TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays WEDNESDAY, 19th JUNE, 1944 REUNION AND INSPIRATION

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 72, Issue 6244, 19 June 1946, Page 6

TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays WEDNESDAY, 19th JUNE, 1944 REUNION AND INSPIRATION

THE recent annual social of the Te Av.a r.-utu Red Cross Society was an

event of importance not merely as a social fixture, but rather as an inspiration in many other directions. It symbolised the spirit of district unity which must be encouraged if we are to progress as a community,

and it was truly encouraging to see how closely the bond between urban and rural citizens can be drawn. On this occasion people met on terms of perfect unity and in a cause of common concern to show the value of single effort as could be so amply celebrated the success of the combined effort. Here, surely, was a message which cannot pass unnoticed, for it indicates what is the greatest requirement as we face a future with o mannew tasks ahead. The community of effort with town and country interests blending so harmoniously in systems of voluntary organisation and endeavour has enabled many problems and difficulties to be surmounted in the past; only the

same united endeavour will give confidence in the future. What the padres told the Red Cross assembly can well be the inspirational message w’hich is needed just now, for they in their respective theatres of war, had seen the value of massed endeavours on the home front, and they could tell a vivid story to show how countless little actions in the homes had ended m a grand and noble achievement where and when the need was so great. Nobody could fail to see and understand the meaning of such a message, or Could fail to detect what is implied as the need of to-day is contemplated. It is the massed-to-gether little things, the effort and the skill of the individual, that produce the grand total of .performance. The fact needs emphasis. In the grand scheme of industry and service, in the domain of organised sport and , recreation, and in the wider realm of

community or social progress, it is the grouped endeavour that marks the qualities of performace and success; or. alternatively, of defeat and failure. To be told, as we were told last week, how little acts of sacrifice and service had mounted to such a grand total of performance, was an example which inspires not only pride but the will to carry the same voluntary enthusiasm into the years that lie ahead. The need is apparent. The task of beginning again along the many paths that lead to community advancement is not easy; the call and the claim are made for all that we can do; and it can be foreseen that while we hold intact the unity of our

citizenship, with town and country sharing together in general endeavour, no task will be too great. Never in the war years did we count the cost or question our ability to pay. Rathe)- we saw and assessed the value of the service. In that, too, there is a feature which must not pass into oblivion. It is not so much the cost of community services which must now be counted; rather is the value of the institutional benefit the factor for consideration. The padres’ description of the British “ pub ” as a social centre was a pointer to our future in the kind of community centre we could hope for—a place where all people can assemble in an atmosphere of social harmony; and finally the recognition of Britain—the maturity of our Motherland, compared with a vigorous young country like New Zealand—a country in w’hich we grow and build and develop was much to the point. So also was the reminder of the magnificent epic when an almost isolated Britain stood alone —isolated, that is, in a physical sense but closer than ever before in the hearts of her people in every corner of the world. The recognition and the tribute to Britain were never

more richly merited. All honour, it is true, to the Allies and the magnificent joint effort of the United Nations. But never can we forget the Island Fortress which stood alone in the darkest days. In all, the social of the Te Awamutu Red Cross Society was much more than a happy reunion; it was an occasion with a great inspirational message which can prompt us all to further endeavours, to new aspirations, and to final successes.