HISTORIC EVENT

Grey River Argus, 27 November 1942, Page 2

HISTORIC EVENT

TASMAN TERCENTENARY Netherlands Delegation Coming

(Special to Argus) WELLINGTON, Nov. 25 Sunday December 13, will be the three-hundreth anniversary of the discovery of New Zealand oy the Ducth explorer, Abel Inis notable occasion in New Zealand’s history will be marked bv a visit from a Netherlands delegation led by Mr. Charles van der Plas as personal representatives of Her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina. A memorial will be unveiled on the coastline near. Takaka to mark Tasman’s nearest approach to land, and at Torrent Bay a national park of some 38,000 acres beaming Tasman’s name will be dedicated bv his Excellency the GovernorGeneral Sir Cyril Newall, and a special commemorative booklet will be issued. ' An outline of the arrangements was piven to-dav by the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. P. Fraser). The Prime Minister said that the Question of fittingly celebrating the Tasman tercentennial had been under consideration since as far bad: as June 1938. It had been kept in mind during the nreparations for and the celebration of New Zealand’s centennial in 1940, and had the war not broken out the Netherlands’connection with New Zealand would have been recognised by a gift to Holland, the gift contemplated at that time being .an engraved stone from the Golden Bay district, suitably inscribed, for dispatch to Tasman’s home town in Holland. Since the New Zealand centennial celebrations concluded, arrangements for the Tasman tercentennial celebrations had steadily progressed, and so far from Japan’s entry into the war in any way leading to the curtailment of them, the Government had felt that the increasingly close co-ooeration between oui' own and the Netherland’s people in the Pacific gave an added incentive to carrying out the celebrations on a fitting scale. “The Government,” continued the Prime Minister, “accordinglv conveyed an invitation to the Netherlands Government, through the /Consul of the Netherlands in New Zealand (Mr. M. F. Vigeveno) tQ be represented by a delegation at the celebrations. A reply wgs received recently that her Majesty Queen Wilhemina had been pleased to accent the invitation: that a delegation representing the Netherlands Government would come to New Zealand from Australia headed bv Mr. van de Plas, President of the Netherlands Indies Commision for Australia and New Zealand who would also act as her Majesty’s personal representative, and that her Maiestv would be pleased to send a personal message to New Zealand on the occasion of the anniversary. The delegation, which will also officially include the Consul of the Netherlands in New Zealand, will arrive earlv in December

TWO MEMORIALS. “The first function of the celebrations will be a State luncheon in honour of the delegation and this yill be given in Wellington on December 9. To mark the tercentennial permanently, the Government has decided upon two memorials. The first is a simply designed but strikingly effective memorial at Tarakohe to mark Tasman’s closest approach to land. The most suitable place for this memorial, after very full investigation ,was found to be on the land owned by the Golden Bav Cement Company. The company most generously is giving the site of the actual memorial and also an appropiate surrounding area to be set aside for all time as a reserve under the Scenery Preservation Act In addition the company! is giving all the cement required in the, construction of the memorial

“The Government has also set aside in th e Totaranui and Kaiteriteri survey districts of Tasman Bay

an area of 38,000 acres of Crown land, provisional State forest, and other land for the purpose of constituting an Abel Tasman National Park. Also the Department of Internal Affairs will issue a small but handsomely produced booklet commemorative of the occasion.

THE CELEBRATIONS. “The actual celebrations, following on the State Luncheon in Wellington, will comprise a function at Okarito o n December 12 near the memorial erected by the people of Westland in 1940 in connection with the New Zealand centennial celebrations. I wish here to pay a special tribute to the Westland County Council for its initiative and public spirit in proceeding to make arrangements to hold this special function before it was actually aware of the Government’s intention to celebrate the Tasman tercentennial. It has given the Government very great pleasure to accord the function the status of a national celebration. On Friday, December 18, the unveiling will take place of the Tasman Memorial at Tarakohe. and, on Saturday;, December 19, the celebrations will culminate with the ofli-.. cial opening at Torrent Bay of the Abel Tasman National Park b v His Excellency the Governor-General Sir Cyril Newall. The Prime Minister added, that a suitable itinerary had been arranged to enable the distinguished Netherlands visitors to see pract.ic.aUy the whole of the beautiful Wesit Coast and Nelson country. Full particulars of the itinerary and of incidental functions and civic reception s would be announced later. The delegation will be accompanied during its visit, to New Zealand by the Hon.. W. E. Parry, Minister of Internal Affairs.