GALA DAY

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 78, 2 April 1923, Page 8

GALA DAY

AT LOWER HUTT ..;. . £SUCCESSFUL EVENT. Fortune in the shape of glorious weather favoured Lower Hutt to-day for the event which the promoters have been steadily working up to for months past —Gala Day. All roadSjled this morning to the garden suburb,, for-from whatever avenue the borough •. was approached streams of people-were seen all converging to one point-rthe local recreation ground. From Petone, from the city, by rail and road, and'.:from, ■ the upper reaches of the valley, a steady flow of holiday-makers.was to-be seen. 'The object of Gala Day, which has now become an annual event, is to beautify the borough, and more especially the Recreation Ground; where to-day's entertainment took place; Last year the sum of £280 was realised, and the effect of the judicious expenditure of this money has proved an enormous r incentive to the committee to- make a still, greater, success of to-day's function. vThe ground, which' in recent years was.much enlarged, is now -looking a picture with it» stretches of lawn, flower-beds,' and flower-girt meandering stream. The committee responsible was early in its history fortunate in its choice of a chairman, Councillor A. M'Bain, and organising secretary, Mr. Barton Ginger, and the energetic manner'in which all have worked was exemplified to-day, .• when upwards of 8000 people spent a most enjoyable day amidst perfect surroundings.

Proceedings commenced with a procession from the. railway, station at 9.30 a.m., in which the local municipal hand, the Petone Central Band, and Highland Pipers took part. Conspicuous in the. procession were the local fire brigade, the Boy Scouts, a noble ,barid of cowboys, decorated' bicycles and motorcycles, decorated vehicles, and children in unique fancy costumes, with the inevitable representations of Charlie Chaplin. A feature of the gala is the queen competition, which was limited to three queens—Municipal. (Miss Lorna Chapman) ; Sports, (Miss Aileen Noble); and Ratepayers' Asssoeiation (Miss Doris Hickson). These queens were prominent in the procession, and particularly noticeable was. a cart decorated with "big game"—the alleged bag- of a company of sportsmen supporters of the sports queen. The procession was ably marshalled by "John Bull" (Mr. F. Tunley) in costume. On arrival at the ground the day's events were- opened by a brief speech from the member for the district, Mr. T. M. Wilford, 'introduced by the Mayor (Mr. W. T. Strand), who was accompanied by Mrs. Strand and supported by the Mayor of Petone, his wife (Mr. and Mrs. J. ■W. M'Ewan), and the various gala officials. Mr. Wilford said that it was a great day for the Valley of Beautiful Flowers, as it was . the culminating effort of the various committees, which had been ,working_ to make a success of the gala. The civic fathers, who had purchased the beautiful recreation ground, were to be congratulated on their forethought, and the effort of the day deserved to be crowned with success. In drawing attention to the plan of the recreation ground, which had.been prepared with ready wit by the borough engineer (Mr. Barnes) Mr. Wilford pointed out the fact that he was standing in Wilford square, after having come through M'Bain place, and before- him was the Strand, while on either side were Bishworth avenue and Baldwin drive, and further .still ahead was Bunny street. While coming out in the train he had composed the following couplet, which was received with applause: —, Let's all go down the Strand from Wilford Square, % Where Queens' Committees sell their '. . treasures rare, 1 Where Barton Ginger and His teams with might and main Work for the public good with Chief ■ ' M'Bain. He hoped and believed the promoters would realise'their expectations tbat the takings would reach £1000. Among the spectators was the Father of Lower.Hutt, Mr. Reuben King, who though now 93 years of age, is in full possession of all his faculties and was kept busy during the day recounting his early experiences in the valley.