Peace Celebration

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XII, Issue 3, 1 July 1919, Page 141

Peace Celebration

On 19tli July, as m the different parts of the world, peace was celebrated m New Zealand by great rejoicings and thanksgivings. Fortunately, the day was fine and sunny m the various centres, and the processions which passed through the cities Avere displayed to full advantage. In the processions the returned nurses were invited to join, and they were driven m motor cars. They received a hearty welcome from the crowd lining tho pavements, and remarks such as " Anyhow the nurses belong to the public," " They are our nurses," and " What are they, mother ? " as if they were something out of the Zoo, were heard en route. In Dunedin the sisters were afterwards entertained to tea at the Savoy. On Sunday the various services were well attcned. Seats wore reserved for the sisters. Monday was the children's day, but unfortunately, it was wet and cold. In spite of the weather the children carried out tho programme. In Wellington, on Sunday, at the Town Hall, the following beautiful hymn, written by a well-known member of the medical profession, Dr. Edith Huntley, was sung :■ — ■ IN MEMORIAM. For those who are not hero on this Our high Thanksgiving Day, Who only saw it from afar, Let us give thanks and pray. Thanks for the courage and the faith And tho devotion high,

That faltered not m suffering's hour, Nor at tho call to die. Along tho far-flung battle-line Their graves are scattered wide — ■ Some dust unto the dust of earth, Some 'neath the rolling tide. Full many a spot of alien soil Through them ia hallowed ground, And shall ;> for ever England " be Till the Great Trump shall sound. For surely tears are shod like mist, And blood hath flowed like rain ; Pray, Cod, tho countless sacrifice Khali not have boon m vain. Pray, God, that we, who still remain, To work beneath tho sun, May fill up that which is behind Of what they have begun. Their task, unfinished, falls to us To make oppression cease, To sow the fruits of righteousness In freedom and m peace. We m the homes they died to save Are heirs to those who fell : Rise to our great inheritance — Rise wo, and quit us well ! Till they who fought and they who wrought, One great rejoicing host, (Shall soe tho guerdon of their toil, And count it worth the cost. — Amen.