PERMANENT MEMORIALS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22911, 19 June 1936, Page 14

PERMANENT MEMORIALS

NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL CHANGE FROM OLD CUSTOM (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 18. One of the main proposals of the Government for the celebration of the centenary of New Zealand is that permanent memorials —national and provincial—shall be erected, but it is made clear by Mr J. W. Heenan, Under-secre-tary of the Department of Internal Affairs, that it is desired that the onetime popular conception of memorials in marble or bronze should be departed from. Several proposals have already been received from various centres, said Mr Heenan, and all indicated that the trend was away from stone and marble in doubtful or gloomy taste, and towards forms on a higher plane. The people of New Zealand were looking forward to the big historical occasion to be commemorated in a form which would be not only of interest, but of real value to the people of the future. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr W. E. Parry, said it would be the duty of the committee set up to consider that aspect of the celebration to impress upon the people from one end of the country to the other that the form of memorials should bo such as would properly commemorate the progress of the past 100 years and be of use during the next 100 years.