TARANAKI'S ANNIVERSARY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 266, 31 March 1911, Page 8

TARANAKI'S ANNIVERSARY

UNVEILING OF THE OBELISK. | ! (Continued from page 7.) After the luncheon an adjournment was made to the obelisk, where a large crowd had assembled. The day was a beautiful one, and it would be interesting to know the thoughts of the vener-, able old people as they looked at the surroundings now and contrasted them with those on their arrival seventy years ago. | Around the obelisk were assembled the veterans and pioneers and a num- 1 ber of young children from the Moturoa Sunday School—another striking con-, trast. At the base were assembled J those who were actually taking part in the ceremony. I THE MAYOR'S SPEECH. | The Mayor said that the unveiling of a memorial was of the utmost import-' ance to future generations. It marked; the spot where the first settlers landed and made the acquaintance of their | ; future home, where they started their first ]m*.s and whares. It commemorated I the landing of those settlers who had worked hard and made the district bloom like a rose. This band of brave pioneers left their native homes to take the voyage of over six months' duration in small vessels to go to a; land where on their arrival the only welcome they got was from a Maori with bagpipes. IE the young people followed in the old folks' footsteps he felt sure thai. Taranaki will be known for its respectability, intellect and good behaviour, as well as for its good soil and prospects. He referred to the fact that Taranaki formed the first volunteer corps in New Zealand, and it was the first that wa* ever under fire, shoulder to shoulder, with the Imperial troops, and those colors that the veterans carried so proudly, had. been 1 presented to them bj the ladies of Taranaki in commemora' tion. He hoped any cadets and Territorials would have as good a record. He thanked the Harbor Board for giving them the site and stone for the obelisk. Usually on such occasions they invited either the Governor or some Minister of the Crown to perform the unveiling, but that afternoon it would be performed by two lady passengers who arrived 'by the first boat. (Applause.) He urged on the young, men the necessity of keeping up this anniversary. Now they had this memorial, there were other methods left by which it could be commemorated. One of these was by planting avenues of trees along the beautiful sea front, and naming them after various ships or pioneers, The hvmn,"o God, our help in agea past," was then sung. MR. OKEY'S SPEECH. Mr. H. J. H. Okey, M.P., said they Bad met together that day to mark foi all time this historic spot. Since they had landed the pioneers had had many ups and downs, but he hoped they had tasted some of the good things of life, Settlers here had not the natural advantages of some other places, Buch as Wellington and Auckland, and had to gain every advantage by the sweat o) their brows. In the south one could set fire to tHSsock and in a few months the land was clear, but here the settlei had to wait fully twenty years after felling the bush 'before the land was absolutely clear. This showed what the early settlers had to put up with when they came to this land of promise. Many people said the old settlers had splendid chances. He held that never before was the outlook brighter than, at present, and he felt they were about to reap tht harvest of past expenditure. What with the opening up of large blocks of land ; better farming facilities and oil prospects, he maintained that the outlook was never brighter. In conclusion, he said that while they had the Minister in charge of Agriculture and Tourist Departments in the district, they must show him all they could and get what they could out of him. He had already, as Minister of Commerce, assisted them by sending twenty barrels of oil to the Admiralty. THE MINISTER'S REMARKS. The Hon. T. Mackenzie, who was greeted with applause, said that he wa* pleased to see so many young people present, who, when they reached patriarchal age, would no doubt remember the unveiling ceremony in the same way as the pioneers remembered their first landing. The ceremony was a beautiful one. Mr. Tisch had made a soul inspiring address, whilst Mr. Okey had pointed out the good prospects of the district. The beautiful hymn 6ung by the children was one usually sung by people in a new land. He then stated that it was not altogether an unmixed blessing to have tussock land that would burn off so easily, and also humorously touched on the bagpipe incident. The people of Otago had built a magnificent hall in honor of their pioneer's early and strenuous times, and he considered Mr. Tisoh's suggestion re planting trees, etc., an excellent one. He was pleased with the reference to Sergeant Wells, and the colors of Taranaki, he felt sure, would always come to the defence of the Empire if necessary. He continued: "This gathering is promoted for the purpose of unveiling the obelisk to the memory of the brave men and women who came to this country and by their courage, ability and self-denial LAID THE FOUNDATIONS of this important and prosperous province of Taranaki, and who laid those foundations on the basis of truth, industry and righteousness. You are honoring them, and you are honoring yourselves in what you are doing today . The men and women who came to New Zealand in those early days represented the very 'best of the old land —best in this sense, that they belonged, to that class who are the glory and strength of a nation. As Kipling puts 'Their boast is not that they did deduce Their birth from the loins of thrones or rulers j Of the earth; but higher far the proud ambition lies The sons of parents passed into the skies.' "We can imagine with what mixed feelings they must have decided to leave the Old Countrv-the land of their forefathers and all that was near'

ml dear to thoin, and the courage that 1 as required to lace, especially on the ] art of the women, a long ami arduous ] ;a voyage, in poorly equipped vessels, i to far distant lands, peopled with brave i and powerful races whom they might! encounter. But they possessed the' minds to conceive and the ability and strength and resourcefulness to carry out the great undertaking that was be- < fore them. They had realised that in ' the Old Land under the then existing conditions there was not tiie field of opportunity which their comniendably '• wider ambition desired for themselves and for their families, and they there- , fore took the important step of seeking [ a new home beyond the seas. It was well for the Motherland that she had such colonies as New Zealand to send her sons and daughters to, and what AN INESTIMABLE BLESSING | to Great Britain that; she had such sons and daughters to go forth to people the waste places in her huge Empire! These brave pioneers brought with them from the Mother Country all that was best. They went on building here as others had built in other lands—young nations that in the course of time would grow up—and should ever the dark hour arise! in the history of the Old Country they would stand shoulder to shoulder with her in the defence of King and country.! Kipling had expressed the sentinrnt of the Motherland towards her dependen- 1 i cies in the following lines:— I 'We will make this promise as long as blood endures, I I shall know this good is mine, I shall 1 feel that my strength is yours. On the day of Armageddon, the last | great fight of all, i The house will stand together and the 1 pillars will not fall.' | I "These sentiments were more than fulfilled when our aid was required in South Africa, and to the enduring honor of this country and to Sir Joseph Ward,' who gave effect to the resolution to ten-! der to the Mother Country a Dread- , nought when her enemies were apparent- : ly endeavoring to encompass her. These settlers felt a great responsibility. In their hands rested the destiny of this, country. By their lives and living they! would set an example for good or otherwise of succeeding generations. New Zealand had been fortunate in its class' of settler. They set a high standard and we see the results in our community to-day. I | A STRIKING CONTRAST. | I "Contrast this with the lawlessness , and debauchery which unfortunately prevailed in many parts of New Zealand before the arrival of the properly recognised family life. The conditions that , then existed among some of the whites, despite the noble efforts of our earlier I missionaries, were almost too shocking to even allude to. In the Australian for September, 1839, appear details, and these make painful reading. The influence of our early settlers was strong enough to sweep away those conditions, and now such a state of things is uni known in our fair land. From the spot . whereon we stand we view the results 1 of the labors of the past. Our country, | despite all that may be said to the con- ,' trary, and in the face of all our real . and Imaginary grievances, was never 1 more full of promise that it is at the . present day. In no portion of New Zealand is the prosperity that lias marked its progress of late years greater than in the district of Taranaki. And the chief reasons for this prosperity are uni 1 doubtedly that combination of the industry on the part of the people here : and the closer settlement of the land. In the early days, as no doubt you are •.ware, more than the total area of land in New Zealand was claimed by seven , individuals. We nowadays refer to holdings of from 5000 to 7000 acres as large •tations, but what do you think of the i claims for land advances by Weller, of 1 Sydney, three and a 'half million acres; ■ Catlins and Co., Sydney, 7,000,000 j acres; Wentworth, New South Wales, 20,000,000 acres. For this land they , gave the proverbial bag of sugar, Mani 1 kets, tobacco and muskets." | Mr. Mackenzie went on to state that time was passing. (Cries of "Go on!") He was pleased at the evident signs of prosperity. No man who was willing to work need fear for the future. The surface of the land so far Jmd just been i scratched. It was the desire of the I Government to widen and extend the I scope of his Department, and he was I pleased to announce that they were i about to establish an excellent breed I of Ayrshires at Momahaki. He also referred to pasteurisation in connection ■ with the pig industry, and also to the I fact that tracts of land hitherto regardi ed as useless were now being brought ' into use by the Government. j A voice: Anything about oil? | J The Department, he said, forwarded | the twenty barrels to England, -but it j had to be refined before it was any | good . Instructions had been sent to England to have it refined, but the | latest reply was that iio one' there coul;1 I refine it. It would give him great I pleasure to help the industry if possible. 1 f He considered the close settlement and j the fact that the majority of people i were their own employers were the main' reasons for the prosperity of Taranaki. | CONCLUSION. j "All honor is due to those who so nobly did their duty in the past;| • we are gratified to have with us to-day i living representatives of those early set-| tiers, and we are proud of the sons and daughters they have left behind them to 1 carry on their good work. I would ask them to live up to these traditions, and not blot their escutcheon. This spot will be regarded in future years as 'holy ground, and the lines of Mrs. Homan's I beautiful poem on the arrival in Amer- | ica of the pioneer Pilgrim Fathers are j specially applicable:— I I *Ay, call it holy ground, I The soil where first they trod, j They have left unstained what ther they found— I Freedom to worship God.'" | The .Hon. Carncross, M.L.C., who was 1 the last speaker, said in honoring these' | pioneers they were honoring themselves, i j It was splendid to know that those who had preceded them were not for- j gotten. He felt that the vigor, vim and' push of the pioneers still remained with the young generation, and of this ex-l ample would be given when the occasion! arose. They themselves would be old settlers soon, and he suggested that atil association might be created as already mentioned, but to include everyone who in course of time could show fifty years | residence in Taranaki. The Mayor then called on Mrs. 11. H.J

Wood'and Mrs. J. Smith, the two lady passengers on the William Bryan, to perform the unveiling ceremony, which was successfully performed amidst applause. THE OBELISK. The obelisk stands on a pedestal consisting of two flights of concrete steps, the lower one being 10ft square. The obelisk itself is of stone, and is sft. square at the 'base, which is 4ft. high. The needle springs up from this , forming an obelisk 20ft. high. It is built of stone obtained from the breakwater > quarry, This stone was difficult to obtain on account of the recent blasting, which had shaken the stone to pieces. The monument has a rustic finish with margin edges, and is solid all the way through. It is to have a granite tablet bearing the following inscription:— "Erected March 31, 1911, to mark the locality where the pioneer settlers landed from the following vessels:— , Brougham, February 14, 1841. William Bryan, March 31, 1841. Amelia Thompson, September 3, 1841. ! Regina, October 3, 1841. i Oriental, November 7, 1841. Timandria, February 24, 1842. , Blenheim, November 7, 1842. ! Essex, January 23, 1843. j Mr. Short was the contractor, and Mr. I F. Messenger superintended its erection I iree of charge. VETERANS' ANNUAL RE-UNION. Captain Mace, N.Z.C., presided over an attendance of about seventy veterI ans and guests at the annual re-union I of Taranaki veterans, which was held in I the Burlington Rooms last night. Mr. H. S. Fitzhcrbert occupied the viee- : chair . The chairman had on his right ! the Hon. T. Mackenzie. Messrs. Okey i and Jennings M.'aP., Samuel and Carn- | cross M.'sL.C, Mr. Tisch and Rev. Evans i were also present. A pleasant evening was spqnt in songs, toasts, and reminis--1 cences. Our report is crowded out.