UNVEILING TODAY

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 100, 22 January 1940, Page 9

UNVEILING TODAY

Wellington Provincial

Memorial

ENVOYS FROM OVERSEA Lord Galway To Perform Ceremony The official opening of the Wellington Provincial Centennial, Memorial will take place at 10 o clock this morning. The Minister ol Education, Mr. Fraser, will pay homage to the Maori race on behalf of the Government by laying a wreath on the grave of Te Puni at 9.30. The chairman of the Wellington Provincial Centennial Council, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop, will preside. The band will open with the National Anthem, followed by * God Defend New Zealand.” Then will follow a Maori haka of welcome by Taranaki Maoris under Mr. Hapi Love.

Speeches at the dedication will be made by Mr. Hislop; the mayor of Petone, Mr. G. London; the Minister of Finance and member of Parliament for Hutt, Mr. Nash; the representative of the United Kingdom Government at the Centennial, Lord Willingdon; the representative of the Commonwealth Government of Australia, Senator the Hon. P. A. M. Mcßride; and the Prime Minister, Mr. Savage. The memorial architect, Mr. H. L. Massey, will make a presentation to the Governor-General, Lord Galway, who will then dedicate the memorial aud unveil the plaque. Procession To The Beach. The proceedings will commence with a gathering of the units of the procession at 9 a.m. in Udy Street East, Petone, from where a march will take place to the memorial at the foot of Buick Street. The units of the procession will depict various stages of 100 years of.progress; for instance, the growth in transport from the, bullock team to modern motor-vehicles. The procession will form up on each side of the memorial before the arrival of the official party. . The church service will be simple, carried 1 out as nearly as possible as it was carried, out by the 'Rev- J °hn .MacFarlane on Petone beach iu 184-O, the minister being the Rev. Brian Kilroy, M.A. The choir will be under the baton of Mr. F. F. Thomas). The service will include the singing of the Hundredth Psalm, a reading, prayer, and the hymn “O God of Bethel” and the Twenty-third Psalm. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a. Centennial historic (pageant, arranged' .by Mr. Harison Cook, on the Petone Recreation Ground. The official party will'be entertained at luncheon in the pavilion. On the Tory in 1839. 'Pile first scene of the pageant will be “on the Tory in 1839,” and will depict the sale of Whanga-nui-a-Tara. The action taking place between September 20 and September 27 has, for pageant purposes, been combined in one composite scene on board a representation of the Tory. The second Scene deals with the hoisting of the flag at Petone on September 30, 1839. There will follow an intermission during which, as in 1839, there will be a hakari, a feast provided in true Maori fashion from heated stone umu. A Maori cooked meal will be available to the public at a charge of 1/-, but there will be pakeha refreshment for those who prefer it. The third scene 'will show the arrival of the early settlers from the Aurora and the cementing of the friendship between Maori and white man. “God Defend New Zealand” will end the pageantry portion of the ceremonial. A display of historic documents by early settlers will be on view on the grounds. Hakae, dances, and waiatas will be presented by the Maoris prior to the commencement of the sports.