CEREMONY AT TIMARU

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25654, 17 November 1948, Page 2

CEREMONY AT TIMARU

CITY CELEBRATES NEW STATUS

From Our Own Reporter TIMARU, Nov. 16. On Caroline Bay, where the first white men set foot in South Canterbury 113 years ago, hundreds of citizens gathered this afternoon in spite of bad weather, to celebrate Timaru’s elevation to the status of a city, 80 years after its proclamation as a borough. Because of the weather, the outdoor ceremony planned for a parade of about 4000 children, was curtailed, and held in Caroline Bay hall. During the ceremony a flight of aeroplanes of the South Canterbury Aero Club flew over in salute.

From its first faint beginnings, Timaru developed during the years into “a model city, a city of beauty as well as a city of business,” said the Mayor (Mr A. E. S. Hanan). The assembly stood for a moment in silence in respect to the fallen in battle. The Mayor read congratulatory messages from the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr W. E. Parry), the Lord Mayor of London, and the Mayor of the borough of Worthing to which Timaru has sent many food gifts, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland), and the Maoris of Arowhenua, near Temuka. These were a few of the hundreds of messages received. Speakers who congratulated Timaru and the first Mayor and Mayoress of the city, were Messrs A. E. Lawrence (chairman of the Canterbury Education Board), J. W. Holdgate, a pioneer resident born in Timaru 81 years ago, F. Cooney (Mayor of Oamaru), E. C. Bathurst (Mayor of Ashburton), W. F. Boland (Mayor of Waimate), and P. H. Davis (Mayor of Geraldine). The Timaru Municipal Band played the march, “Timaru,” composed by Mr A. Pettit, of Dunedin, and presented to Timaru by Mr Hanan. Mr Hanan planted a totara in the Timaru botanical gardens to commemorate the occasion. He was assisted by the Mayoress (Mrs Hanan), four former mayoresses, and the city councillors.