CENTENNIAL MEMORIALS

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 May 1938, Page 4

CENTENNIAL MEMORIALS

MINISTERIAL ATTITVDE, The Government does not regard I with favour for subsidy purposes any ■ j.roposal for the erection or establish- ' ment of expensive Centennial memor- • 1.,1s in respect of which the cost canm t be raised by the people oi (he H'inict. directly concerned. The MinHsicr of Internal Affairs, the lion. W. iu Parry, stated in an interview' that : ;he Government’s decision was based i n the- opinion that it xvas undesirable to ask posterity to meet the initial cost of Centennial memorials and therefore the Government did not propose to grant any subsidy' for {those memorials to be erected xvith loan moneys. The total amount to be made availrifle by the Government for Centennial celebrations and permanent memorials is £150,000. As this amount ' ill require to be allocated on a def'nite basis to the several provincial districts, it is obvious: that memorials involving heavy expenditure xvill have to bo excluded from participation in ilio subsidy. Some organisations, it i'< understood, are contemplating the erection of hospitals, museums, etc., and l the Minister suggested that buildings of that type xvere hardly appropriate as Centennial memorials un-Ic.-s practically the whole of the cost could be met. by the c'-ininunities they would serve. “I have been ask<'d to state in de|i'ii:Ru tc; ms, ‘ th.. stc. vOnti ' the type of memorials xvhich in the opinion of the Government xvould he suitable for consideration by the Provincial Centennial organisations. Although the matter has not yet been] finally considered by the National Centennial- Council, I would suggest that such memorials should be of a comparatively inexpensive- nature and have a general community interest and value. A type of memorial strongly appealing to the Government is that of a recreation ground, or playpark with community buildings, and, xvhere practicable, a sxvimming pool and children’s playground. Without heavy cost suitable areas could be made places of public resort and enjoyment for successive generations. By giving the name, “Centennial,” the parks xvould stand as a monument not only to the first century of our national existence, but also to the foresight of the present generation.”

j TREE-PLANTING. j Another form of inexpensive memijcriul, continued the Minister, and one • that could be used! for the embellish- ■ ment of existing recreation areas and ; public reserves, was* a definite scheme of Centennial tree planting. “Both these types of memorials,” the Minister said, “were advocated by the Coronation Planting Committee, constituted in London in 1937, under the patronage of Her Majesty, the Queen, j to initiate, in commemoration of the ’ Coronation, a nation-wide movement ; for the general improvement and beau- ; tification of the countryside. It is a 'movement appealing to the Govern--1 j mcnt and one which could be approjpriately applied in connection, with {New Zealand’s Centennial. How better could that great event be marked] than by having in most parts of the! Dominion a Centennial park, acquired 'either by way of a hew area or by replanning an existing domain or recreation reserve and planting it with lorig-life trees to commemorate indi-

I 1 • virtually the pioneers and others who ; have rendered signal service to the ■ district? Those parks and: trees would be enduring memorials, com- ■ bining natural beauty with utility, and would carry a sentimental interest, and appeal to all succeeding genera-, tions.” I The Minister pointed out that the mere acquisition and planting of an area, small or large, would in itself bo J an acceptable Centennial memorial, and its development could 1 follow ac-, cording to a definite plan. The dedi-| cation of suitable areas by private in-j

! dividuals would serve the double purapose of commemorating the Centennial and commending the memory of I the donor to a grateful posterity. “In imaking these'suggestions,” added Mr j Parry, “I am not unmindful of the fact that in some cases a memorial of I the aesthetic type would be most appropriate. but it is suggested memorials of the kind be erected at a focal I point in the landscape or that_ they 'mark sbmo spot of undoubted historical interest. 1 feel the public will upi preciate tho objection to a general j policy of monumental memorials. The,

J esuit of its adoption would be, probably, a host of objects of'indifferent aesthetic merit and a. standing . reproach to the people of to-day.”

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