BLUFF R.S.A.

Southland Times, Issue 25311, 14 June 1935, Page 12

BLUFF R.S.A.

ANNUAL REUNION VERY HAPPY FUNCTION (From Our Correspondent.) The annual reunion and smoke social of the Bluff Returned Soldiers’ Association was held in the Athenaeum Hall on Saturday night when there was an excellent muster of ex-servicemen and honorary members, a large number of the former being present from Invercargill and the surrounding districts. ' The president, Mr N. W. McGorlick, presided, with him at the chairman’s table being the Mayor of Bluff (the Rev. A. E. Waite), Mr W. Mabson (president of the Invercargill Association) and Mr T. F. Doyle. Other members of the town executive present were Messrs J. Filippini and W. Drake. Apologies for non-attendance were read from Captain N. B. Haszard and Mr A. Credginton. After the Loyal toast had been honoured Mr McGorlick extended a welcome to the gathering and expressed his pleasure at seeing so many present from Invercargill and other centres, whose attendance showed that the old spirit of fraternity was still in existence. The speaker invited all to make themselves at home. _ . At the chairman’s invitation the gathering then stood in silence in memory of fallen comrades while the Last Post was very impressively sounded by Mr R. Ashwell. Community singing followed and the hearty rendering of the famous old songs showed that the marching ballads of war days still remained fresh in the memories of “diggers.” . His Worship the Mayor of Bluff (the Rev. A. E. Waite) was then introduced by the chairman in felicitous terms and invited to address those preWaite thanked Mr McGorlick for the invitation and said that he found particular pleasure in the fact that this, his first official appearance as Mayor, should be made at a returned soldiers reunion. (Applause.) He felt it was a great privilege to be allowed to address such a gathering. As one looked at reports of world events to-day, the speaker continued, one felt there was grave cause for concern. Though the soldiers in the fateful years 1914-1918 had been promised the great upheaval was a war to end war, once, again war clouds loomed menacingly in Europe. It seemed to him (the speaker) that there was a wide desire for peace among mankind to-day and the leaders of the nations should learn of this. In every earnest effort to preserve it they would, he was sure, be backed up by all the Christian churches in existence. The chairman at a later stage asked Mr T. F. Doyle to address the gathering and stressed the fact that during Mr Doyle’s term as Mayor of Bluff he had taken a deep interest in the welfare of returned soldiers and had done his best in finding unemployed exservicemen work through the Borough Council. , Mr Doyle said he was pleased to be again present at a returned soldiers annual reunion. The association stood for the welfare of returned men and every one of them should join it, because it was doing fine work. It was pleasing to know that the membership of the association was growing and it was evidence that men were becoming increasingly aware of its value to them. Regarding the chairmans remarks about his (the speaker’s) efforts during his term as Mayor, Mr Doyle continued, he could say he had felt it his duty to do what he could and in this he had been loyally supported by the council. He assured his hearers he would continue to do his best for returned soldiers. He believed that everyone elected to a public office, as well as employers of labour, should be sympathetic towards returned soldiers and help the association in its good work. Mr Doyle paid a warm tribute to the president for his untiring efforts on behalf of ex-servicemen and stated that Mr McGorlick was certainly the right man in the right place. (Applause.) The speaker also eulogized the Stewart Island branch, which had a one hundred per cent, membership, and concluded by hoping the old feeling of comradeship would be maintained to the end and by wishing Mr Mabson success at the coming conference m Wellington. „ The toast “Invercargill R.S.A. was proposed by Mr D. McKenzie who spoke appreciatively of the work the parent body in Southland was doing for returned men and. of the valuable assistance it was giving to sub-as-sociations. , , , In reply, Mr Mabson (whose name was coupled with the toast) thanked Bluff members for the warm welcome extended to himself and other visitors. One thing which had deeply impressed him was the manner m which the memory of fallen /comrades had been honoured that evening, he said; and he also felt pleasure at the presence of his Worship the Mayor who was obviously interested in the welfare of ex-soldiers. In many quarters to-day, Mr Mabson continued, there seemed an

apathetic spirit towards returned men and it was therefore well that the association was grbwing stronger and better fitted to see justice done. Men were increasingly breaking down owing to war service and they needed all the help their organizations could give. For a long time there had been a movement to have Anzac Day observed on the nearest Sunday to April 25, so that the holiday could be done away with. This movement should never be countenanced. The spirt of Anzac lived on the day set apart for special remembrance of those who fell and he sincerely trusted it would continue to be sacredly kept as at present. Mr Mabson stated in conclusion that he hoped the name of his association would soon be changed to that of the “Southland R.SA..” In proposing the toast “The Red Cross” (with which he .coupled the name of Mr H. Cooper) Mr A. Wixon paid a tribute to the work of that body which went steadily on, although it did not always receive due recognition of the splendid part it was still playMr Cooper in responding eulogized the work of Mrs Smith who, elected president of the Edendale branch in 1916, now acted in the same capacity in Invercargill and in the years between had lost none of her interest in the welfare of the “diggers,” as soldier patients in Southland Hospital could testify. Proposing the toast “Bluff R.S.A., Mr W. Drake stated that in Invercargill the executive regarded the Bluff branch as a model sub-association. Mr McGorlick (whose name was coupled with the toast) thanked the previous speaker for his remarks and added that while much work had been done by the usual “faithful few” all were waking up to the fact that it was a duty as well as an honour to belong to such an organization as the R.S.A. He was confident the association would become much stronger. Regarding the work done by the Bluff branch, it must be remembered that this association was in the happy position of having two local bodies which were sympathetic to ex-soldiers, namely the Borough Council and Harbour Board. (Applause.) He wished to take the opportunity of publicly thanking these bodies for what they had done for local men. He could add that he had been assured that the men employed had given good value for the wages received. Mr J. H. Doyle, in proposing the toast, “Stewart Island Association,” said that the latter was a small body, but its members were loyal to each other and to the Bluff Association. They had just reason to be proud of their one hundred per cent, membership and also of their fine monument to the fallen. Mr Doyle recalled the early days of the war and told of the sacrifices made by the young manhood of the island. In responding on behalf of the island association, Mr W. Knowles said the formation of that body had been largely due to the Rev. R. C. Boyd, and its present success was due to the sympathetic and helpful attitude of the people of the island. Before the evening concluded ( Mr Mabson, in proposing the toast “The Chairman,” warmly eulogized the continued good work of Mr McGorlick. The latter suitably responded. A happy and highly successful function concluded with “Auld Lang Syne. During the evening excellent entertainment was provided by talented performers, a feature being the playing ot an orchestra composed of Messrs Norman Bradshaw (piano), B. Mehaffey (violin), T. Stalker (trombone), R. Ashwell (comet), M. West (guitar). All the above gave individual items, Air Bradshaw also playing the accompaniments. Other numbers which were enthusiastically encored were given by the following: Messrs M. Murfitt, M. West (songs), C. Paine (musical monologue and humorous elocutionary items), Messrs Mehaffey, Bradshaw and Stalker (instrumental trio), McGorlick, Mabson, R. Gould, A. Kirwan and the Rev. A. E. Waite (humorous stories). , . . j * A special word of praise is aue to Messrs T. Finnerty, E. Walters, D. McKenzie, A. Deans, P. Challis, F. Barford and W. Fanning who waited throughout at the tables and helped largely in making the function so successful. .