A NOTABLE RESPONSE

Northern Advocate, 28 October 1935, Page 4

A NOTABLE RESPONSE

The effort successfully made yesterday to recover the body of the little girl who disappeared from a neighbour’s farm in the Waiotu district on the previous Sunday was a moving exemplification of the manner in which the human heart responds to the cry of distress. Throughout the whole week, the people of the surrounding district worked hard and earnestly in their endeavour to solve the mystery of the child’s disappearance, and the fact that at least some of them passed within a short distance of where the little body was eventually found, adds poignancy to the arduousness of the searchers’ selfimposed task. Yesterday, in a determined effort to cover a large area of territory, some 700 to 800 people assembled. They came from all parts of the country, some hailing from as far north as Victoria Valley, and others from as far south as Whangarei Heads, while the town of Wha-

ngarei itself provided a considerable contingent. Many of tbe searchers were repeating the efforts they had exerted during the week. The gathering constituted a remarkable response to an appeal made by Mr G. Martin, the Otonga Riding member of the Whangarei County Council, and, at the same time, it was a striking demonstration of neighbourliness. The discovery of the body, inexpressibly siad Girough the circumstances of the child s death are, must solace the gnet of the sorely bereaved parents and relatives, and, at the same time, bring comfort to. those m whose charge the little one was at the time of her disappearance. The settlers of the district rose nobly to the requirements of a sad occasion, and, in a very real sense, proved that the spirit, -of practical sympathy which marked the pioneers of the North in their relationships with one another is still strong' and unshaken. Life may be mostly froth and bubble, but, as Adam Lindsay Gordon says, . ■ '■ Two things stand' like stone : Kindness in another’s trouble. Courage in your own. This, was ; true of the -pioneers; that it is true of the present generation has been demonstrated | during the past week; .