A New Y.M.C.A

Hutt News, Volume 18, Issue 10, 6 August 1941, Page 5

A New Y.M.C.A

, y.,, „ , WORK OP THIS Y.M.C.A* IN LOWER HUTT , BIRCH STREET HALL i DEDICATED Seven years ago the Hutt Valley Y.M.C.A. was established in Petone with a membership of 200, its home being the Memorial Hut made possible from monieß subscribed by the soldiers of the Army of Occupation in Germany after the, last war. Since 1934 the membership of the Hutt Valley organisation has grown to over 800. .On Thursday last the dedication of another building took place, when • the Birch Street Hall, near the, Waterloo Station, was formally set apart by the president of the National Council of Y.M.C.A.'s, Mr. C. R. Edmond, for the characterbuilding work of the Y.M.C.A., and declared open by the Acting Prime Minister, the Hon. Water Nash. Mr. W. Carey, president of the Hutt Valley Y.MC.A., who presided, detailed the steps taken to acquire the property at a. purchase price of £1300, and pointed out that valuations set the prics at a figure nearer £2100. Approximately £300 had been raised through straight-out gifts from the Sargood Trust (Mr. D. A. Ewen), Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Andrews, Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Kersley, and a number of other donors, notably the Waterloo Branch of the Ladies' Auxiliary, of which Mrs. Andrews was president. In the absence of the Mayor through illness, Mrs. Andrews spoke of the value of the Y.M.C.A. in counteracting juvenile delinquency, and invited residents to invest their money in the Y.M.C.A., which provided a gilt-edged security and a return in the character of the men of the future. Mr. C. R. Edmond, national president, who represented the Y.M.C.A. overseas during the Great War, spoke of the work of the Y.M.C.A. then and during the present conflict. He read a cable from General Freyberg, thanking the Y.M.C.A. for its work in Greece, Crete, and at the base in Egypt. The organisation had 14 secretaries on service with the soldiers, four of whom were missing from Greece and Crete. The Y.M.C.A. was also doing a splendid work in the prison camps throughout Europe.

The Rev. J. Thomson Macky pronounced the dedicatory prayer, and the Lower Hutt League of Mothers' choir sang the dedicatory anthem.

Dr. W. A. Riddell, High Commissioner for Canada, spoke interestingly of the work of estabishing the Y.M.C.A. in various countries in Europe. Among the great leaders of the movement was Mr. D. A. Davis, he said, who was performing a great service among the prisoners

of war in Germany and elsewhere,

Mr. C. L. Cato, the local general secretary, explained that the names of the initial donors and the foandation members would be inscribed on a charter roll.

Hon. Walter Nash, who had been delayed by his Pariamentary duties, thanked the Y.M.C.A. for its work in Public Works Department camps, where it had created a better spirit and more home-like conditions, tie also quoted the testimony of MajorGeneral Freyberg, to the work being done for the soldiers. He then declared the new Y.M.C.A. open. A delightful programme of musical and elocutionary items, arranged by Mrs. J, W. Andrews, was then given. The singing of the League of Mothers' Choir, under the baton of Mrs. H. Barron, was geratly appreciated, and the solo by Mrs. Wilfred Andrews was loudly applauded and an encore keenly desired.

A splendidly balanced instrumental trio, with Mrs. E. F. Rothwell (violin), Mrs. K. Caverhill (piano), and Mr. J. Palmer ('cello), supplied a really fine rendering of "Three Fours" by Coleridge-Taylor.

A musical monologue by Mrs. Theo Hils was warmly encored, and a song by Mr. K. Sharp was greatly appreciated.

■ The setting of the stage had been very artistically arranged by Mrs. H. Seddon Hills and the members of the decorative committee, and the supper committee of the Ladies' Auxiliary, under Mrs. N. Langham, provided a tasty supper for the guests of the association.