DAY IN AUCKLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23021, 26 April 1938, Page 13

DAY IN AUCKLAND

CENOTAPH CEREMONY AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE MANY SOLDIERS PARADE MESSAGE FROM THE KING In the commemoration of Anzac Day yesterday the spirit of remembrance and homage to the fallen in the Great War showed 110 sign of diminishment. Even cold showers that fell at intervals, mostly in the morning, did not materially affect the attendances at the impressive ceremonies that characterised tho observance. Nearly 4000 returned men and nurses paraded at tho main ceremony at the Cenotaph before the Auckland War Memorial Museum in the .Domain in tho morning and it is estimated that gathered 011 the lino of march from Grafton Bridge and assembled round the Court of Honour were over 25,000 people. At the conclusion .of the service the monument had the appearance of emerging from a, foundation mound of flowers —never before were wreaths so numerous or N so striking in the mass as they were yesterday. Not only at the Domain, but also in the suburbs various commemorative services were attended by large numbers of people. Thoughts With Dominion The following message was received by the Governor-General, Viscount GalWay, from His Majesty the King in connection with the observance of Anzac Day:

The Queen and I are proud to join with our people of New Zealand in their commemoration oi Anzac Day. George R.I. The Governor-General sent the following message in reply to His Majesty's telegram:—• Your Majesties' gracious message has been communicated to tho people of New Zealand, who most deeply appreciate the knowledge that the thoughts of Your Majesty and the Queen are with them on this day of sacred memory. 4000 Veterans Parade The ceremony at the Cenotaph was not merely a spectacle provided in consecration of, and in thankfulness to, the immortal dead, but it carried a s'trong note of spiritual impre.ssiveness. When the sun burst through the clouds and to the music of bands, 4000 ex-servicemen filed into the Court of Honour, doffing their hats and turning their eyes to the hallowed symbol, it was remembered by the huge crowd that here were some of the men whose disciplined courage, coolness in action, fortitude and devotion to duty became qualities associated with the name of Anzac. They marched with spirit under standards distinguishing 27 different units, but in their appearance they betrayed the fact that with many the years are not accumulating lightly.

Included in those who marched were not only New Zealanders who fought as such in the Great War, but repre 7 sentatives of the Imperial and Australian Forces as well as South African veterans, who included men from the Mother Country and her Dominions. Sun Succeeds Rain The parade was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel A. D. Jack M.C.\ and Captain R. S. Judson, Y.C., acted as adjutant. Showers drove back masses of people who had been converging on the Domain, but fortunately the rain held off for the ceremony and the nun shone on the scene.

Before the arrival of the parade the Municipal Band, stationed above the Court of Honour, played appropriate airs and provided tne music of subsequent hymns. But the Auckland and Districts Highland Pipe Band played in the parade to the Court of Honour of War nurses, members of women's service organisations and ex-servicemen, and later effectively gave a lament. The service itself was short, and it covered familiar ground though none the less impressive for that. After the National Anthem followed the hymn "All People That on Earth Do Dwell." Then four trumpeters from the Auckland Grammar School Cadet •Battalion sounded the "Last Post," and, as the mournful cadences rose and fell, uniformed representatives of the Royal Navv, Royal Naval Reserve. Merchant Navy, Imperial Army, Australian Imperial Forces and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force slowly lowered the flags on the Cenotaph. The Laying of Wreaths

A few lines of Laurence Binyon's "For the Fallen" came through the loud-speaker, and the flags were hoisted again as "Reveille" sounded after the singing of the hymn "Abide With Me." The laying of wreaths occupied some time. The first was deposited on behalf of the Government by the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones. Mr. W. F. Bull, on behalf of the Canadian Government, deposited a wreath. The Mayor, Sir Ernest Davis, accompanied bv the town clerk, Mr. James Melling, placed a floral emblem from the city. A wreath in golden flowers, designed in the form of the emblem of the Returned Soldiers' Association, was placed by the president. Mr. J. W. Kendall. Rear-Admiral E. R. Drummond, commodore commanding the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, accompanied by Commander C. B. Tinley, R.N.. and Colonel 0. H. Mead. D.5.0., officer commanding the district, also deposited wreaths for the Navy and Defence Forces respectively. After further official wreaths were | placed at the foot of the Cenotaph, j private wreaths, including -10 in laurel 1 leaves and poppies' 1 , which had been carried by the parade and which represented gifts frorfi private" individuals and firms, were added.