ANNIVERSARY DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18940, 10 December 1929, Page 9

ANNIVERSARY DAY.

To the Editor. Dear Sir,—Within a week not only Christchurch city, but the whole of the Canterbury province should be celebrating the seventy-ninth anniversary of the arrival of that sturdy band of pioneers to whose efforts the present generation owe so much. _ I can’t recall the number of years since the old-time celebrations of the sixteenth of December were allowed to lapse; but I well remember how in my boyhood days Anniversary Day was looked upon as “the” day of days by the then living pioneers and their children and also the rest of the population of Christchurch city and provincial towns, and all used to come in to see the sports held on Latimer Square before Worcester Street was put through it, and cut it into two sections, thus spoiling it as a place for holding the ever-popular sports. Then in the evening we youngsters always looked forward with unbounded pleasure to the torchlight procession of the fire brigade and display of fireworks which always appeal to *he young folk. Cannot yo# do something to help restore the old order of things and celebrate the day in a fitting manner in memory of the pioneers, and observe it as a public holiday, as under the present circumstances the city holds the memorable record of being the only place that does not observe a holiday on its anniversary? For myself, being the descendant of pioneers, both parents being early colonists—-jny father arriving in the colony in 1840 and mother in the “Cressy”—l like to see an Act of Parliament passed making the anniversary days of the foundation of the four principal cities—Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin—compulsory holidays, and all honour to the labour unions of this province who have insisted on having the sixteenth of December declared a holiday under their awards. When the Early Colonists’ Association was formed—and I have been a member from the very first—l did hope that body would do something towards having the day fittingly celebrated by all the citizens as in days gone by, and not only by the members who are mostly descendants of old pioneer families, and then have to pick on the Saturday afternoon nearest December 16 to hold their celebration unless the sixteenth happens to fall on a Saturday. I have lived in Christchurch all my life with the exception of a few years spent in pioneering work in the North Island, and I can truthfully say the present citizens of Christchurch have no reason to feel proud of themselves for not fittingly celebrating December 16, and allowing the present generation to grow up without giving a thought to the memory of the early settlers, to whose indomitable pluck and work the city and province owes its present state of prosperity—but the day t just passes as an ordinary business day, although Government Departments have a holiday, and before I end my days I would like to see the old-time celebrations revived and the day observed as a close holiday by all. I hope this letter will be the means of your using your influence towards having the holiday restored, and it is fitting that you should do so, as the “Star” is a descendant of the old “Lyttelton Times”—l can’t get into the way of calling it the “Christchurch Times” after having read it all my life since I was able to read, and that is a good sixty ago now. In its way it is one of the pioneers, as the press that printed the paper and also the first proprietor came out in one of the First Four Ships. So please, Mr Editor, just wade in and give the public, more especially the business portion of it, one of those able and telling articles of yours after the style of those you published over the “Improvement of the Square” question, and which helped so much in the good work of having the Square restored to its old beautiful estate. —I am, etc., ; PIONEER’S DESCENDANT 65 years resident in Christchurch.