FITTING AND PROPER OBSERVANCE

Evening Star, Issue 18925, 27 April 1925, Page 9

FITTING AND PROPER OBSERVANCE

SERVICES IN CITY AND SUBURBS Anzac Day—a day ol hallowed memory to thousands of people In New Zealand, the day on which young men from this country raised her status la. the eyes o! the world by taking a big part in one' of the most hazardous and remarkable military feats of all time—was observed in Dunedin and suburbs with fitting solemnity on Saturday, While April 25 marks the anniversary of the date of the historic landing of the troops on Gallipoli, it is the one day set apart to honor the memory of the’ men from New Zealand who took part in the Great War from beginning to end. As in all parts of New Zealand, very large crowds attended at all the services held In Dunedin. The principal service of the day was that held in one of the large Exhibition buildings under the auspices of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association, a crowd of over ten thousand attending to pay a tribute to the memory of our fallen soldiers and to offer thanksgiving for their feats of arms. The Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson) has forwarded the following cablegram to the King in reply to His Majesty’s Anzac Day mesgage:—“ Your Majesty’s gracious message is deeply and gratefully appreciated by the Government and the people of New Zealand, who are touched by the continued consideration evinced by your Majesty in this sympathy, with their feelings on Anzac Day. They desire to take this opportunity of expressing their unswerving allegiance to your Majesty and their earnest hope that the solemn commemoration held throughout the dominion on this day will keep alive in generations yet to come the tradition ol loyalty and devotion to the Throne and Empire for which their fathers willingly gave their lives.”

THE PARADE. Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the day was the parade of returned men, who marched to the service at the Exhibition. They formed an interesting company. Here were men who had taken part in'the grim landing of Anzac, men who had ploughed through tho muddy Somme battlefields, men who had waded through .the mire at Passchendaele, some of those who had stormed Messines or Le Quesnoy, and others who had taken part in one or other of the many major or minor operations. The parade assembled opposite tho Returned Soldiers’ Association Club rooms at 3 p.m. About 253 returned soldiers paraded, including a number of Boer War veterans and representatives' of the Otago Officers’ Club. The parade was in mufti, the men wearing medals. Lieutenant-colonel J. H'Crae, D. 5.0., was in command, and was'assisted by Lieutenant E. J. Anderson, H.O. Lieutenant D. Healey acted as adjutant. H.M.S. Dunedin’s band was accorded the place of honor at the head of the procession. The order was as follows:—H.M.S. Dunedin’s hand and a small detachment of seamen from tho cruiser, the Third Artillery and Dunedin Pipe Bands, a body of returned soldiers, the Kaikorai and St. Kilda’Bands, a second body of ex-servicemen, and the Regimental and Salvation Army Bands. TJio procession was viewed by large crowds cn route.