BLAZERS OF THE TRAIL

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 5, 1 October 1926, Page 3

BLAZERS OF THE TRAIL

PRAISE FOR NEW ZEALAND’S PIONEERS

WARM TRIBUTE BY GOVERNOR INSPIRATION FROM THEIR EXAMPLE “I suppose,” said the GovernorGeneral (Sir Charles Fergusson), in an address at the annual reunion of members of the Wellington Early Settlers Association, “that there is no country in the world which could produce such a wonderful gathering as this—-a gathering which has the pride of being able to call itself a gathering of Empire builders. What wonderful tales of early days all of you could bring forward. What wonderful stories of dangers braved, of difficulties overcome, and of hardships bravely borne. I say I am sure there is no country in the world which could produce this number of men and women who have come out here and have built up this little bit of the Empire of which not only w’e but the whole of the rest of the’ Empire is very proud, and for good reason.

Spirit of the Pioneers. “It is very interesting to look back and consider how this Dominion and this Empire have been built up—built up by those who were moved by the spirit of adventure, or by force of circumstances, to strike away from the Old Country, and come out here and make new homes for themselves; and not only a new home for themselves, but animated by the determination to make their new home worthy of the Old Country,” proceeded His Excellency. “They brought with them all the history and the traditions of the pride of" the race , from which they sprang. And it is just that pride of race, I think, which gave them the energy and strength and courage to face what they had to face, lhey were determined to make the new land worthy of the race from which they had sprung, and I believe that to J’ave been the mainspring of all they did. They brought With them from England or Scotland, Ireland or Wales all that has made the Old Country great the lore of truth and the love of justice, and a broad spirit of humanity; and they made their homes out here; and thev never lost hold of the golden thread which united them to the Old Country. They brought with them love of Home, which has such a wonderful effect in welding together the Empire. Because you know there have been many Empires in the world. There have been Empires built up by forceof arms, by constitutions, by subject races being ruled over by a dominant race; but this Empire of ours has been something so very different. It has been built up by men and by women—by their spirit—-totally different to any other Empire; and although these great daughters of the Empire are only attached to their Mother Country by a golden thread—a thread which, as has been said, is lieht as air, yet as strong as bands or steel— that thread which attached them to home and the Old Country, has never failed. And it is through that thread, which they kept hold of through all these years, that this Dominion has grown up what she is, and that this Empire has grown up with that wonderful sense of justice. Inspiration of Their Example.

“When the visitor to New Zealand goes through this wonderful country and looks round, he sees what you who are here to-day have hrought about in the short space of a little more than eighty years. We see a country which then was a comparative waste, brought to the condition we see it to-day by your industry and be vour courage, and, behave me, ladies and gentlemen,, we all honour and respect you for it. “Now, what do we learn from what we call to-day the Early Settlers? We have gained a great deal from them, we young people. We have gained this wonderful heritage which we enjov in this beautiful country. But we have gained from them something much more than that. We have gained from them , the tremendous inspiration of their example—their example of industry, of courage, of grit and pluck. We have gained from them that wonderful sense ot patriotism which has been built up on pride of race-the finest thing, the soundest ground on which you can build patriotism; and we have gained from them that intense attachment to the Throne and Empire which has made New Zealand the envy and the admiration of the whole of the Empire. This result is entirely due to those who are here to-day, and to those who came out with them in those earlv davs. The older people have taught those who come after them, and the children who come after us, those wonderful lessons of character of which I have been speaking And the whole of the success which New Zealand enjoys to-day, and the whole of this great promise for the future, is due, and is directly due to the early settlers who came out ’ here, and who have set us that example. “We are proud of them, and we honour them for what -> they have done; and surely from them y:e get inspiration to try and follow in their

footsteps. And as they got over their difficulties during their lives of work, so we now get the inspiration to pledge ourselves to do our best to hand on this heritage which we got from them down to our children and our children’s children, undefiled and undishonoured. “That is the best tribute we can pav to the old people who arc here to-day. In that way we can show them’ and show them in the way they will value best, what we think of their life’s work; and I am sure everyone of us here to-day hopes that the evening of their days may be happy and blessed; and seeing that the happiness they possess, they have brought to this ’ country, that they will have the reward they deserve for whab they have done for us.”