A WARM WELCOME

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 10 September 1941, Page 7

A WARM WELCOME

FUNCTION ON BOARD TRIBUTE TO SHIP’S STAFF “MAKING IT SNAPPY” During the function on board the ship, the chairman of the Wellington Harbour Board, Mr W. H. Price, extended a very warm welcome to the returned men and ship’s personnel on behalf of the board. Everyone, he said, was grateful to the commodore for bringing back the men safely. The use of the ship was an excellent gesture on the part of the Netherlands Government, and it made stronger still the ties between that empire and the British Empire. No doubt the men were very sorry to leave their comrades behind, but he hoped they would soon be restored to health and able once again to follow their usual vocations. MR NASH’S SPEECH The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Nash), welcoming the men for the Government, thanked them for what they had done overseas. He had been told by one man as he entered the lounge to “make it snappy,” and he would start by thanking the Queen of the Netherlands and the Netherlands Government for the magnificent gift of the ship to Australia and New Zealand. He had received a message the day before from Major-General Frey berg, saying that the boys left behind were in magnificent fettle and feeling happier than they had been for a long time. The Government would see the returned men back into their home lives as soon as possible, and all would work to see that the liberties the men overseas were fighting to preserve would be stronger than ever when they came back. The Mayor of Wellington (Mr T. C. A. Hislop) welcomed particularly the personnel of the ship. Speaking to the soldiers, he expressed the hope that most of them would lie fit again soon to carry on the job. The president of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, Mr W. Perry, M.L.C., said the old Digger of the last war did a lot of digging in various parts of the world, and from what he had heard the Digger of today had also done a lot of hard digging in Greece and Crete. The association would give all the assistance possible to put the returned men of ' the present war on the right road in the lives they were about to resume. In their home towns representatives of the Returned Soldiers’ Association would be waiting to give that help. The Minister of Defence (Mr Jones) thanked the men for the service they had given, the reputation they had earned, and the manner in which they had maintained the traditions of the men who had fought for New Zealand in the past. The people of the Dominion did appreciate the work that had been done in Greece, Crete, and Libya, and he hoped it would not be long before the men would be able to take their places in the economic life of the community. He thanked the Netherlands Government for its | splendid gift, and good wishes went out i to the Queen of the Netheidands, with i the wish that she might long be j spared to reign over a reunited race. FIGHTING SAME ENEMY ! Commodore Potjer, captain of the j ship, replied on behalf of the | personnel. It had been a great pleasj ure to do everything for the comfort ! of the soldiers; they were fighting the same enemy, the enemy who had invaded Holland. It was the vessel’s first voyage as a hospital ship, and its success had been due to the excellent co-operation of all concerned. Colonel Gerard, chief medical officer, said good-bye to the men, and hoped they would always remember, as the personnel would, the happy days they had spent together on the ship. It had been an easy passage. Matron Helena Drielsma spoke briefly. Sir Apirana Ngata said he welcomed the men back to what they used to call “God’s own country,” and thanked on behalf of the Maori race, the Queen and Government of the Netherlands for placing the ship at the disposal of Australian and New Zealand sick and wounded. He than spoke in Maori, and closed with a popular haka, in which some of the men joined. Cheers were given for the personnel of the ship and the Queen of the Netherlands, and soon afterwards, in honour of Queen Wilhelmina, the Netherlands national anthem was played.