DISABLED MEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 120, 17 November 1942, Page 4

DISABLED MEN

TRAINING CENTRE

FOUNDATION-STONE LAID

"There can be no man or woman in New Zealand who is not conscious of the vast and irredeemable debt which we owe to those who have fought and are fighting for us," declared the GovernorGeneral, Sir Cyril Newall, at the laying of the l'oundation-stone of the disabled servicemen's vocational training centre at Lloyd Street, off Pirie Street, yesterday afternoon. The ceremony was attended by a large crowd, including the Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) and Cabinet Ministers. When completed the building will be used to train men for suitable occupations, and during their period of training they will have the benefit of proper medical advice and vocational instruction. The Minister in Charge of Rehabilitation (Mr. Semple) presided at the ceremony, which was brief and formal. He said that up to date 5850 men had returned from service overseas, and of .this number 167 were amputee cases. "Everyone in this country, and in every other civilised country in the world," said the Minister, "regrets that institutions of this type are necessary in this alleged enlightened age, but the rule of tyrants and the greed of despots have willed it .otherwise. VThe world finds itself involved not in a war, but in a physical revolution —the worst the world has ever known. The men who have gone from this country to take part in this tragedy have once again crowned themselves with glory and put New Zealand on the map. Their heroism and self-sacrifice, along with that of their comrades in arms, have recently thrilled the civilised world and instilled a ray of hope into the hearts of the vanquished peoples. Let us all hope that this is.the beginning of the! end of the Axis Powers with their brutalities and crimes. Many of these boys have made the supreme sacrifice to protect arid preserve our freedom and to hand that freedom on to posterity. Those who return to us sick and wounded must receive the maximum sympathy and help which the nation can give them." COUNTRY'S DEBT. The Mayor of Wellington (Mr. Hislop) said the building would be a very real step towards the establishment of the type of institution that was essential for taking care of the men who had done their duty overseas. They Were entitled to receive all the assistance the country could give them in re-establishing them in the life of the community, and .those who were permanently crippled must have first claim. ' The Hon. W. Perry, president of the N.Z.R.S.A., said that the idea. of the building had originated with the association away back in 1930. The task of providing a vocational centre had been entrusted to the Disabled Soldiers' Re-establishment League, which had had many years of practical experience in this work. The R.S.A. was glad to see the dream of many years brought to fruition. The Prime Minister recalled the undertaking given by the late Mr. Savage to the soldiers of the First Echelon just before they sailed in January, 1940. "We are going to see to it that when they return," said Mr. Savage, "we will have already prepared places for them so that they will be able to take a real part in the country for which

. . ." These men, said Mr. Fraser, were worthy of the best the country could do for them. This was the first instalment of the fulfilment of the pledge given- by Mr. Savage. Already plans were being formulated for their rehabilitation, technical training, educational opportunities, industrial development, and land settlement. "Just as we are using all our resources for the war effort," added the Prime Minister, "so, when they come back, shall.we place all our resources at their disposal for their successful rehabilitation." r FIGHTING FOR SECURITY. Prior to declaring the foundationstone laid, his. Excellency said that New Zealand's fighting men, by their sacrifices and their heroism, were securing the future for the citizens of the country. "Nothing that we can say can express the measure of our gratitude, nothing we can do can repay them adequately," he continued. "But this fact must serve only to spur us on to do our best. It is our absolute duty to do all that we can to show how genuine that gratitude is, and to show it in our actions as well as in mere words. This training centre, and the other centres which will be built elsewhere in New Zealand, will make a really practical contribution to the welfare of the men to whom we owe so much. "In this building those who have been disabled in the service of their King and country will be taught to triumph over their disabilities, as they have triumphed over their enemies. They will be taught not only how to make use of the artificial limbs and other surgical appliances which science has made available for the easing of their burdens, but also they will learn to do a job so that they can take their places as full and useful citizens of the land for which they have given so much. The ability to fend for themselves will be worth more than any charity, however lavish. "The laying of this foundation-stone comes at a most appropriate time. The I victory in the Battle of Eygpt and the | landing of Anglo-American forces in jNorth Africa have thrilled us all. The Eighth Army, consisting as it does of men from all over the Empire, has done what we all knew it would do when given the necessary equipment; and in this the men from New Zealand, your own sons and brothers and friends, have taken their full share. Yet once more has New Zealand's name been written large in the history of human courage and endeavour. But such victories cannot be won without great loss and sacrifice. Some of those men will never return; others have been maimed for life. Let us all resolve here and how, never to forget what they have done for us. Let us determine that the land which they have given so much to save shall be worthy of their sacrifices. Let us vow that those who return shall find the-welcome they deserve, and the help which they may need. Only thus shall we keep faith with them, and with their comrades whom we shall not see again." At the conclusion of the ceremony, his Excellency was presented by the architect, Mr. Edmund Anscombe, with a memento of the occasion. A guard of honour composed of officers recently passed out from training course greeted his Excellency and Lady Newall on their arrival. ,