The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1936. NEW ZEALAND’S CENTENARY.

Evening Star, Issue 22247, 27 January 1936, Page 8

The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 1936. NEW ZEALAND’S CENTENARY.

The project of an international exhibi-. tion to be held by Wellington in four years’ time to mark the centenary of New Zealand and of Wellington is not new. It was foreshadowed when the success was seen of the great exhibition held in Dunedin ten years ago. The occasion which prompts the ambitious design is certainly one that could not be allowed to pass without some outstanding commemoration. January 22, 1840, saw the arrival of the New Zealand Company’s first body of settlers at Port Nicholson, and that, Mr Pember Reeves has laid it down, is the date of the true foundation of the colony. The.conclusion has strong reason to be allowed. It is true that several weeks elapsed following the Wellington landing before New Zealand was brought under the British Crown. On February 6 the first signatures were attached to the Treaty of Waitangi, the process of cession by which New Zealand was merged in the British Empire. On May 21 Captain Hobson issued his proclamation of sovereignty over the islands of New Zealand. At Waitangi, the Mayor of Auckland has confidently asserted, national celebrations of the country’scentenary must have their focal point. The Wellington landing was, however, undoubtedly the beginning of organised settlement. The earlier settlement north of Auckland was fortuitous and sporadic. The first missionaries, arriving in 1814, prepared the way for colonisation, but it formed no part of their plans; nor, till events forced their hands, did they desire it. What-

ever precise day may be chosen for the foundation of the colony, the claims of the year—lß40—must be beyond dispute.

It is not a year the centenary of which can be allowed to go unmarked, A great deal of history and of development has been crowded into the subsequent period, and no nation that looks forward to its future can afford to forget its past. Suggestions for Auckland celebrations were put forward, with admirable completeness, by the Mayor of Auckland ten weeks ago. It was Mr Davis’s opinion that the commemoration should be planned on a provincial rather than a purely civic basis, and a conference was proposed to be held in March to consider his ideas. But a big programme was suggested for the city’s part. It included early settlers’ reunions, a great gathering of Maoris. perhaps at Mangere, historical pageants, inception of ■ memorials, athletic and sporting events, and educational displays. Permanent memorials, he suggested, might be afforded by the erection ot Auckland’s Cathedral, for which a site was set apart as long ago as the time of Bishop Selwyn, and by the unified control of certain public services. Mr Davis urged the need for co-ordina-tion of all the centennial celebrations throughout New Zealand, so that by an equitable distribution of feature events and a proper arrangement of dates, visitors should be able to „ from one to another, and with this in . mind he suggested that the Wellington Exhibition, oi which a committee had even UP, should final quarter, rather than at. the be ainning of the centennial year, as a SiuiLnt climax to the numeration.” An area of 65 acies about the same size as Logan Park near Rongotai, has been acquiied. the exhibition. A great exposition is envisaged, because one of the P£°P to bo considered, at a meet ng dominion mayors to be held m lington this week, is that a sun £250,000 to £300,000 should be raised by a grant from the Government and by share capital throughout New Zealand. The amount raised foi tne Dunedin Exhibition was roughly £133,000, of which £83,000 was rep fented by share capital and donations ranking as shares, and the Government found £50,000. Victoria and other States have held their centenary celebrations. Those o New Zealand cannot be treated as ot less importance. The time is not too soon to prepare for them. San liancisco is already getting .ready for its centenary commemoration m Auckland and Wellington have begun their planning. Dunedin also will have its part to play in this great national occasion, and some thought should be given to it soon by our city authorities. And the matter does not only concern Dunedin in this province. Mr Davis s detailed suggestions for the commemoration by Auckland province, including sports, naval, and military gatherings, ran to 34 items. It will be seen that, even where no exhibition makes a mam labour, a vast body of preparatoiy work falls to be done.