CELEBRATIONS AT WAIKOUAITI.

Otago Witness, Issue 2791, 2 October 1907, Page 17

CELEBRATIONS AT WAIKOUAITI.

A THREEFOLD FUNCTION

The <rc-lebralion of Dominion ' Day at Waikouaiti took the form of the offificLl opening of the new local po? f office tho formal and official ojx-mncr of tho new courthou=e, and th" reading of the Dominion proclamation at tho school!) i ise. the making of suitable spo^ihes. tho sintcinfr of the National Anthem, and other loyal demon-stiations proper to the occa moil Flajr* were nvirny fiom tho Counts Council ofiicej^ Mechanics' Institute. l'o»t Ofiire. Boroujrh Council Chamhei-. and ctlicr public buildings, and a considerable

nunVbef of the residents of the district gathered in and around the buildings "where tho events 'took place. The Waikouaiti • Brass Band, under the leadership of Mr G. J. L. Kerr, played a number of selections during the day, and^ the local school -children, under ther-coiftfol : of the .h^iT'inMer (Mr W. Ba^tmgf, -"and- the school sti&j were marehaifßcF;>t"';the Post QfjSpe . and schcolhouse. '<t> Cons id era bio interest was taken in the different functions, particularly in the •proclamation of the colony ,a-s a Dominion,-- the announcement "being- received with cheers and the sjnging"df the National Anthem.- .„ OPENING OF THE POST OFFICE. ' *";%he first part of tihe ..day's ceremonies^ >^tfirn€*hcea* tfirlti.iXr&.tff. Tit^ne ' new, JEttf** i^Office building, which has just beenjerected -£t tn'e -corner of the Main Nortbj*6ad and "Reid street, leading to the ratjway station. ' Hete^the'"'school children .vpefe marshalled ;-in drill ordexi^nd =*-£f€&j" :' iThe Mayor 'IMt' A." Heckler) announced tfiat they "had assembled to open the handsome and convenient new building which they now had as a post office, and for the <jreot*iorr . ofc .-.whick^sthey weee? 1 *" mushc- indebted to their energetic member of Parliament, Mr Thos. Mackenzie.— (Applause.) „. Sir- iQsetth.-^sJard Jia4«p«>mißed^th.e, district | y^ti^fpo^offi^TlM'-t^Wftt^f^nd . he stantial structure, and well siiffed -'the purposes; ■ for" whicb it' was Resigned.— i Mr' Crawford (of the firm of" Robson and t- jDr|^*lrdi|'«3iia^|)^^^l^dS^J3uitdiog)r • ' .forfflSly^-iisijteSetS %Ve"fc"tm&i*ey^w«bje£lsuird-* iflg ,49^^-^^iKn^^j^L. *or the district; "and Tvho "represented the (jrovernment on the occasion. In doing so he remarked that' the .post, office was the first ' post office that had been opened in the\ Dominion, of New.Zfeala^d, . There^had been other^p'ost'officcs^^e colony previous to the one to be opened that day, but it was the first post office opened under the Dominion — (aprjlause) t — and his' fijJ^PJ^ Bl^ *^ c honour of buil'dTag it. It was jfiitihg that Waikouaiti should have this honour — it was the oldest settlement and ihe oldest . port in the colony. .Under the circumstances it would have been fitting that the builders should hand to Mr Mackenzie some memento of the occasion, but the notice given had been too short to do this, though it would not be overlooked, and would follow afterwards. The speaker then placed the key in the office door, and I Mr Mackenzie turned it, and declared the office open for public business. He considered it an honour that he had been requested by the Prime Minuter of the Dominion and by the Mayor of the town to declare the office opon. and ho thought the structure wa= an ornament to the district, and would b-e an ornament to any district. Dealing with the early history of the Waikouaiti settlement. Mr Mackenzie 6aid the discoveiy of the Dunstan and Mount Ida goldfields a<; fiist pronused to send Wai- . kouaiti ahead by leaps and bounds as the Shipping port for the interior, but before the necessary buddings could be pro\ided the operiing-up of the road from Dunedin diverted' the traffic At Waikouaiti in 1840 there lived fuIU 200 Maori-, under a chief known to the whites as "Long Mouth." They were k<>on trailers. In tho absence of money all exchange was by barter. At firec Waikouaiti corkl only be reached upoa horseback by Flagstaff. About 1861 Mossr= Cobb and Co. < ommenrod coaching operations, first between Dunedin and Qucenstowi). arid later between Dunedin and Oamaru The firt=t record of a po=t office at Waikouaiti i« that on September 1. 1863. The office was in charge of Mr G. C. , Chapman, now a member of fhc Dunedin Chief Post Office staff. The following are the names and dates of subsequent postmasters: — W. Towsey, from Noiembor 1. 1867: ,T F Long, ,from November 1 1872 : H. I. A. Cowpcr, from ' April 1 1873: C Halliday. from June 21, 1875; J. A. Ciawford. from December 22, 1876. The offkc was transferred to the railway -.tat ion on September 10. 1880. undoi tlu> chartro of Mr Charles Lord Russell Mr D. K. Rhodes was po«tmaster from November 12. 1882, J. Stewart from April 22, 1887 D. T. Kelly from June 18, , 1897, D. W. Pemberton from February 5, ! 1906, and A M. M'Gresor from, March 22, 1907 The Waikouaiti Post Office was first conducted in a store in charge of Mr Cbap- . man, prior to which the business ' vas oa p ried on by a ?rocor. Mails were carried I from Dunodin by Mr Mallooh on packhorses over tho Blueskin R-a-nge. At thafc time a I.iraro population lived in tenf~, Waikouaiti being on tho routo to tho Dunstan goldfiekis. Soon afterwards Chaplin's coach service wa« established, in which the wellknown dnver Xer] Dovfnc was omploved. A post and teiejrraph office buikling, constructed of wood, containing two small rooms was built at this timo. In the postal repot t for 1859 a time table is given of a fortniehilv mail service between Dunoc'in. Waikouaiti. etc.. and Lyttelton, the number of letters earned on the route

northward in that year being 4214. The following is a comparative return of the department's business at Waikouaiti in 1896 and 1906: — Correspondence posted .- 1896—Number of articles 74,434, value £252; 1906— 132,860, value J8272. . Money orders issued in' 1896 —417 for £1117; paid, 248 for £746 ; in 1906— issued, 556 for £1752 ; paid, 292 for £1093. Savings bank deposits in 1896—135 deposits for £2654, withdrawals 79 for £1514 ; 1906—346" depcslta for £4445, withdrawals 91 for lit 1896 1370 telegrams, valued- at"t£4q were forwarded, and 1262 received ; in 1906 3719, valued at £108, were forwarded, and- 2461 received. — (Applause.) ,"'"■' ~ "" -y.Tl'e new post arid; telegraph office buildfg, which is of one" storey, in the early eraifsance 6tyle of architecture, is built jn brick with cement dressings. The front elevation has for ite central feature a large arched window, wirh a gabolet over, which is surmounted by a flagstaff. On either side are arched entrances to the public office and private letter-box lobby. The public portion of the building contains a vestibule, private box lobby, mailroom (20ft by 19ft 6in), pubLje office (15ft x^Oft), telephone hureau, aiid a separate rl%elephon6 room connected^, with the maJM>bm. . The "riefi'idential accommodation conisMfisf ,of.Va sitting ' room, "two TdteJiei^- '3oollery, 'eft:. This has been provided* - F iiiigJThp' bjacjs: g6rtion of the building. He^bß? traefbre' were Messrs Robson and Crawford, of Mornington, the'^amount of their tender being £1332 3s 6d. > Mr J. S. Johnston also spoke. i » ■ Aftfg^ tiie. _fogm.a| yjojjenißg^ . fche.^-publip irtSpe^feg,*|tne Btaj^^/iniiiyfe.,&nd o»t', ! >anß general" satisfaction* was ' expressed with atf^he'a-rfanfemen&K 11 ' ' •«■£«» - THE DOMINION DECLARATION. Immediately after the completion ' df .tha, for&gbrn'g: ceremony /the school 1 ' children, piimic, and vieitdrs walked en maeee to this publio school building, where arrangements had been made in the 6chool grounds for; this important part of fhe" da.jf's'"probeedin'g's. Here the Mayor read' the formal declaration constituting New Zealand a Dominion in place of a colony, hearty cheers following the announcement, and the school children and all those present joined in singing the National Anthem. The singing of the New Zealand Anthem (in Maori) by the school children followed, and the flag was formally saluted. The Mayor said they had met that day in connection with the royal proclamation which had pronounced New Zealand to be a Dominion. Their country for a great many years had been a progressive colony, and although they were changing the designation from colony to Dominion it would not olter their feelings toward the Old Land. — (Cheers.) It "was just a step higher up in the partnership, and he thought it was very appropriate to alter the title in view of the fact that some years ago the colony had annexed some of the islands of the Pacific which should have been part of thp colony yea re -before. The Mayor then addressed the school children in suitable terms, advising- thorn to do everything pos«iblo to make the Dominion of New Zealand an important part of the great Empire upon which tho sun never set. The Chairman of the School Committee (Mr Russell) also spoke, aud extended a cordial welcome to the visitor?. Mr T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., who was the next speaker, said : The significance of today's event is not as great to us as was. the declaration of tho Dominion to Canada to the Canadians, or the establishment of the Commonwealth to Australia to our neighbours In the case of these it was the uniting- of gue-at provinces and powerful, colonies into greater Slates. In 1867. when Earl Carnarvon introduced the bill combining the North -'AuieriQao. States, -.he declared in a sneech.'t of great power the enormous difficulties of the problem that were- before them, adding that " her Majesty had been pleased to express her approval of the name, and that henceforth tho united provinces .would be known as the Dominion of Canada— a designation which was a graceful tribute on the part of tho colonist to the monarchical principle, und-er which they had lived and prospered, and which they trusted to transmit unimpaired to their children's children." Ho dealt with the objections that had been raised, and said that it had been urged that the union of the provinces would mean tho formation of a kingdom^ that it would be the embodiment of the monarchical principle, it would constitute a challenge to our powerful neighbours over the borders, that they feared the Dominion meant the exclusion of British goods frpm their territory. Much of this was subsequently disproved by practical experience. In the same debate a speech was delivered by Mr John Bright, in which the spirit of the "Little Englander" was displayed. He asserted that it would be better foT them and cheaper for us if Canada became an independent State, and he eaid, '" Let them, H it pleases them better, join with the

United States." That was. as I have: said,the " Little Englander " spirit, ' and although expressed in moderate language was little better than the ill-judged worJe of that irresponsible eprig of British nobility, Winston Churchill, when he this year de--'clared, in "reply to the colonies' request for some preference in trade, that the British door was banged, slammed, . and bolted in the face of the colonies. In 1901 the Commonwealth was established in , Australasia. Coming now to our own try", in £840 New Zealand was constituted? by Imnerjal Act a separate colony raider, the name" of the " Islands of New 'Zealand," and to-day we attain to the dignity, of being a Dominion. The mere changing of the designation of our country is nob in itself as impressive to me as are. the enormous problems which the occasion, farces on our 1 minds — problems that ar^ ' gradually arising and which must be mci ? in' connection with the" control of th« younger nations of our vast Empire. W« are constrained to ask ourselves this que& tion : Will statesmen arise endowed with sufficient power and knoweldge to provide: oa^cQnatitution strong enough to bind all ; f!bhei"*ai7oJus' J pa|ts,' interests', and peoples' into ,pne eompaci >Whole, ",ah(3 at the same time' "iv ill 'the policy/ 'r be sufficiently, e^astio to permit of ' t&afc- freedom to (ffidli portion which alo'rio" 'can make for progress,' and development? -TW empires of antiquity, great as was their achievements and splendid ac "were their .'promises, have vanished as passing pageants, and ,fche glory that belonged to Greece and the grandeur that was "Rome's "*«*&•' gone.. , Tie British T Empfre»* (says "Coivaa) ; liSfs become a model of popular Jiberty., and personal prosperity, as firm! ae the earth and as wide ac the sea. Multiplied experience proves that mercantile /States 'acre unable to compete with great TOrrfinien'fcal ' conrmuhities unless ihey have a 'broad territory, a free population, an imperial ideal, and adequate naval and military power. The maintenance of our Is involved in the maintenance oT'our Dominion. Political isolation and commercial intercourse are incompatible. National sentiment as well as trade follows the flag; if one goes, both go. Our" Exn-« pira is not the work of a single conqueror, but is the product of personal prolonged and spontaneous effort. We have held it through ages of adverse possession. It has often strained our resources, and it requires forecasting and potential statesmanship to guard it against dangers and preserve its integrity. Referring again to Canada: the enormous growth of thai; Dominion has induced yearnings on tho part of her people which are shared by other States, and which our rulers will do well to study. Canada has great aspirations. She seeks entire liberty to enter m<o treaty obligations with foreign Powers, but unfortunately she overlooks the fact that unless treaty obligations can be enforced by powerful armies they may never be fulfilled. They forget, too, thafc' the Mother Country has poured forth both her blood and treasure to secure that greaft country, and gave it to them frea, in iho same manner as this colony was also given, to us. The children States are growing; into such lusty youth tinat tnev arG overlooking the initial parental work of the Motherland. At this point it may be well to pa usb for a moment to contemplate the great development of the vounjrer branches of the Empire. I do not desire to bewilder you with figures, but .vill , summarise briefly ifae situation. There is. X feel cure, no subject of greater interest/ to all of us than that which deals with the present .position and future prospects of jßritiwn'^ vast, .dominion. When Canada wa* seciircd- by' the British her population, was 70,000. now it numbers 6,000,000. Lord Strathcona expresses the opinion that before che close of this century her population will reach 80 millions. If Canada carried ac dense a population -"w Britain she would have 1,200,000,000. Orie hundred and twenty-five years ago +ho population of the United States was 3.000,000; '. now it is 77,000,000. Lst us clance for a moment at the history of tho Australian Common wealth. In 1835 John ' Bateman, a lonely wanderer, went up rbo Yarra as far as the present site of Mel' bourne, and wrote in his diary: " This is 7 a place for a village." Now you have a city of 600,000 persons there, and the , private wealtii of Australia is nov/ ' .£1.020,000,000, and ifc produces annually,, £120,000,000. Let us just glance at the development of the dependencies of the Empire since Waikouaifci was first settled/ The total trade, imports and exports, of the United Kingdom and India at thab time was ,£100,000,000. How do**? rhaii compare with her dependencies now? New Zealand does now a trade equal to a thiH of that. Africa's trade is £100,000,000. Australia alone overtops it with He 140 millions, whilst Canada far exceeds I hat. stilL In addition to that, tho trade of the subject States alone reaches 400 million pounds yearly. The incomes of tho depemk>.no if"; roach tho \a«,t figure of £1,400,000,000, and their pruate wealth

is £7,250,000,000. The Empire has a territory of 413,000,000 square miles and a ' population of 410,000,000 souls. A thoughtful contemplation of tihese figures; mufti? impress us with our Empire's great .reiDonsi- tibilities. The Empire is ouife^-wbri, bat many means. It is ours, and we must hold it, not for. the satisfaction of being formidable," but for the necessity of being free." That a different form of government must come about is inevitable- Canada is complaining. Sir Charles Dilke, in his ;" Problems of Greater Britain," said it is 'a faefc that British diplomacy has cost Canada dear, t - Sir Wilfrid - Laurier also 'deplored the sacrifices Canada was called on to make. Professor King, at Toronto, said the entire history of British regulations with the Western States is punctuated with a series of tombstones, beneath which our rights have been buried. We in these southern seas have with regret viewed the passing from us of many Pacific islands. Let us hope and pray -that some far-reaching scheme may be devised which will afford every portion of our great Empire an' opportunity of voicing its aspirations. That a Parliament^ be established — a truly Imperial Senate to which -every portion- of 'our Empire shall have the right to eend its representatives in proportion to our interests. The time is ripe.' How long. 1 ask, is it to be expected that populations so vast, area so unlimited, and interests so far-reaching shall be content to acquiesce in a policy controlled by a Parliament elected on a -limited franchise by the United Kingdom. At the conclusion of his remarks, Mr Mackenzie wa3 awarded a hearty round of applause, and one of the school children (a 'little girl) stepped forward and presented [him with a buttonhole./and this action was 'followed by the local band playing a number of national and patriotic airs. Mr H. Bucldand, in ,the .course of some .brief remarks, .dealt «^^?"thV"reiq>c<h,Bibilities that followed jh the progress* 'of .civilisation, and *aid he hoped the substitution of Dominion for -oqJcmi wpuld> <not 'turn the heads of .New'-tJS&MMiderß.^ sTa& area of the colony was 104,47r*square miles, and the area of Canada 5.462,000 square miles, and Quebec, whioh had been an.iiexed. was three timjjs the size" -of New Zealand. In Canada one could travel/ .for 2000 miles in a railway and, look "but of the windows and see wheat growing all the , way. He did . not say this to depreciate New Zealand^lbut^in. -orde^ that they might' be remind'Sff'W.pteserVQ/ 'a due sense of proportion. Acres .did i>of. : make a nation ; it was character and Government that did that, and he trusted .that character and government would enable New Zealand to bear with distinction its new title, and that it would be 'known for its worth.— (Applause.) ' Mr W. E. Bastings, after paying a tribute "Jto the remark*, of ..Mr Mackenzie, said he Ithoiurht the time had 5 not quite arrived for Ifche distinction "that had. been given to the .ix>lony. That' thought probably arose from the iact'.fhat he had a . sentimental *egard for the word "oqJonjv' and ' for the hardy band. of pioneers, .who consti'luted the first settlers. " It was possible (now that New Zealand * was* a Dominion (Waikouaiti would aspire to the title of a 'toity—^laughter!— and" the 'mayors of -the infcies would desire to be kmJwn oe Lord; flavors. — (Renewed ' . laughter.) ' What tohanges would follow the new title he did iot pretend to know," but he hoped that the children* who were growing vp — the future citizens of 'the ' J\imini»" — would

follow in the footsteps of their parents am 1 assist in the progress of the future. The Mayor at this stage announced thai be had received a wire from Sir Joseph Ward stating that as the day would foe a historical event, in the, annals of New Zealand,' and .of more tfran; passing interest to, the children, he had decided to have- a medal struck in commemoration of the event for presentation later on to each <*ehbbl child 'fthroif g-hout , "the — (Applause.) ' - ■ Mr C. Duke, representing Waikouaiti Gounty Council, said as an old settler of 50 _ years' standing- he- rejoiced in tre change of title from colony to Dominion. Whatever they might be called, they virere a part of the Empire, and each and all should do what they could to make the country great and good. The people, he • was sure, would not expect the Dominion to work for them— they must all nork fcr the Dominion. The one esesntial in a nation was good character, and without character it did not matter by what rame a people was known, they could net be respected. — (Applause.) The local band here played the National Anthem, and the proceedings terminated. FORMAL OPENING OF THE NEW COURTHOUSE. ! An adjournment was then made to the new courthouse near by. and hero Mr Lawrie, the contractor, formally landed the key to Mr Mackenzie, and the building was formally declared open. "Mr Mackenzie, in declaring the buiiding open, said for the year 1863 the Resident Magistrate's Court at Waikouaiti dealt with 151 civil cases and 183 criminal cases, the amount sued for being £1028, and the amount recovered £478. For the year 1906 the court dealt with 23 civil cases urd 19 criminal oases'. The amount 'sued for was £216 and the amount recovered £72. Arguing- from these statistics, he said the tfmeSnight arrive* when' a cotfrtlibuS^wottld not be required in the district at all. Mr Dow also spoke briefly. - The building, which has been used for the purposes of a -cpux** fiinoe its completion in July last, cost £499r After the formal opening the courthouse was trrown -open for public inspection, and large numbers of thise who had assembled went through it. the general comment being 'tHat it was well appointed for the purposes for which it had been built. ■'„ ■■:-• ". TEffi^LtJNCfiEONV <o -'<" "After the "formal" proceedings were overa number of visitors and residents adjourned to the GoV.^n Fleece restaurant, where a capital luncheon was spread. The Mayor (Mr A. Heckler) presided over this function, and a large number of toasts were honoured, "The King," arid, -"The New- Dominion," "The viators," etc.. beinsr included. The speakers were Messr* St. George Douglas (Chief Postmaster), T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., H. Buokland r B. W. Fell. Crawford, and Lawrie. The fcotst of " The New Dominion," proposed by th<* Mayor, was enthusiastically reoehed. and " The King " was' received with equal favour. n Speaking at this function, Mr St. George -Douglas stated that Mr G. C. Chapman, ' the first postmaster at Waikouaiti. was now empliyed in the Dunedin Post Office doing good work as supervisor in the mail room, and Mr B. N. Marlin, the first telegraph '■ messenger at Waikouaiti, was the officer ( in= charge of the Chrisfcohurch Telegraph Office, and in receipt of £400 a year. j

,/ RAVBNSBDURNE. The event was t celebrated in" a, Very quiet *ay at Rftveiisboiirne. Th^ business ' places were closed, afid there was &, good display of bunting on many, of the private resi- •■ deuces. ..At 11 a.m. the Mayor (Mr H. 1 E. Btollfi^t" read %he jfrbcianiatipn a small assemblage, and' the proceedings ; terminated. GREEN ISLAND. i Danjinjon^JQa^.wi^ celebrated at. Green Island on September 26. The mayor (Mr Wm. Geddes) read the proclamation at the Council Chambers, in the presence of a large gathering of citizens, Volunteers, Cadets, and school children. The proclamation being, read and the flag,* hoisted, ;the Volunteers and Cadets saluted the flag, and the Volunteers fired a feu de joie, and those present joined in singing the National Anthem. . Appropriate speeches were made by the Mayor, the chairman of the School Committee, the Rev. J. Kilpatrick, and Mr John Blair. A procession, headed by the Pipe Band, marohed through the town and back to, the Council Chambers, where the school '■children sang a verse of " God defend New Zealand." The Mayor read a telegram from Sir Joseph Ward, intimating that medals would be presented 'to the children on some future day to .commemorate" the occasion. - The scholars were then dismissed, a holiday having been granted to them for the remainder of the week. The school children, on assembling at school in the morning were addressed shortly by the chairman of the School Committee, who read the Prime Minister's telegram, promising medals in commemoration of New Zealand being proclaimed a Dominion. Afterwards they marched to the Council Chambers and took part in the local function which was held to celebrate the occasron. A concert was held in the Green Island Volunteer Hall in the evening. The school children were admitted' free of chatee in honour of Dominion Day. The hall was fairly well filled, and, judging by the applause given and-' the- encores demanded, ! the audience . jfostf -• well satisfied. The j Christy Minstrels part was especially pleas- ] ing to the children, a number of hits at • the Borough Council being heartily applauded. . >' . • /,i_