DAY OF THANKSGIVING

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 9098, 11 May 1945, Page 2

DAY OF THANKSGIVING

END OP THE WAB IN EUEOPE ' WAIHI’S OBSERVANCE CITIZENS’ SERVICE CONDUCTED Waihi, in common with most other centres, received the news that the war in Europe was over in a spirit of deep thankfulness and subdued rejoicing. In anticipation of the announcement of Germany’s capitulation, business houses and offices made as good display of flags and bunting as material available permitted, while there were few youngsters who did not sport at least one miniature flag of one of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations or of the Allies. Russia and America were well represented. To mark the occasion officially a citizens’ service was held at the Seddon Memorial at 2.30 o’clock on the afternoon of VE Day (Wednesday). The service, at which the Mayor, Mr W. M. Wallnutt, presided, was preceded by a parade of bearers of flags of the Allied nations, led by the Waihi Federal Band, which also played at the service and afterwards.

Address by Mayor

“This is not the time for long speeches. It is a time for thanksgiving and rejoicing,” said Mr Wallnutt. “The feeling of immense relief must be uppermost in our minds. One can easily imagine what the cessation of hostilities means to our men of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, the men of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, our courageous Army nurses, our Navy and the men of the Merchant Navy, cur prisoners of war, the splendid Maori Battalion, to the heroic men and women of Britain who stood up so nobly to the terror which came to them from the'skies, and to our allies, particularly Russia and America—and their great leaders, Joseph Stalin and the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and to our own great leader, Winston Churchill, and the President of China, Chian Kai-Shek. Our thoughts go out to them in this hour of triumph and victory, and to all the bereaved families. . . . “Our own New Zealand boys have come through the ordeal of war with flying colours —a war the severity of which has never been equalled in the history of the world. And now it has been written that the New Zealand Division has proved itself not only one of the greatest fighting forces in this war, but also one of the greatest of all time.

Epic of London “Many of us from the Homeland are aware of the dark pages of national life in respect to the conditions of the dwellers in the slum areas. It has been asked what have these people to fight for? What have they to lose? What do we find? When Mi Menzies, as Prime Minister of Australia, visited these areas, he said that ‘the strange and almost divine thing was that in the back-streets there were men and women who had almost nothing to lose, and who had been dealt with by life with the cruellest injustice, yet these were the people in whom the flame of resolution burned so fiercely • that those who had seen it could never forget.” I think the story of Lon. don is one of the greatest epics written in the history of any nation. Hitler, in 1940, said he would crush London flat in three weeks. It was battered for five years and lived through ai agony of travail for 9J months —288 days and nights in succession—from the beginning on June 15 of the VI offensive, to {.he end of the V2 offensive on Good Friday, and, in addition, of course, to the great blitz of 1940-41. It also experienced 2000 nights of tne black-out. What would have happened had he succeeded? The indomitable spirit of England, however, prevailed and to-day we are celebrating one of the greatest events in the history of the world. A New World

“The dark pages of its history, already referred to, however, have now been turned over, never to come back, and out of suffering and tribulation may come forth a new order of life, justice and toleration. It has been said that the scourge of war is as a purifying fire. If so, and a new world emerges from it, then cruelty, injustice and poverty must have no place in it.” Mr Wallnutt also read the follow-

ing message from Mr James Thorn,

M.P. for Thames: “I join with you and citizens of town and district in relief and gladness at the end of the war in Europe. Let us solemnly remember those who lost their lives and suffered wounds and captivity and those near and dear to them. Cur grateful thanks are due to the brave men and women whose fortitude and courage have given the Allies the victory. May we all resolve to make destruction of Nazi and Fascist tyranny the opportunity for building a peaceful and better world.” Other Speakers Vice-president of the Waihi branch of the R.S.A., Mr A. H. Biackmore apologised for the absence of the president, Mr E. H. McCarthny, who is ill, and who he hoped would soon be able to take over his duties again as a soldier of the last war who would try his .best to see that justice was done to thd men of this one. He (the speaker) hoped the time would come when there would be a real peace on earth. Against tyranny, and until Russia had been attacked, the British Empire had stood alone, said Mr Biackmore; but with the help of that great nation and the United States of America she had been able to turn the tide. There was, however, still the war in the Pacific, but lie hoped it would not be too long, and that our men who had served so gloriously in Italy, Africa and on other fronts would be with us before long. He hoped victory would firing I about a better period than those I who had fought for it had ever ! known before.

In behalf of the Maori race, Mr S. M. Hovell said the native people were happy to join their pakelia brothers in celebrating the splendid victory in Europe; and he was also proud to say that the Maori boys had done their bit to bring about the downfall of the Hun

Cheers were given for the Allied and their leaders, special reference being made to General Sir Bernard Freyberg, V.C.; and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” and the National Anthem brought the ceremony to an end.

MINISTERS’ ASSOCIATION CONDUCTS UNITED SERVICES

The Waihi Ministers’ Association conducted united services on Wednesday at the Beach, Waikino and at Waihi. In all places, there were large audiences, testifying to the real spirit of thanksgiving that was moving most people. At the Beach, the theatre was more than half full, and an offertory was taken for the relief of the liberated peoples in Europe. At Waikino, some fifty or sixty gathered and at Waihi the Miners’ Theatre was well filled. Again, the generosity of the audience was appealed to for relief funds, and again a generous response followed.

A feature of the evening service was the stand of flags arranged by Mrs Ensor and party, and the standard bearers stood throughout the service. A deep and reverent note was evident at all services, and the theme of the addresses was one of devotion to the ideals for which men had suffered and died. A special order of service was prepared, headed with the memorable lines written during the last war by Law-

rence Binyon: “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, We shall remember them.”

This little verse was the inspiration of the whole service, and the heartfelt thanks to Almighty God was constantly before the audiences. More than one testified to the way in which they had been made to think of the eternal values of God, and with that testimony the ones responsible for the services were content. J

Thanks are due to many who did so much to make possible the services, and the thanks of the Ministers’ Association were paid to the Mayoress, Mrs W. M. Wallnutt, to Mrs Ensor and her party, to , the Labour Party for the use of the piano, and to Mrs Young for accompanying the hymns.