PIONEERS’ DAY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 10182, 20 December 1927, Page 3

PIONEERS’ DAY.

ANNIVERSARY OF CANTERBURY

PROVINCE

SERVICE AT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, TEMUKA.

Friday last, 16th December, was the 77th anniversary of the arrival

at Lyttelton of the- first four ships conveying the pioneers of the province of Canterbury. For the past few years the Mayor and Council of Temuka has made it a custom to arrange for a pioneers’ service to be held on' the Sunday nearest to the 16th, and this year the service Avas held on Sunday last, in the Presbyterian Church. The congregation Avas a very large one, amongst the worshippers being the pioneers, the Mayor - and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs T. E. Gunnion), Councillors A. H. Fenn (Deputy-Mayor), J. B. Sinclair, J. Cook, G. H. Clements, R. H. Taylor, L. F. Robins, E. B. Cooper and A. W. Buzan, the Town Clerk (Mr Macpherson), Mr T. D. Burnett, member for the district, and' members of the Temuka Pipe Band. OAving to illness, Councillor Hally was unable to attend. . In accordance Avith arrangements the pioneers assembled near the Post Office, at a quarter past ten a.m., cars being provided for them. Here a procession was formed and, headed’ by the Municipal Band, under Conductor Allen, and the Pipe Band, under Drum-Major Edgar, the pioneers, Mayor and Mayoress, and Council, and member for the district proceeded to the church .by Av.ay of King andi Wilmhurst streets, and ; Railway Terrace, being welcomed at the church by the pastor, Rev. H. R. Fell.

THE SERVICE. The service was impressive and inspiring. The Bible reading selected was the beautiful chapter of Isaiah (:35th), commencing: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be made glad for them,” and ending: “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with, songs, and everlasting, joy upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” ‘ Coming to the sermon, the Rev. Fell said he would like first of all to express his pleasure in seeing again soma of the pioneers in the ' Dominion present in the church for public worship. . In the name of the church he extended to them, , the Mayor and Council, and membpr for the district, a very cordial welcome. He then went on to deliver an inspiring sermon, in the course of which he said: “The 77th anniversary of the •founding of Canterbury Province, marks another milestone reached in the life of - this young country, and it is fitting, that we should publicly acknowledge the goodness of God to us. The pioneers will see a

peculiar appropriateness in the linking together of two Old Testament passages, .Isaiah, 35: ■ “The wilderness: and the solitary place shall be glad and the desert shall rejoice

and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing; ” ' and Psalm 118, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” The privilege of looking back is a priceless treasure. There 1 is something wonderfully compelling about; a very old person-—to think of what they have seen and ■heard, the changes through which have lived, and what they have Belped to bring about. It is wonderful bow Pay back links with the past va few survivors of the men who sailed with Captain Cook on his South Seas voyage, in ‘ 1772. In 1890, some of Nelson’s tars were still living and telling over again the story of the battles they had fought'and victories they had won. No. doubt some of those present could go back in memory for 70 or SO years. Many of you can reach back long, lo u;g years in memory—can. remember youthful days in faraway lands —how hard it was to leave the old home—the discomforts and trials of shipboard life —the hardships of; life in a new land. These things will soon be forgotten and it will be a thousand pities if they are' not put down in black and white before it is too late. You can look back and ■ see how prosperity has’ come to this land. You have seen wonderful -things. Once you were strangers in a strange land, and now your child-: . ren’s. children rise up and call you blessed. The years, too, have brought spiritual blessings to you. • You have seen' the power of God working in your own lives and in othef lives —Have seen triumphs of grace on all sides. You have seen ‘the wilderness blossom like the rose,’ and it is God’s work. To-day we are able to say,. ‘This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’ Because of your thrift, ■ your patience, your hard work, you have prepared and handed on to us a goodly heritage. ' But above all else has been, the guiding hand_ of God, and to-day we give Him praise. ‘The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.’ This is a thanksgiving service—the note of rejoicing should be heard in every part. Your experience of the goodness of God should be wonderful in incentive to us younger folk. We have also the privilege of looking ahead. The recollection of such great blessings in the past makes us very confident about the future. There Ms no need for pessimism either in material or spiritual tilings. In all past years God lias provided for our material needs. He will continue to do so. In all -past years God has nourished our spiritual natures. He will continue to do so. They were pessimists until they remembered that the power over them was greater than that against 'The. cause of Christ could "never fail. It has ups and downs, times of prosperity and adversity, but the Church of God can never fail. “We are fully persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, or things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” , The. musical part of the service was a special feature. The hymns were - old favourites, and included “Glory be to God. the Father, “Come-Praise our Lord and Saviour,’ (children’s). “0 God our Help,” and the “Old Hundredth” psalm. .Mrs R. Richards gave an artistic interpretation of Coweu s ‘Better i Land.” The organist, Mr R. P. de I Ri(ldqiV presided at the organ very

ably, and during the service rendered Darnton’s “Fantasia on Old Church Tunes,” “St. Michael’s”; Schumann's “Traumerei”-; and at the close, Mendelssohn’s famous “War March of the Priests.”

After the Benediction had been pronounced, Rev. Mr Fell said that it had been arranged for Mr Barnett to address the congregation from the church steps, but owing to the wet ground it would be advisable to allow him to speak in the building.

MR BURNETT’S ADDRESS

Addressing the congregation as “Fellow Countrymen and Women,” Mr B'urnett said that with the permission of Rev. Pell, and at the request of the Mayor and Council, he would address them, not as their member, but in connection with the service. They had gathered for a two-fold purpose. First, to return thanks to God for blessings bestowed on the Canterbury province during 77 years; and secondly, to show appreciation of our fellow-citizens, the pione'ers of this district. He did not want to address them as their member of Parliament, but more as the son of a pioneer. . As regards the first object, it, would he a bad day for any district when the people became so materialistic that they neglected to acknowledge Almighty God, and to.give thanks for all the blessings they enjoyed. Mr Burnett then went on to speak of the stock we sprang from. The pioneers were men. and women of the Old Laud, in all classes of life, who became dissatisfied with the conditions they were living under and came to New Zealand to make a new home. They were riien and women of all religious denominations. They had to thank the pioneers for air they had, done, and it was for 'us to build worthily on the foundations the pioneers had laid so wisely and 'well. ■ Many of them had not collected much of this. w.orld’s goods; they appeared to think it was their duty, to “blaze the trail” well and faithfully, - and the South Canterbury pioneers had done their work worthily. “But what of the future?’' queried the speaker. He often wondered what the pioneers thought. Were they satisfied? Perhaps not. In moments of depression they may have thought they could have done better. But let him, as a public man, assure his hearers that the foundations -they had made were well and truly laid, and if was for us to do our best. He went on to speak of the liberties we enjoy, today, and said these should he guarded, most jealously. There were dangers; under a democracy as well as. under an aristocracy. Mr Burnett spoke of the hardships that the pioneers—both men ana women —had l to put up with, and contrasted them with the up-to-date conveniences and facilities provided inthe modern home, saying in this regard we were now; living in a paradise compared with the conditions under which the pioneers had to exist. We are living in a mew world. Let us move forward in the years that are before us, and make New Zealand a still better and greater country. Some, people said New Zealand is out of the world. Don’t* believe it. Distance is annihilated now, and the time Avas coming when there would be airship services to and from New Zealand, and long-before the-chfldrea-of today are groAATi up, there would be airship communication between the most distant parts of the Empire and its centre. In these new countries of New Zealand, Australia and Canada, there are fresher aJgavs and broader vision, and immense possibilities/ and it was on the way Ave brought up our children that the future of New Zealand depended. The pioneers had had faith in themselves and,-hope in the future of their country, but of the three graces, that of charity was in some measure overlooked, and those Avho followed them must take care that in the future they did not allow charity to take the place of religion. They .-Avere there to give thanks on- behalf of the people avlio had made conditions so much easier forV us, and as the pioneers, aaJio had, made this country such a good one to live in. passed away, it behoved .those who folloAved them to strive: to do their best to make New Zealand, a country that avouM lead, the AA r orld in all human effort.

The following were the pioneers who were "" present:—Mrs E. Lee, Mrs; and Miss Paterson (Winchester), Mrs John Talbot (Rangitira Valley), Mr and Mrs Geo. Levens, Mrs W. Hopkinson, Mr and Mrs D. Taylor, Mr S; Cain,' Mr J. B. Wareing, Mr and Mrs A. L. Barker, Mr G. Davey, Mrs A. Routledge, Mrs J. Airay, Mr Jas. Blj’th, Mr George Freddy, Mrs A. Hayhurst, Mr Jas.' Benbow (Bankside), Mrs F. Hooper, Miss Rooke, - Mrs Groundwater, Mr C. Story, Mr J. Bambridge, Mr and. Mrs E. B. Cooper, Mrs Whitehead, 1 Mr T. D.Barnett and Miss Burnett (Cave), Mr and Mrs R. Brookland, Mr and Mrs ‘B. Trumper (Clandeboye), Mrs' McClelland, Mrs Beri, Mr and Mrs J. Fisher, senr., Mr and 1 Mrs M. Gudex, Mr and Mrs Gunuion, Mr J. Walker, Mr A. Hope, Mr W. Stoakes, Mr J., Philp, Mrs Goodeve, Mrs Green (Waiapl), Mrs A. Martin, Mr and Mrs A. Crawford, Mr, and Mrs A. E. Smith, Mr and Mrs 1 Friers, Mrs James Guild and Miss Guild, Mr and Mrs Alma Edgeler, Mr Palmer, Mr and Mrs Geo. McCullough* Mr M. Walker, Mr G. Walker, Mrs N. C. Nicholas, Mr and Mrs Geo. Ward (Temuka), Mrs Longson, senr., Mr G. McElroy, Mr and Mrs Geo. Thomson, Mrs E. Heap, Mr G. Chapman, Mr T. Chapman, Mr and Mrs W. Knight, Mr W. Gray. Invitations were also sent to the following pioneers, but through illness and other causes they were unable to attend. -Many of them, however, sent apologies: —Mrs E. Pye, Mrs R. Edgar, Mrs Jas. Findlay, Mr and Mrs Geo. Smart, Mr and. Mrs A. L. Barker (Winchester), Mr J. Fitzgerald (Arowhenua) Mr 0. Matthews, Mr T. Trezise, Mr J. Brown (Riverslea), Mr J- Gaffaney, Mrs J. Scott, Mr W. Hally, Mr Colin Campbell, Mrs Crompton (Timaru Hospital), Mr F. Parke (Christchurch), Mr Geo. Phillips, Mrs Williams, Mr W. G. Aspinall, Mr John Moore, Miss Hawke, Mr J. J. Ellis, Mr and Mrs T. Larcombe, Mrs M. Greelish, Mr R. B. Comer, Miss G. Brown, Mr J. Austin, Mr C. Bisdee, Mrs M._ Fitzgerald. Mr and' Mrs R- Wallace (Clandeboye), Mr E. Butler, Mr and Mrs D. Henry. It was pleasing to notice that the pioneers were for the most part still comparatively hale and hearty, and we hope they will be able to attend many similar services. Mr Jas. Blyth, who may_ be termed the “father” of the party, has reached the age of 92 years.

The following car owners kindly provided cars to convey the pioneers to ami from the church: —Messrs A. H. Fenn, R. H. Taylor, A. H. Ahhott, G. B. Cartwright, J- Cook,