The Matamata Record (Published Monday and Thursday) MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1939. ANZAC DAY

Matamata Record, Volume XX, Issue 2028, 24 April 1939, Page 4

The Matamata Record (Published Monday and Thursday) MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1939. ANZAC DAY

ANZAC Day will die out! This statement is somewhat frequently heard. It is voiced generally by no one in particular, but persists nevertheless. The supporting argument is mostly confined to such remarks as “ Trafalgar Day is now forgotten and Anzac Day will suffer the same fate.” This statement, however, is but a specious one. The battle of Tralagar was fought 133 years ago; in the Mother Country it is still celebrated to some extent, but undoubtedly, even if observance has fallen off somewhat, the spirit still lives on, having now become incorporated in the character of the nation, largely through that very observance. ‘ Coupled, with the critics are those who urge that Anzac Day should be celebrated on the nearest Sunday. This plea is frankly materialistic in outlook, the objection being to thd.’ break in the continuity of the working week, which in many cases involves extra costs. These two opinions are not as yet very widely held, yet they are oft-repeated. On the other hand stands quite a solid opinion, which so far has supported the uncompromising stand on this question by the Dominion Council of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, which meets annually, and is composed of delegates from every branch in New Zealand. At successive conferences an overwhelming majority of delegates has stood by the original Act, which was designed to make Anzac Day a holy day (as distinct from a holiday in the legal sense) in remembrance of the supreme sacrifice made by New Zealanders on all fronts during the Great War. The date of Apiril £5, was chosen simply because oii that day New Zealanders were; first “blooded” at Gallipoli. So far there has been no great clash between the two opinions; . there is not likely to be one.

Anzac Day stands for something far above mere materialism. .. In reality it commemorates the greatest of all sacrifices—that he laid down his life for another—in a war which was to end war. There may have been much disillusionment in regard to “war to end war,” but it does not affect the degree, of sacrifice, though it should serve to spur all peace-loving minds to greater energies in the cause of Peace. It was to perpetuate the supreme sacrifices made by New Zealanders in the cause of Freedom and Peace that Anzac Day was instituted, and its celebration each year serves to inculcate in the minds of all, especially the younger generation, those ideals without which no nation can become truly great. A date may possibly, over a century of time, lose some of its great lustre, but it will be a sad day for a people if during that process the essential meaning of such a date as Anzac Day, has not become moulded into the character of that people. It is because of this belief that Anzac Day is becoming more widely observed than ever, in spite of statements to •fche contrary, and because of this belief, if it survives, “ their name shall live for ever more.” jVel! may the poet write: — I tell you they have not died, Their hands clasp yours and mine, They are now hut glorified. And well may the reply come:— At the goin& down of the sun,, and in the morning, We will remember them.