IN DAYS GONE BY

Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 74, 25 September 1917, Page 2

IN DAYS GONE BY

EARLY SETTLERS RE-UNITE

A NOTABLE GATHERING

SPEEOHES AT-THE T.OWN HALL.

Pioneers and their descendants from all over the Wellington Province, including a particularly large' and representative contingent from the Wairarapa, .gathered in,the Town Hall last night on the .occasion. .of a re-union, hejd under the auspices of the Wellington Early.Settlers' and Historical Association. The gathering was one of the largest of its kind yet held by the association, and proved beyond doubt that that body is ably doing its ,worlc in ■keqping >liv,e the associations of a rapidly-shading, past. . For one hour ;befor.e J;he .speeches were commenced the affair was quite informal, and the' old settlers appeared to _g.reatly e"n3oy"quiet chats"in groups" at the tables and around the hall. Old acquaintances were eagerly renewed, and gossip concerning the interesting past was jjot lacking in the least. Elderly people who had not met for years Averse jioi at a -lqss for subjects upon""which they" could' converse. Among such a camparison between the ■past and -the .present is always -possible when other stories have ■r.un out. It \vv.as the'informality'of the earlier part of the proceedings which the worthy guests, perhaps, enjoyed most of .all. . The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke, C.'M-.G.), presided, and included, among those present wej-e Sir EobK* and Lady .Stout, the Hon.' G. W. Russell, Archbishop Bed-, woocl, the Rev. J. Pat^rson, and many prominent settlers, whose names were ■too numerous to mention here. Apologies for ■'.unaßoidfbJe absence included appropriate messages from the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) and Sir Joseph Ward, and Mrs. Louisa"Snelson (Palmerstop North). 'Hie lat.ter .was describe^ by jir. Luke as "a real mother among us •all!" "To give 'some id,ea of how the audience was made up,'- it is necessary to mention the name of only one of many—Mr. William tidy, of_Grey : town, .who arrived in Wellington in the ship Aurora in, 1840, when only two and a-half years of age. He showed himself to be hale and hearty at 80. Therewerg many like him.' Mr. Luke warmly welcomed to the capital ■ city .those who nojw liy&d, *way from .it-. He paid a general tribute, to the early settlers, aii'd stated that. the principles they upheld in tho past "had "hfien-the u&set which enabled the: New Zealand toys. to-day to uphold their honour in "Hie great', war. On behalf of the citizens of Wellington he stated . that they all hojioureel the founders of.. New Zealand," and puaised ■the iplendjd' examples they'lja-d almost invariably s.et. ' ,■ ' ILLBMINED WITII HOPE. v ] Sir? Robert Stout reminded his hearers I that 'thjey were present to celebrate Dominion Day—-New' Zealand Day—but they were a-jso there ■ for' social intercourse. New Zealand was fortunate in its epi-Jy settlers, wj(o came here not •to make a fortune, but to found a new nation, free from the evils of the old nation. There were'noted settlers' all over New Zealand—Featherston, Fitzgerald, Fitzherbertj Fox, and others-r all of whom struggled to make a nation" whose people would be before all others. When lie first came to New Zealand, Sir Robert said, he wa-s struck with tlie hope .which illumined; those.who had come before him. They were illumined not only with hope, but. with charity as well, and they were guided by only the best of; principles. 1 The progress of New Zealand had been marvellous, far beyond tie .dreams of even the" most optimistic among those who were settled in the colony fifty yeais ago. It was in those days whert a public man was scoffed at because he predicted that the time ' would come j when New Zealand, instead '.of importing flour,. would export wheat.,. Even now it could not be said that New ■Zealand ijad reached its height. Young "'people to-day were. bjily pjpneers, arid 'a big responsibility Tested upon their shoulders. The progress was only beginning, an_d -the burden was on the* present generation to maintain 1 the standard set by the early settlers. They, must remem-' her, too, that they would never become great ,unless they allowed a* feeling of ' brotherhood to permeate < their lives, j Let them march forward imbued with the idea that New Zealand should not only be great as a- producer ,of cereals, a country noted for its climate and for its health, but the home of a free and npbje people. (Applause.) ■ . / ■ EARLY LIFE AT NELSON. Archbishop Bedwpod stated that when he thought of the past he went ba<ck a long way. He arriypti in New Zealand in 1842, ■when only three years-of age, in the good ship George Fife, and ho remembered the arrival of the first bullock team. , His father purchased one .of the .first bullock teams, and he remembered going ten miles in a bullock team to attend ,'a race meeting. /Of course, we started early in the mftrning," he said,- "and wo"did not return until next night." The Archbishop hecaroe interestingly reminiscent of tjie early days in Nelson, particularly as far as his persona-l" expenences' were concerned. During- the" first §ix months' in New Zealand.his family lived in a tent. "He I rerpcmlJered the Nelson plains swarming with game, particularly' £h.e real New Zealand .quail. There were .' pigeons enough to cloud |.he sun, kakaj; so, nume- ; roiis that the' birds could not all /yjcuxe enough" to ' "eat^ dudes in " plenty. J Then there jßere millions of grass-i hoppers, large and small. There were no 'sheep, tli.en, and no oxen which could be ■ killed, so thfcy . lived on game and fish. "An old man lifee/i to tliink of the past and praise th.c past, and in doing the latter he was perfectly justified. New Zealand was admirably settled by a fine stamp of men and women. "I am not a bad epecimen at ] 78, am I?" he asked. There was an ad- ; niirable harmony, tine friendship, perfect; unity, and a desire to help one another among all the early settlers-=ra Spirit : 'which assisted very largely to make life in those days so happy. ' "We old New-, Zealanders," hp cppcluded, "are proud of those who have followed. We are proud 1 of their magnificent courage and of their fiejf-gacrifice.' Self-sacrifice—-that is the best. New ZeaJan'ders have, unfiirichingh', made the greatest of sacrifices, find the future can be looked forward to with Ulfi greatest confidence. I look forward . with pride to the" luture as T do with joy to the pact, ># (Applaiws.j ■ "SttPREMA 4 SITU." ' i The next speaker was the Hon. G. W. ; Rwslse.ll> wfjp after referring to tlje str.enu- ' cur timjje which jfesy .Zpsiaijd h"<l passed ; •through during the last few years, proceeded to describe- tlie arrival of his, parents and him«Wf m Wellington in the monllr of .April, 1865. i There was then a fine body of people who, although they had sharp political fig))tij, Jived hi jf sort of brotherhood and (so fomuied ;i 7-jotal/le citiz'enshjp. Thanks to men like Si-r Ueorge Gkj and others tile colony hooji secured its right of ,self-goyfirnnjeijt. He toM them what Wellington nras-like as lie first remembcrpd U, The city had gt'pwn jypnderfulij", and now it wa« undoubtedly "Supreijia ji S!itii.' r An tippraciajie!). of the cliaaacter of th§ eiiriy Mtijev 'in. Ksw .?£aisnd ■■■'«» »*■,. pressed by the Rev, .J*mes l Jaterson. ;

Many of those who came.out first were .ratJier disappointed about the .country -after reading. glowing accounts published afc Home, but thojr .determination enabled them to .win through.- They braved a gre.at deal—a long voyage, a rough sea, .and settlement in a new country with all its privations—and (showed thai they were of high character, brave and persevering. They had difficulties—many of them—in dealing with #ie Natives-, and' they faced, many .danger?. . The Maoris were never ■ treated cr'ueily or harshly, but with -kindness and generosity, thus proving the: splendid character of the first comers. He was gl.a.d that they all 'joined together .to .perpetuate the memories of the past when life was "simpler and nicer"—when they were : all friends. During the evening an enjoyable musical programme was presented, led by a ..^ejection of popular bid iiis' well played by an orchestra ujader Mr. H. Ouroming. ]\lrs. Par Eons, .an old favourite with Wellington 'audiences, .whose appe.ar3nc.e on the platform, was tJie signal for an out-; burst of cpr.dial "applause, sang "Should He Upbraid witn great swsgtness and purity, and responded to- the insistent .en.core by giving, with her ■ daughter, that well-known and tuneful old d-uet "I Know''a Bank," 'which was artistically jrfindered. Mrs. F. P.\Will».n, a popular singer of a yoiu^ger genei'atipn, also scored an ji.rtist.ic sji.cce^sa with her sinking of "The Little Damozel, and other songs .were contributed by "Farmer" Payah—the youngest of an early-time family of sixteen;- The accompaniments were played -by Miss Phoebe Bareons, Mrs. Hill, and Miss' Upham. Refresh; ments were handed round by the ladies' committee, and a successful eyeninff con'clTided \vith the singing of the National Anthen), ' ■'-'