the way it had undertaken to provide a lasting memorial. Another loan, he believed, waa neoessary before the work could be finished, but he was quite sure that there would bo no difficulty in getting the money. The hall and library should not be managed by the Waimairi County Council, but rather by a committee of tho public, which he hoped would include several women. It would, of course, be necessary to have one or two members of tho Council on the committee also. That day, the speaker thought, was one of the most important in the history of Papanui. The stone, on which is inscribed "This stone was laid by W. J. Walter, chairman of the Waimairi County Council, April Bth, 1922, L. B. Hart, chairman of committee," was lowered into place and truly laid, whereupon three cheers were given for the memorial committee and one for Mr Walter.

Mr Hart stated that m an opening under the stone, would be placed coins of the realm, and the newspapers containing the reports of the proceedings. This wpuld be for the edification of the people of a thousand years hence. Mr R. W. Hawke, representative of the district on the Waimairi County Council, said the memorial was a most fitting thing. The people should honour the men who stood up for them at the Front.

Mr G. Witty, M.P. for Riccarton, said he was honoured to be able to speak at the laying of the foundation stone of the memorial to the men who fell in the Great War. What they have done would never be realised. Their parents and friends needed no reminders of them, but it was necessary that future generations should be made to think of their great services. The coupling of the memorial with a utilitv object was, he thought, a good idea. The most thoughtless people could not help glancing at the walls and thinking of the men who had died for them. • The memorial was not pnly going to stand for all time, but was also going to be beneficial to the district.

Mr D. Jones, M.P. for Kaiapoi, said it was a privilege and an honour to be present on the occasion. Previous speakers had commended the splendid spirit shown by the people of Papanui in erecting a memorial to the men who had made the supreme sacrifice, and be was glad to add his tribute. The corner on which the building was being erected he had always looked upon as neglected and forsaken, and now on it was being placed a Memorial Hall which would improve and beautify the district. The British soldiers were like that, they went anto the waste places, fought the enemy in foreign lands and formed fnem into colonies for the Empire. Papanui had sent its men to fight for the Empire against its enemies. New Zealand had done its full share in the work as the casuality figures showed. Belgium, with a population of seven millions had lost 13,000 men, and New Zealand had lost 17,0; hj; killed out of a population of one million. Those who had paid the price of victory could not return, but tne honoured dead had established the foundation of the Empire more firmly than ever.« He felt it a priviHege to be able to add his tribute to those who had died to give the rest of the country freedom, liberty and all that was worth having. The Hon. D. Buddo, aJso addressed the gathering. He trusted that the soldiers who had come Back would be able to spend hours of profit and also of amusement in the hal] and library. The ceremony ended with the singing of the National Anthem.