SUNNY HOLIDAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18, 23 January 1911, Page 8

SUNNY HOLIDAY.

ON SEA AND SHORE. WELLINGTON'S ANNIVERSARY. By; the calendar, yesterday was young growing Wellington's seventy-first birthday, but the joyful celebration is to-day. The new civic and provincial year began with gladdening sunshine which may i be taken as a portent of prosperity in the months to come, for the signs point to betterment. Very early the merrymakers started to move out by car, Grain, and steamer The Maori glided aivay to Picton on a flat sea with seven hundred picnickers, with their hearts as buoyant as the bunting that fluttered above them. The race trains and other trains also transported happy cohorts to green spaces. The harbour steamers carried a gay multitude to Day's Bay, whose wooded hills and sparkling shore make an irresistible call to many on a sunny day. Other seaside resorts were also strongly invaded by smiling and laughing parties with baskets and billies. Miramar's Wonderland with its varied assortment of thrills, drew many out for a day of pleasant excitement. Other spots whjch also secured a fair share of the holiday folk were Bellevue Gardens, Maidstone Park, the Petone Recreation Ground, the Basin Eeserve, and the bowling greens. Between 10 and 11 the harbour was a spectacle to please the most phlegmatic observer. The distant hills were dimly limned, through a summer haze, and Somes Island rose from the still opal water like an enchanted isle. The yachts lolled lazily on the sluggish flood tide, and the "impatient crews (supposed to be racing) were praying for a puff of the wind that blew to waste yesterday. The great white wings flapped impotently, while little oil-launches fussed impudently past the wallowing craft. OLD WELLINGTON. WHAT ABOUT THE RECORDS.! Though Wellington is still young as a city (a mere stripling of seventy-one summers) one may speak, without apo- • logy, about the olden dayii of the settlement, the simple times when the town was —named Britannia, - and stood on the site of Petone (then termed Pitoone). Many interesting-re-cords of the early strenuous days have been preserved, but much of the history remains to. be gathered and co-ordinat-ed.' This "birthday of the * province 'is another reminder to the authorities here to heed the example of Christchurch, where 'enthusiasts have bestirred themselves to get a complete account of the early settlement of the province. Documents and other things to show the growth of a camp into a city and a flourishing province have teen placed in proper order in the Christchurch mvJ scum. A similar zeal has inspired some j people in Palmerston. whe?e a very commendable public spirit has been developI ing during the past year or two. Vari- [ ous papers and articles of ' old time, showing the growth of the Rangitikei district, have been collected and safely -housed ia Palmerstoii. Wellington lags behind, though the importance of this historical work has been stressed repeatedly. Each year increases the difficulty of obtaining evidence, written, oral or otherwise, concerning the days of old. Each year reduces the number of the pioneers; each year scatters or lessens the material that helps the present to appreciate the work of the past. Should the collection be the function of the national or municipal museum 7 Mr. Hamilton, director oi the Dominion Museum, is naturally of opinion that the national museum (that beautiful building which is to be raised some day somewhere in Wellington) would be the proper home of such treasures. As the national museuni will be in Wellington, and will contain an extensive array of records, official and private, about Wellington, Mr. Hamilton believes that it would be advisable to have all the exhibits under one roof. Does this work appeal to any Wellingtonian, with the time and energy to spare ? fBT TELEGBAPH — PBESS ASSOCIATION.] WANGANUI, This. Day. Anniversary Day is being observed here as a holiday. There is delightful weather, and a big attendance at the Caledonian sports, which is the principal attraction.