Wednesday Morn In Wellington

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 87, 6 January 1940, Page 18

Wednesday Morn In Wellington

,SMOOTH sunshine streamed down from a clear sky. The people pressed forward and overflowed the footpaths . . . eager, expectant. They peered from windows, clung to blind cords and stretched over rooftops in order to catch a glimpse of the horses of the special constables. What horses! Small boys gasped with awe at the sight of those magnificent tossing heads and coats shaved like silk. Then came a group of bandsmen—and after that the ex-servicemen in mufti, marching in never-ending columns. Soon streamers began to fall from rooftops and balconies. Gently they curved down. Some caught in the peaked hats of the troops and some twisted themselves gracefully round their rifles. Still came the tramp of hundreds of feet marching past, and each regiment was hailed with pride by the crowd.

Afterwords the crowd would break, and hurry away. The chattering groups of boys and girls who had watched too would disband and hie to parks and beaches; but in their hearts they would remember the tall column of the War Memorial on a still summer day, the colours flapping in the qir-tides and the long lines of fine men who stood quietly erect before Parliament House. f