THE CENTENNIAL

Grey River Argus, 10 December 1938, Page 2

THE CENTENNIAL

DATES PROPOSED For Celebrations HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS WELLINGTON, December 8. The period of the celebrations of New Zealand’s Centennial, apart from the Centennial Exhibition in Wellington, will commence on January 1, 1940, and. close on November 16 in the same year, according to a decision of the National Centennial Council at a meeting in Wellington to-day. The dates were recommended to the Government for adoption as national Centennial dates.. ,In the following list the name in parenthesis indicates the provincial authority responsible for organising the particular celebration: — Sunday, January 7, 1940—National thanksgiving day. January 22—Landing of first settlers of New Zealand Company at Petone (Wellington). January 29 and 30—Celebration of Hobson’s arrival in New Zealand (Auckland). February 6—Waitangi.

May 21—Proclamation of sovereignity over Stewart Island at Cloudy Bay (Marlborough). June 11—First exercise of sovereignty over the South Island at Aka roa October 9 —Cerebration of Cook’s first landing in New Zealand at Gisbourne (East Coast?. November 16 —One hundredth anniversary of the separation of New Zealand from New South Wales, a national holiday to conclude the Centennial (National Centennial Council). The recommendation for the holding of the national thanksgiving day on January 7 is subject to approval by church of all denominations. Consideration ig to be giyen later to a date for celebrating Abel Tasman’s discovery of New Zealand.

Auckland Pageant WELLINGTON, December 8. f 4n application by the Auckland Provincial Centennial Council for national status to be accorded Auckland’s proposed centennial procession and pageantry was declined by the National Centennial Council at its meeting in Wellington to-day. In support of its application, the Auckland council wrote: “The pivotal features of Auckland’s celebrations all of which have been planned on lines (without parallel in other centres, are its pageantry (both indoor and . outdoor) , and its monster procession, both of which are designed to portray faithfullv the outstanding events in New Zealand’s history. "Preliminary inquiries have established beyond "reasonable doubt that unless national status (divorced, of course, from a financial commitment by the Government by way of subsidy or grant) is accorded to the procession and pageantry it will be impracticable to stage either on lines commensurate with the importance of,the occasion. National organisations aq.d companies with headquarters in Wellington are not disposed to give or sponsor' floats in a procession which is purely provincial in character and the same impasse arises in the case of floats applied for from overseas With rea|pect to indoor pageantry the circumstances are almost parallel.” The Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) said that Auckland Was having what no doubt would be a very fine procession, but there might be equally fine processions in Christchurch and Dunedin. The council had

already given national status to certain dates. “We admire Auckland’s enterprise, but our good friends there seem to claim national status for nearly everything,” said the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr A, H. Allen). “I take my hat off to Auckland, but I do thing national events should btf distributed throughput the Dominion. Wellington as the capital is due for its share, and so are the South Island centres.” Mr K. L. Usmar, representing th? Mayor of Auckland, said that Auckland had ■ not applied for national status for dearly everything. The only application had been made for the procession and pageantry. The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr R. M. Macfarlane) said that he was concerned to see that firms supported their local centres. The Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) said that if there was going to be friction it would spell disaster and he would be called upon by the Government to explain why it had been permitted. Mr Hislop suggested that Auckland’s application in its present form should be withdrawn. Wellington and other centres would be having processions, but were not asking for national status for them. Mr Usmar: Unless we can get a decent representation from national organisations, Government departments, and governments overseas, we will be faced with the proposition of reconsidering the character of our whole programme and reorganising it on provincial lines. Mr .Parry said that he did not think that Auckland would lose anything if national status were not granted. After further discussion the following motion was’ carried: "That the function of this council with regard to questions of status is restricted to celebrations and not to the term? thereof, and as the application is in respect to a specific item, it be declined.” WELLINGTON, December'S. The Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry), who was present at a meeting of the National Centennial Council to-day, outlined the task undertaken by th© National Historical Committee. He said that the main series of surveys would. cover such important phases of national development as the initiation] of settlement, the creation of the ma-: chinery of Government, the establish*! ment of the farming industry, and the part played by the women throughout the course of New Zealand’s history. These would be supplemented by a rather more popular Series which would be largely pictorial, although each number would contain important historical essays on some phase of our history covering topics as as the whaling industry, the building of the transport system,. and housing. The most ambitious single publication would be the centenary atlas containing reproductions of the chants of Tasman and Cook, illustrations o.f Maori history, soil, and climate. Next in the list would be a dictionary of New Zealand biography. WELLINGTON, December 8.

The design of the "Centennial emblem will undergo an alteration because of an error pointed out by Sir Apirana Ngata. The artist has the entrance of a whare placed in the tn(idjdle, under the gabled front, whereas, Sir Apirana Ngata explained, Maori architects always Dlaced the entrance to one side.

National Song FORM OF MEMORIALS. WELLINGTON, December 8. The National Centennial Council, at its meeting in Wellington to-day outlined in general terms the procedure to be followed for the. adoption of Centennial memorial proposals. It was agreed that the nature of

the memorials should in the first place be approved by the provincial council concerned, but that such memorials should be worthy of the occasion and some feature should appropriately record the fact that the memorial was a Centennial memorial: that every such, application should be accompanied by a sketch of the design and an estimate of the cost; that all applications for final approval by the national council should be submitted by.provincial councils not later than March, 1939, and that approved historical publications, scholarships, or other permanent educational endowments would be considered as memorials. - - The Minister for Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E Parry), who attended the meeting, said that the impression that the marking of the Centenary by celebrations and memorials was a matter solely for local bodies, was erroneous. It was the desire of the Government that the celebrations should be associated with the observances, and that, as far as possible, every individual should be given the opportunity of subscribing to the Centenary Fund. The council recommended to the Government the adoption of Thomas Bracken’s “God Defend New Zealand” as the Dominion’s national song. It was also of the unanimous opinion that the national song should be sung after “God Save the King.”