WESTPORT LABOUR PARTY

Grey River Argus, 18 March 1942, Page 7

WESTPORT LABOUR PARTY

annual report. At the recent annual meeting of the Westport Labour Party, the following report by the president was unanimously endorsed:—“l desire to express sincere thanks to all members who in many ways displayed their goodwill and co-operation throughout the year. I also wish to sound an appreciative note regarding our officers and executive members, who on all occasions rose to the ’call when anything of importance was to be considered, and cairied out their duties in an efficient manner. To extend a special word of praise to our Ladies’ Social Committee, and to all members, is hardly a fitting tribute for the service that has been rendered by this section. Nevertheless, in the absence of anything of a more tangible nature l°t these members be assured that the Branch considers itself fortunate indeed in having such .earnest workers to carry on the business side of our activities. Although for various reasons, the principal of which is attributable to the exigency of war, our membership is not so great as it has been in previous years, still, taking into consideration the amount of attention to .be given to the effort to overcome the enemy forces, and the fact that so many of both sexes have gone from our shores for this purpose, perhaps there is little to complain about.

The financial affairs of the Branch no doubt will compare favourably with previous years.

The annual meeting of the Buller L.R'.C. is to take place on March 21st. It is with extreme pleasure I learn that in spite of other reports three of our prominent members have been nominated for official positions on that body, namely: C. Curtin, for president; J. Adams, for vicepresident; and A. Ridsdale, for secretary. All have been nominated for the respective positions on behalf of the Westport Waterside Workers’ Union, Westport Branch of the New Zealand Labour Party, General Labourers’ Union and the local Branch of the New Zealand Workers’ Union. Further, our secretary,A. Ridsdale, has also been nominated by the local Branch of the A.S.R.S. as secretary to the Buller L.R.C. As the members present know, particularly those who have had association with the movement in the past, these three members have rendered consistent and valuable service to labourers’ cause for a considerable time. Con Curtin, who has been nominated by so many local affiliations, has had more than a quarter of a century’s association with the movement, and was at one time asked to stand as a candidate for a Parliamentary Labour seat. Jim Adams, as you all are aware, at the present time, and also when times were not so rosy for Labour adherents, as at the present, stuck to our party through thick and thin, and any task, menial or otherwise, was always accepted by him as a duty and with a smile. Alf Ridsdale, who is now secretary to this Branch, has been a stalwart through the years. By the way, I happened to come across a Social Democratic Party ticket recently, dated 1914, with Alf’s name on it as a token of membership, showing that he was at that time—and I know before that—a staunch upholder of Labour’s principles. He is now, by election from the Labour raffics, a member of the Westport Borough Council, and Technical High School Board, and is always to the forefront in sport or other activity that will tend to forward Labour’s objective. Much more could be said of the qualities of these individuals but the time of the meeting is limited so therefore let us take this very much shortened statement as a recommendation, and add to their rewhich have to be overcome by those who have been in a similar position at the time when the going was not so easy or the movement so popular.

In conclusion, let us earnestly hope and work for the time when the war clouds have vanished and Labour can proceed uninterruptedly to establish the goal of goodwill on earth. The meeting decided by- an unanimous vote that this report should be published.