ANZAC DAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 16

ANZAC DAY

NATIONAL OBSERVANCE TO-MORROW'S CEREMONIES MANY SERVICES ARRANGED TOWN HALL AND CENOTAPH Although it will he 21 years tomorrow since the landing of tho Now Zealand troops at Gallipoli, the passing of time has not dimmed the significance of Anzac Day, which falls each \'ear on the anniversary of this historic event. It has rather acquired a wider significance as a solemn day of remembrance of the sacrifices o): Now Zealand men on the widespread battlefields of tho war, and in this spirit it will be observed in city, town and country, throughout the Dominion to-morrow. The principal ceremonies in Auckland will be held at the Town Hall in the morning and at the Cenotaph in front of the War Memorial Museum in the afternoon. The Mayor, Mr. Ernest Dnvis, will preside at the Town Hall service, which will be conducted bj' Archbishop Averill, Archdeacon G. MacMurray, the Rev. J. A. Thomson and the Rev. H. K. Vickery. Seats will be reserved for next-of-kin holding tickets until 110.45, when the public will be admitted. A portion of the ground floor of the hall has been reserved for returned soldiers, their wives and children, and for veterans. The service will begin at 11 o'clock. Parade of Ex-Servicemen Ex-servicemen in mufti, wearing medals and decorations, will assemble for the Cenotaph ceremony at two o'clock to-morrow afternoon in Grafton Road above tho junction of Park Road. The parade, which will be under the command of Colonel C. R. Spragg, with Captain D. Glanfield as adjutant, will march to the Domain headed by the band of the Ist Battalion, Auckland Regiment. Then will follow by units, representatives of the various New Zealand and overseas naval and military forces, the Royal Air Force, veterans, and the merchant service, while the Congress Hall Band will also be attached to the parade. The Auckland Gills' Brass Band will assemble at the tea kiosk in the Domain and play the nursing sisters, and ex-servicewomen to the ceremony. Pipe bands will play during the approach of the parade to the Cenotaph and the march past. The usual commemorative service, including tho singing of " The Old Hundredth " and "Abide With Me," the sounding of the Last "Post and the Reveille, and the lowering and hoisting of the flags on the Cenotaph, will be held. Pipers will play a lament during the laying of wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph. After the ceremony the public will bo given an opportunity to file past and pay tribute to the fallen. About 100 seats will be provided for the ceremony within the Cenotaph enclosure for elderly mothers of fallen soldiers.

Service at Waikumete The usual service will be held at the Soldiers' Memorial at Waikumete cemetery to-morrow afternoon. The chairman of the GJen Eden Town Board, Mr. A. J. Routley, will preside. Arrangements have been made by the care of soldiers' graves committee of the Victoria League to lay 550 wreaths on the soldiers' graves at the cemetery, while the girls' committee has made 160 wreaths for soldiers' graves at Purewa Cemetery. Wreaths will be laid on sailors' graves at Waikumete by the Navy League. Special Anzae Day services will be held either by local bodies or returned soldiers' organisations in practically all the suburbs to-morrow and also at several cemeteries, while many churches and religious bodies will hold commemoration services either to-morrow or on Sunday. The usual secondary schools service will not be held, but several schools will hold their own ceremonies to-day. A service will be held in the Old Boys' Memorial Chapel at King's College to-morrow evening. Under the patronage of the Mayor, an Anzac Memorial Commemoration Recital will bo held in the Town Hall on Sunday evening by the Associated Brass and Pipe Bands.

OBSERVANCE QUESTION "SHOULD NOT DEGENERATE" [by telegraph OWN correspondent] TE AROHA t Wednesday The following resolution was carried without dissent at the annual meeting of the Te Aroha Returned Soldiers' Association:—"This meeting, believing that Anzac Day was instituted as a day in which to honour the memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War, is of the opinion that, should public sentiment no longer wish to retain the day for its original purpose Anzac Day as such be then expunged from the calendar altogether, but should upon no account be allowed to degenerate into a general secular holiday." STATUS OF ANNIVERSARY PROTEST AGAINST ALTERATION [by telegraph—OWN correspondent) PAEROA, Thursday The observance of Anzac Day was discussed at the annual meeting of the Paeroa-Hauraki Returned Soldiers' Association. A resolution was passed protesting against any alteration in the status of the day.