N.Z. CENTENNIAL

Grey River Argus, 13 August 1937, Page 11

N.Z. CENTENNIAL

4940 Celebrations Outlined In an address the chairman of the Wellington Provincial Historical Committee, Mr. T. Lindsay Buick, C.M.G., at the inaugural meeting of the Committee at Wellington, July 27th said: —As the responsibility of calling this meeting has been delegated to me, it is but natural that yo.u would expect from me some statement regarding the purpose behind the invitation that resulted in bringing you together. To all of you it will, of course, be a commonplace that in the year 1940 New Zealand will have reached her first century as a British colony, and as a part‘of the British Empire. In older countries with many centuries of history behind them, the coming or the going of a centennial would probably attract but little notice, but in a young country such as Australia or New Zealand, a centennial is rightly to be regarded as an event of no mean importance. Quite recently in Australia two of her States have celebrated with considerable eclat the centennials of their establishment as colonies, and in New Zealand the Government has decided that our “coming of age,” as it were shall not be allowed to pass without suitable recognition and commemoration. It is, therefore, prosposed officially to celebrate in various ways the passing of New Zealand from the condition of what Lord Russell once termed a “substantive and independent State” into the status of a British colony. One of the ways by wnich the Government propose to do this is to set about, in ample time, the collection of historical data which will enable not only the people of NewZealand, but the people of the outside world, to visualize what New Zealand was before she became a British colony, and what she has become during the past bundled years. The view of the Government is Emerson’s view, that “the use of history is to give value' to the present hour and its duty". The duty of the present hour is to give a value to New' Zealand’s first centennial. To this end a National Centennial Historical Committee has been set up, and to this Committee has been entrusted the duty of selecting and classifying events of a strictly national character. Of these there are quite a number, all of W'hich have their interest not only in the past, but because of their reflected influence upon the present and the future. This however is not considered sufficient to meet ail the circumstances of the case, for there are many other events more local in their character and influence, but still worthy of recognition because of the place they occupy in the life of the local community. To bring these events into their proner perspective it has been decided to form Provincial Historical Committees, whose duty it will be to find out. what episodes in the history of their respective districts can fittingly be celebrated, and suggest how these celebrations can best be carried out. This. then, brines us to the business of the evening, for you have been invited here to form vourselves into the Wellington Provincial Historical Committee, which wil become a Sub-com-mittee of the National Centennial Historical Committee, acting in an advisory capacity to the main executive body. In constituting the Committee as at nresent proposed, the endeavour has been to make it representative of those gentlemen in our midst who might be supposed to have an intimate knowledge of the history of the Wellington Province, and of . others who are representative of institutions that came prominently into events accruing in 1840. I should, however, like at once to make it clear that, as constituted, the Committee need not necessarily be regarded as final, and that, subject to a reasonable limitation in numbers, if it is felt that others can with advantage be added to it, it will be our duty to give those further nominations due consideration. What we have to provide against is the setting un of a Committee that will become less effective because it is unwieldly. •

Now a word as to what we have to do. It has been suggested by the National Historical Committee that one of our first duties should be the selection and recommendation of: “Local celebrations commemorating in a particular locality an event, or events, which occurred there in 1840” In districts where no event of importance occurred in 1840, it is suggested that celebrations should be held in honour of the centennials generally. Fortunately we here in Wellington have no difficulty on that score, for 1840 was a year pregnant with incidents of vital importance to the province. I do not consider that our deliberations should be confined to the city of Wellington, but thought will have to be given to such districts as Wairarapa, Wanganui Kangitikei, and Manawatu. Whether it will be Ihe wisest of discussion, I have prepared a list of dates and events which have occurred to me as suitable fot commemoration. This list will be submitted to .you for consideration later in the evening. In the meantime I would like to make it clear that there is nothing arbitrary about any part of it. Other and better suggestions may be forthcoming; if so, let us have them, for what we want is the best. With regard to the and months mentioned, I have tried, as far as possible, to fix the date upon which the event occurred in 1840, but this might not always be exactly suitable in 1940. Some of these days may fall on a Sunday or on some other day that is locally inconvenient. If so, a reasonable adjustment can be made to meet the local circumstances without greatly violating historical sanctity, but so far as possible the actual anniversary should be observed. The general plan of my suggestions is to provide at least one celebration per month during the year 1940. In some cases this may not be a local event, for there are several national events that may cut across the provincial programmes. For instant, there are the dates on which the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, of which notice may have to be taken in a national sense, and the 16th November, the anniversary of the date of which the government of this country was separated from tnat of New South Wales, and New Zealand was given the status of an independent colony is another date that seems to fall into this category. With these points, however, we may not be able to deal finally to-night. We will require to know more of the general line of policy to be formulated by the National Historical Committee.-

In effepting whatever celebrations are finally agreed upon, I am in hopes that we will be greatly aided by the different organisations concerned ar-

ranging to hold the, annual conferences of their bodies in Wellington that year, and on that date. For instance, I have suggested that on the 6th January the Surveyors, Civil Engineers, architects, and buildeis should celebrate the beginning of the survey of the district, for we know from one of Captain Mein Smiths letters that on that day, in 1840, he and his staff commenced the reconnaissance of the south-east corner of the Hutt Valley. This, I take it, represented the first step in the first scientific lay-out of the district, and it would, I think, greatly strengthen the hands of the local surveyors, civil engineers, architects, and builders if they could induce their brother professionals and associates to come to a Wellington conference at that time, and to participate in their celebration of what was, not perhaps the first surveys in New Zealand, but the first surveys in this part of the Dominion, and the forerunner of the ordered settlement of the district. The same principle could be applied by all our other local organisations whose celebrations come within the ambit of 1940.

There are just two other points about this list that I would like to mention at the moment, in order to elucidate the position. To each of the major religious bodies in our community in the order in which their first services were held, I have given a place because 1 feel that we should not lose sight of the religious side of the Centennial, and all of these bodies find their appointed niche in the history of 1840.

I may be wrong, but ic has always impressed itself ( upon me that there is a striking analogy between the coming of the first colonists to Wellington and the gracious promise given to Isaac of old: “Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless the.” That British pluck and British perseverance had much to do with the ultimate success of the Wellington settlement is undoubted, but I cannot help feeling that this pluck and perseverance must have been largely fortified and sustained by a supreme faith such as Isaac had, and that in the midst of their manifold difficulties-—-for there were difficulties—many of these pioneers must have derived" great comfort and consoluation from the religious observances provided for them by their respective churches. To me, therefore, it seems not inappropriate that at a time such as this we should make an effort to recall and recover some of that simple trust which our forefathers reposed in the guidance of Him who never slumbers nor sleeps. The second point to which I would like to refer is that in the month of March I have provided for a “Women’s Week.” This date may not be entirely suitable, but, if not it can be adjusted, for it is not dependent upon any particular anniversary or other circumstance, except that a large number of women came by the '■hip “Adelaide” which arrived on the 7th March, 1840. I have suggested that during this week women’s conferences might be held, at which napers on the pioneer women of Wellington, and perhaps of the other provinces also, might be read. To me, one of the most impressive features about the colonisation of Wellington has always been the amazing courage and devotion of the women who came out to New Zealand in 1840. It may be a moot point whether in the marraige service any woman ever gave fp the word “obey” its full face value. It is sometimes thought that some of them reserve that for future consideration. But there can be no question that the pioneer women of New Zealand, and no less those of Wellington, did take seriously the words “for better or for worse,” and the devotion with which they followed their nusbands upon this great adventure and often sustained them in what seemed to be their darkest hour provides an example of womanly love and womanly fidelity which calls for nothing less that our unbounded admiration. Many of those were young and inexperienced women, brought, up in refined homes in, England, who virtually walked from the altar to the ship's side, and who. when they arrived here, had, without ..any period ot probabation. to adapt themselves to colonial conditions. With only tne most primitive conveniences and rude equipment, they had to learn to cook and to bake, to wash and to mend; to bear and rear their children in the midst of privations, wild alarms and almost every circumstance that could create a disquieting environment. While so engaged—sharing hardships with their husbands—they were ever working, contriving, helping to build up the fortunes of the family, and incidentally playing no small part in building up the stability of the colony.

The exercise of this benign influence, be it remembered, was something that was not confined to 1840. It has been going on modestly, unobtrusively, but none the less surely, for the past hundred years, furnishing this country with a manhood aricT a womanhood who for their manly and womanly dualities have alike strength ened the Dominion and enriched the Empire. I hope we will find oui- work congenial: and I am sure it will be if we make it so. I hope there will be developed. among us a spirit of toleration, of loyalty, of comradeship, with one object always clearly in view, namely, the success of Wellington’s centennial. To this end let us pool our knowledge, let us pool our patriotism so that- each one working in a common way for a common cause will .contribute his full quota towards the objective we to-night are .setting out to achieve.