TRAFALGAR ANNIVERSARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18585, 18 December 1923, Page 12

TRAFALGAR ANNIVERSARY.

OBSERVANCE IN LONDON. NEW ZEALAND ' TRIBUTES. [from our OWN correspondent. ] LONDON, Oct. £10. Trafalgar Day this year fell on a Sunday, biyt on the Saturday morning the floral tributes were in placo round the baso of the Nelson Column. For several years past the public havo viewed these decorations with a dismal fog dulling the effect. On Saturday, however, the sun was sMning brightly. For some reiiaon the decorations were more elaborate than usual, and a brave sight was presented to the many thousands of people who passed' through Trafalgar Square. As usual, green garlands were hung around the necks of the .Landseer Lions { and carried up to th© base of the final column. Growing shrubs decorated the plinth itself. But around the base of the monument the contributed trophies were on a very beautiful and elaborate scale. This recrudescence may bo attributable to the new lease of life that the Navy League itself has recently acquired, or it may be a reflection of the renewed interest Britons are taking in their defence. On the southern side the Navy Leagues of Bristol, Quebec, Norfolk, Norwich, Canterbury, and Newfoundland were represented by handsome wreaths. But, in ,the midst of these, one from the " Government and People of New Zealand held a place of honour. It was a circle, some five feet in diameter, composed of large white chrysanthemums edged with ferns. From the top there hung a large bouquet of chrysanthemums, interspersed with bay leaves, with an autumn tint, large red berries, and beautiful red flowers, whose name even the gardener present could not j reveal. , . There is always considerable interest taken in the wreath that comes from Wellington in a block of ice. This year the flowers and shrubs were picked in February. Not since the war have they arrived in such a remarkably pood condition. The ice was perfectly clear, and the flowers and foliage could be seen without difficulty. New Zealanders * here would bo pleased thatr ? save -i;or a few leaves of oak—appropriately chosen the plants ' were natives. The red rata, the karaka berries, the little white flowers of the manuka, rimu leaves, and half a dozen other familiar shrub#,, ferns, and moss that grow in well-remembered valleys* fresh almost as the 1 day they left their native -bash, Bear a very kindly message to exiles in London. On the western face of the monument was the tribute of the headquarters of the Navy League, the largest and most imposing. .and flanking it were .those from H3I.S. Repulse, Malaya, Valiant, Emperor, Curacoa, and Iron Duke, Cardiff, Warspite and Hood. And here and there was a more personal • toucha small wreath or a bunch of flowers from descendants of those who fought at Trafalgar.