WAVERLEY WAR MEMORIAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19441, 29 October 1925, Page 3

WAVERLEY WAR MEMORIAL

UNVEILED BY PRIME MINISTER AN IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY. LESSONS OF THE GREAT WAR. The "Waverley War Memorial was unveiled yesterday by the Prime Minister, in the presence of a large gathering. The ceremony was very impressive. The chairman of the Memorial Committe, Mr A. J. Adlam, in opening the proceedings, remarked that it was fitting that the memorial was being unveiled by a man who not only was Prime Minister, but was a soldier, too. An Address. The Rev. H. D. Mclvor, in an excellent address, said that when the S.O.S. went out on August 4, 1914, none answered it more readily than the men from this little district of Waverley. Their response was magnificent; and also from all over our glorious Empire came men of every class and fio a every walk of life animated by the same old spirit of determination to light for the freedom of th<' Empire. These mon went from no base motive, but in a noble cause. How great was the toll, how great the sacrifice! It was because of these men’s devotion that to-day so many of them were mourned. There were people inclined to comment on the awful waste, but if they stopped to think a moment they would realise that the men could have done nothing nobler than lay down their lives for the cause of humanity. Many a dear heart had been stricken with grief, as many a dear head had been paid low in the cause of liberation, lasting human freedom and the bringing of blessings to mankind. Mr Mclvor quoted an Army Order issued by a famous French General when the war was at its height, pointing out that New Zealand troops led by Sir Andrew Russell had moved from victory to victory, covered themselves with glory, and had related incidents to his own men that where, the French people had been flying pell moll from their homes they had stayed their Hight immediately on the arrival in the locality of the New Zealanders, saying, when the French inquired that these were the men from New Zealand. They -were content to remain in their villages so long as the protection of the New Zealanders could be afforded them. Mr Mclvor concluded with the observation that people in New Zealand praised God that the work so well begun at Locarno would result in permanent peace. Pledge to the Empire. Boy Scouts and school girls pledged themselves to the cause of Empire in the future. i Mr J. R. Corrigan’s Tribute. Mr J. R. Corrigan introduced the Prime Minister. He said that the memorial spoke volumes for the patriotic spirit of the citizens of Waverley. They had a duty to the widows and dependents of the men who had fallen in the war, and he hoped that that >bligation would not be lost sight of. The ceremony could not have been performed by a better man than Mr Coates, who had gone through the war and knew what sacrifices the men had made.

Prime Minister’s Address. The Prime Minister expressed his deep gratitude to those who had asked him to unveil the memorial, and he said that he considered it a duty of public men to be present at these cere- 1 monies whenever possible. He complimented Waverley upon the arrangements, and upon the beauty of the ceremony, and added that he very much doubted if ever he had seen a better setting. The chosen site was, excellent. There they were; to-day where the old Wairoa redoubt was in the early days of New Zealand, a place where the pioneers took refuge from the Maoris. What a change! To-day the Maoris were New Zealand’s best friends and most respected citizens. When the war came the Maoris were among the first to volunteer for active service. And proud indeed wore the pakeha soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder with the representatives of so noble a race. A few minutes ago those present had listened to one of the finest addresses they had ever heard—that by the Rev. H. D. Mclvor. Relating a few incidents of the war, Mr Coates I said that the New Zealand soldiers had fought in the spirit that did not know defeat, and that was what had got them through with the credit which was now their’s. New Zealanders’ duty as citizens was to make perfectly certain, so , far as it was possible, that no de- , pendent of a fallen soldier, no soldier who had been injured in the war, and no man or woman who was in trouble to-day after having served in the war in any way suffered from neglect. They could do a lot in a quiet way, ar.d any who knew of a case which needed help must advise the authorities at once. It was a national duty to help these people. It was hard for those who lost their dear ones at the front, but he always felt the people would not have had it otherwise. They could remember that the nation felt for them, and felt that their kith and kin had done, something for the country which could never be repaid. He really believed that the first step towards something in the nature of a permanent peace had been accomplished at Locarno. None wanted war, but he could not advise that essential steps for national protection should be abandoned before the ideal of the settlement of international disputes by arbitration had been fully realised. Ho brought to the notice of the. boys and girls present the fact that, they were living under the freest Constitution in the wide world and expressed the hope that they would always value it, treasure it and never fail to protect it. Closing Scenes. Wreaths were laid on the memorial, a military salute was fired, and the ceremony concluded with the sounding of the Last Post.