RELICS OF PAST AGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21716, 3 February 1934, Page 12

RELICS OF PAST AGE

TREASURES FROM YPRES RETURN TO OLD NICHE In the offices of the Belgian Consul in Melbourne are two quaintly-carved oak figures, brought as souvenirs in the Great War from the ruined Cathedral of Saint-Martin at Ypres. and now, restored by some unknown soldier who had brought them overseas, soon to be replaced in the niche from which for so many centuries they have watched the march of history. What little dramas and big tragedies had those figures known since the cathedral was started in 1221. They knew Ypres when, in the 34th century, it rivalled Bruges and Ghent, and, one of the most important manufacturing towns in Flanders, boasted a population of 200,000, and 4000 looms. They had seen it gradually dwindle to only 17,000 inhabitants, with the famous Gothic Cloth Hall the sole remnant of its once flourishing industry. * And then, 600 years later, came the ruthless invasion that destroyed the famous Cloth Hall, and even shattered the beloved cathedral, whose treasures were scattered far and wide. The Consul, Mr. R. Vanderkelen, will take the statues back to Ypres with him shortly.