Memorial In Tidal Pool

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31865, 18 December 1968, Page 8

Memorial In Tidal Pool

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) MELBOURNE, December 17. Nearly 300 people attended a memorial service held under gloomy skies on Cheviot < Beach, about 60 miles from ’ Melbourne, for the former 1 Australian Prime Minister, 1 Mr Harold Holt, who dis- p appeared while swimming offj l the beach almost a year ago. An Anglican clergyman and 1 a Roman Catholic priest offi- ‘ ciated at the service. Many j of those attending were members of the rescue squads who searched unsuccessfully for ' Mr Holt after his disappearance on December 17 last year. | Before the service, mem- ; bers of the local underwater ' exploration club attached a I memorial plaque to a rock 11 in a tidal pool, where it will 11 be visible at low tide.

Only a month later, Dick Grigg was killed during a Viet Cong attack, and the project was named the S/S Grigg’s Vietnamese Orphanage Appeal and assumed a New Zea-land-wide aspect.

Donations from the many organisations and individuals who become interested in theproject are co-ordinated byi Miss Stella Egan (22 Onslow* Road, Mt Albert 3) of Auckland. As a result of their iefforts many dozens of car-| tons and boxes of clothing! and toys have been transported to South Vietnam by! the Royal New Zealand Air! Force and distributed to the orphanage by the New Zea-j land soldiers.

Cash donations, too, have been made and to date over SNZ3OOO has been received. This money has been used for such projects as repair of buildings, the construction of a dispensary and other buildings. More recently i ■

negotiations were completed for the purchase in Singapore of sewing machines which will be used to teach the older girls to sew and make clothes for themselves and other children. At the end of July these were flown across from Singapore by the R.N.Z.A.F. and have since been handed over. Recently the appeal took

on an international character when Mr Kumai, export manager for a Japanese manufacj luring firm, visited New ZeaI land and heard of the appeal from an Auckland couple. On jhis way back to Japan Mr I Kumai arranged for his busi- ! ness associates, the Thai ; Towel Company, in Bangkok, ito give the orphanage 20 ’dozen bath towels. Duringj routine flights to Thailand land Vietnam, Bristol freighter 'aircraft of No. 41 Squadron,

R.N.Z.A.F., transported the gift to Singapore and subsequently to Vietnam. Priest As Manager The orphanage is managed by Rev. Father R. Olivier, a French-Canadian priest who has worked in Vietnam since 1929. Father Olivier is ever to the alert to find new proIjects to provide funds to feed ! and clothe his charges. A large pond has been built in I the orphanage grounds which is stocked with young fish. After two to three month the grown fish are sold. This provides a two-fold advantage in that as well as earning several thousands piastres for the orphanage, the fish provide food for the children. Bien Loi is but one of a number of homes for children. war widows and elderly folk managed by Father Olivier and acts in this instance as the receiving distributing agency for these other homes as well. To date just over three tons has been carried by the R.N.Z.A.F. from New Zealand for the orphanage. In the childrens’ clothing line (only about 1 per cent is adult clothing) over 11.000 articles, nearly 4000 of them newly made have been involved. As well as toys and in addition to the second-hand and new clothing. Miss Egan sends lightweight childrens’ footwear in the line of sandals and jandals. soap, hairbrushes, combs, towels, babies’ napkins: all forms of linen, patchwork quilts, story books in English (which have been requested), educational aids such as notebooks, and pencils, lightweight blankets, cotton articles only are clothing and milk powder.

iAlthough lightweight woollen cardigans are sent for the adults, in general mainly cotton articles only are required. The photograph shows Corporal R. Buchanan, of Christchurch, with some of the girls at the orphanage who have just been given dolls.