RETURN OF THE CADETS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15132, 24 October 1912, Page 9

RETURN OF THE CADETS

a cfIEDITTO NEW ZEALAND. :' AUCKLAND'S WELCOME. . A -PARADE AND RECEPTION. MrAa enthusiasm was, displayed by the "-' TfoeVof Auckland yesterday, in connec- -' : iW with the return of the New, Zealand • ' - Let cdhtiDgent from the Empire cadet ' '" lirnival' in Canada. * V The, cadets' disembarked from the -';■; - Zcalandia at 10.50 o'clock, and 1 ' rt w& alert, formed up on the:.wharf, -.; Lfth true military precision. A; few pre- - linrnary movements; and the contingent, • aci J fltJ crecfc and soldierly, marched to ;.; of the wharf. Here were asscm- ' ' Mcd some 500 Grammar School cadets, : under Major Gamble; 165 King's College % cadete> under Major Stuckey ; and 44 «>ab ' ' College cadets, under Captain ■ Wfllfe. Headed by the regimental '. n d, ind with the returned contingent .;„ the van, the whole body of cadets .''-. 'jpa'gchtd up Quoe<ii-stre«t: to the" Town. .'".'' a jj, The sight was a fine one. The lads '' - ' fully'' -entered into the spirit of the occasion,' and marched with a steadiness, K \i<l rhythmical swing which would have | ; «;ne *° seasoned veterans..', ■ r '.-,--; "There ' was a large gathering in the j - 'id Town Hmli at the civic reception, accorded j \to the " cadets, and tho proceedings i :" Jtbronghoj-lt were of 'a most enthusiastic ■';. " satire. '■; ■ ■ '.'..■■.- ' ■'.' . : .] V' ' The Mayor'presided, and there were also i "■ -'• on thepititform Dr. W. C. W. McDowell, .' '. Lieiitenadti-Colonol W. H. Parkes, P.M.0., j ■' ofAucklaii id district, Mr. R. T. Michaels, "! fe«d all he members of tho Education jiiettd. , ' - . /', " - Linking up the Empire. i^-'\ After the cadets had been lustily cheered •at the call the Mayor, His Worship ex- ' plained thai' the citizens had met to extend '-■'"'■* welcome itome to the lads who had done such valiant things in competition with : the selected' cadets of the Empire. (Ap- • jjlaase.) Tibe New Zealanders : had ; been *irst~in the. rifle exercises, i first in marchI ■"'"• -'ing, fet hi general appearance, fourth hit . shooting, fii«t in physical exercises, and : first in the tug-o-war.; ; (Applause and sheers.) It <was extremely gratifying that J the Govemor-G'eneijal of Canada had expressed bis high appreciation of the marchj ing, general \appearaiice, and the general '",'■ <ondact of tthe New Zealanders. • (Applause.) -He desired, on behalf of, the -. • citizens of Auckland, to express appreciation of the generosity of the Canadian {Government ..to the cadets.' He referred i • t<i the excellent conduct of the lads, stat- ■'.:,■; iiig that young New Zealanders eouhi - always be trusted, to conduct themselves ; walL Such tours, concluded the Mayor, /would do moije than any treaties to link v '. up the Empire of which New Zealanders "y were so proud 'to form 'a- part-. V (Prolonged applause-) " ?/ 'A Record to '' be Proud , Of. /. ■ Mr. G. Elliott, president of the Auck.',land Chamber of Commerce, said '•/; that When the New Zealanders went to Canada, >' ; :no one would have believed that they would '-' be as successfxil as they had been. The ' citizens were delighted at the way : in : which their lads had held their; own in ;./ competition with their fellow cadets^from / other: parts of the Empire. fApplaure.) ■■'•/•'•Mr. G. J. Garland, chairman of the - Auckland Education Board, t»at it -* : was a great pleasure for the members of ' the Board to be present at ; that'function : .to extend a 'hearty welcome back/to the boys.- ' - ■y- ' ,J Mr. R. T. Tndehope, a member ; of the '■"/. City Council, said that as. a; NewSZea- . lander, he was very proud of what the ,' New Zealanders had done. - 'Canadian Ooanmissioner's Praise. Mr. W. A. Beddoe, Canadian Trade : •3: Commissioner, said that he was glad to. - ; come forward to assist in the celebration . : of. the "licking" the New Zealanders had ; given to the hoys of his own country* -/ (Laughter.) Not only had the New Zfea-■-■a landers- beaten bis ; own country men, but they had beaten every other competitor , who had come • along. The" visitors had won their laurels honourably,; and'he had /not heard a single whisper te» suggest that any of the New ZeaJanders.had dooolanj^ . - thing to bring disgrace Ma country. It .'was hot so long ago whea the mtesrenange r "of visits was impossible, but now that ; facilities in transportafeai had 'been im- ' J 'proved it was it© be hopel that many, more / f would . follow the example set or them. , Colonel Logan Gratified,

;.fe- - Colonel Login,. the, officer commanding 'the district, said that he. was pleased to "welcome back Captain FuHarton and the ': cadets. He expressed ■ the opinion 'that : much of'the success of the New Zealandero f,bad been due to their discipline while in New Zealand, and he expressed ' : ; the hope that they would persevere in • ; their training and become officers :in the territorials, or in the senior cadets, which was even more important. ;' ; / f ;%,!;:> A Magnificent Display. \ The'display •of physical drill and. rifle •exercises given by the cadets at the con- ••: elusion of the reception called forth tutrestrained applause'from the spectators. .VThe rifle drill, performed under Cadet K. .;■■•; ; W. Commons, was carried out with clock- • work precision, and was as-well-nigh per- : feet as -was" possible. Even this fine dis- ;;, play, however, was eclipsed by the boys*, splendid exhibition of physical drill, given • ; under the 'command of Cadet O. S. Ellis. Again and again their performance evoked M rounds of applause. Whilst in Toronto the ? Now Zealand contingent succeeded in -''■winning the physical drill competition by $§the- narrow margin of one point from the ";:■ Mount St. Louis team. The latter team ': has travelled through Europe giving exi I; hibitions of physical drill, and the fact of the -New Zealand cadets defeating such ■fvredoubtable opponents makes their victory ■:V all the more meritorious. -;• During the afternoon the cadets were '■shown over the Colonial Ammunition Company's factory, and took great interest in - tfie - works. This morning they will be ?: .riven the opportunity of inspecting Fort .: Cautley. while in the afternoon they will ...attend the King's College sports, j To- ; morrow the cadets leave for Hamilton, where they will give a- display of rifle exer- • cises arid physical drill the same after- ; noon. On Saturday the lads will be taken on a visit to the Government experimental . farm at Pttiakura, while on Sunday they will probably be taken for a drive to Cam- ;': bridge. The contingent will leave Hamil- . ton on Monday night for Palmerston North, and wilf then proceed to Wanga--.ruai. Wellington will be reached on No- • vember 6, and here the cadets will give a joint display with the Vancouver cadet ] contingent. 'From Wellington-the lads will j : : . proceed South, and then dismiss.: J

IMPRESSIONS OF THE TOTJE.

L " : '-*""' - , "THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES." >'."' The New Zealand cadets, who have just >•;• returned from their tour through the Dominion of Canada, are full of reminiscences £> of their trip"the. time of their lives," i; as one of thorn put it. The part that was £,'least'appreciated was the time spent in :2, training in Wellington prior to their departure. That was the "dry bread," the ■"•. "jam" was to follow. . Nominally, the cadets were supposed to 'F;? o .' a certain amount of. work during -the ~:> trip to make up for lost school hours, but • beyond an hour or two daily on board ship,. ' ; ; little was done in this respect, as their time was otherwise fullv occupied : •when on land. . ; .'■'■ % ; ■ When they reached Vancouver the ■ Relets went direct to Toronto by the ■Radian-Pacific express. . : Hero \ they ll> 6n L more than a fortnight encamped in *«e .Exhibition grounds. The Exhibition . fttnek them as the finest show they had ■!.fW-.'«een.. Each cadet had two nights a , ,%w>; fre ° to wander, round the exhibits,

for which they had free passes. t It was: at Toronto that they were victorious in all the - competitions entered for, except the shooting, in which they were fourth ont of 19 competing teams. 'No less than 14 cups have been brought back as trophies of their achievements. ' A medal was to have been presented for a boxing contest, but it was cancelled at the last moment. "Another prize lost for New Zealand," remarked one of the lads. - vAfter leaving Toronto . the ~ victorious cadets journeyed back to Vancouver _by easy stages. They <• stopped At various laces en route, giving military displays. On this return journey they had special trains and lived in the cars on _ sidings, sleeping and having their meals in them. The place where they seemed to have- enjoyed themselves most was at Banff, in the Rocky Mountains. Here they indulged in glacier-climbing, and much appreciated j a natural hot sulphur swimming bath set amid ice and snow. •> ; : # ■ The cadets all seemed struck with ; the vastness of the Dominion of Canada, and the sky-scrapers and huge granaries were a revelation to them. There was no disappointment over the Niagara Falls, which | were visited while at Toronto. .' Most' of ! the cadets were more than amazed at the ! wonderful spectacle. ; . '• The general, consensus of opinion among the cadets is that New Zealand is preferable to Canada, and all are glad to be back again, although they do not relish the idea' of settling' down again, to the ordinary routine of school life, which will be their -lot after they have toured the North Island. They have all returned laden - with many curios and photographs from the places they visited, and all have treasured experiences that- will remain with them for many a. long day. A SERIES OP SUCCESSES. ■ TWO CASES OF TROPHIES. ' Interviewed yesterday by a Herald representative, Captain G. J. Fullarton,:the officer who had change of the New Zealand cadet contingent during its- visit to Canada,, stated that everywhere they were treated) with the utmost hospitality. After a good passage, the boys being taken regularly at drill jind ; school work on r board, the contingent landed fit. and well at Vancouver. Tho cadets then proceeded direct to Ontario, at which city there were also contingents from the different provinces of Canada, and from England, Ireland, Scotland, Newfoundland, r and Australia, The Thursday following their arrival, the New Zealand cadets competed in a shooting contest, but only succeeded in' gaining fourth place. The conditions were quite different from those obtaining in New Zealand, and tho lads had only on© ' practice under the new conditions.-. In the other competitions, the : contingent proved singularly successful, winning the rifle exercise?, tug-o'-war, and marching contest, and! securing; most points for general appearance. % Each evening tho ■ various cadet contingents appeared before tho public in a grand night march, which, said Captain Fullarfcon, was a most impressive spectacle. The New Zealand squad left Toronto on September 9 for Vancouver, accompanied by the English, Irish, Scotch, and Australian contingents. . The journey was broken at Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Banff, Laggan, and Glacier. The return voyage commenced on October 2, and a splendid passago was experienced. V- At Toronto, one of the New ; Zealand contingent was sent to the hospital, it being thought that, he was suffering' from typhoid. He proved to be merely suffering from slight ptomaine poisoning. Another boy went to the hospital at , Vancouver, , with, a bad ear, but returned with, the contingent.. One boy contracted pneumonia and had to be sent to the Vancouver hospital, but will be sufficiently recovered to return by the next boat. ; : During the visit, the boys displayed the greatest enthusiasm, and were all very keen to bring Zealand , out ; on : top. Everywhere one heard remarks about tee splendid behaviour and gentlemanly demeanour of the New Zealand boys. Tho trophies won by the contingent during the tour fill two oases. • - J'-. ; "'■•-' Hr OTHEE CONTINGENTS. CANADIANS IN THE SOUTH. [BY- craaa»BiiH.~-raEss ASSOCIATION.] DtrUEDHf, Wednesday. '! The Canadian cadets arrived in Dunedm to-night, and! were welcomed by cadets and ; bands numbering: about * 1300. The visitors proceeded to the Town Hall, where aa official reception, was extended to them by the Mayor., ' >TH2S AUSTRALIAN SQUAD, I The Australian cadet contingent, which attended the Toronto tournament in charge of Warrant-Officer Hart, also returned by the Zealandia* The boys, 13 in number, did not participate in the cadet march yesterday. They went on to Sydney by the Zealandia yesterday , afternoon.