AWAKE NEW ZEALAND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 50, 8 May 1942, Page 5

AWAKE NEW ZEALAND

LOCAL CAMPAIGN OPENS PROVISIONAL COMMITTEE FORMED SUM OF £223 RAISED Whakatane last evening reiterated the same enthusiasm which has met the organisers and speakers of the "Awake New Zealand" Campaign in the course of their progress throughout the Bay of Plenty, when a crowded audience in the Grand Theatre listened attentively to< Messrs P. Bonham, of Hamilton, H. T. Morton (Mayor of Te Kuiti) and l Mr H. A. Washer, Te Pulce. It can safely be said that, as a result of the visit and the setting up of a provisional committee, that the objective of the movement —the r lifting of the morale of the .people and the .placing of the' •> facts before them was fully iaccomplished. As a result of a collection taken in the building th«* sum of £223 was handed in for the provision of equipment for the local Home Guard 1 . The Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, who .presided welcomed the speakers fo>r the "Awake New Zealand Campaign" and said that he understood that itstwo objectives were the arousing of the people to a fuller sense of responsibility and ensuring that the manpower of the Dominion was fully organised and equipped to safeguard its; shores. He also apologised /'or the unavoidable absence ot Major Melrose who had been unable to make the trip for health reasons. The official party on the platform included: Mr P. Bonham (Dominion Chairman of the A.N.Z.C.), Mr H. T. Morton (Mayor of Te Kuiti), Mr :H. A. Washer (Te Puke executive), Mr N. F. Taylor (organiser), Mrs ,Cole (E'dgecumbe Amazon Battalion) and Mr W. G. Bunj'an (Edge•cumbe). .Material Things Don't Count •'ln these days of national crisis, material things don't count, said .Mr Bonham in prefacing his remarks. "If I am able to sit in my home this time next year and see my country still unviolated I shall be very thankiul'.' Twct countries to-day, he said, had .successfully 1 ought the Axis powders. They were Russia and China and in those countries every man was a soldier. If New Zealand would put cverj' one of her men into training from 16 to 60 she would be going a long way towards; making herself safe. With a garrison of 250,000 men -his organisation believed New Zealand could not be taken.

It had been estimated that a pos- J sible invasion force might number from 50,000 to 100,000 men supported by 300 tanks. With a garrison army four times as great there was a every reason to be able to put up a successful defence. The spirit of the first N.Z.E.F. and the spirit which animated the men in Libya and Crete was born in New Zealand and still lived. It was our duty to find it and. to stimulate our garrison troops with it. Strictly Non-Political While the movement was strictly non political, it did not hesitate to strike a sharp critical note at the attitude of the Government, for its inability to give the best possible lead at the present time. It demanded that the country should instantly be lead by the best brains inside and outside the House. Until the voice of the people is heard demanding individual sacrifice we must remain short of arms and equipment for the Home Guard. We must act quickly and 1 now. Red tape must be cut away from the clean body of New Zealand so that she can staind erect and fight for her life Churchill, he said, had promised the people of Britain blood, sweat and tears. What was the position . in New Zealand? To-day it was infiniloly worse for we had no British licet ringing our coast and likewise it was not for us to sit down and await the American lleet. We did not deserve that help until we were doing I lie utmost to help ourselves. Sidi Rezegh Exploit Some,, three months ago the New Zealanders at Sidi Rezegh in Libya had beaten the elite of Ilommels army—the famed Africana Corps. There was no more glorious epic in our history yet the papers dismissed

it with, a column and the radio scarcely touched it. People wanted to hear more of the exploits of our men. To cultivate more of the war .spirit oif offensive. Yet all one heard

on the radio was twaddle from Hollywood or R.U.R. advertisements. The radio, the greatest stimulating weapon we had was merely being wasted on superfluities. This matter had been brought to the notice of the Prime Minister who had promised to correct it, but so far nothing had been done. A Japanese Dependency Tracing the history of the Japanese advance, the speaker saia that when Tokio was bombed the people of this country threw up their hats and wont to the races. That sort of attitude would make New Zealand a Japanese dependency forever, and if that came to pass we would simply cease to exist as a people. Kven if we were rescued by the British or Americans later our blood would be so sullSed that clean deatli would be far more preferable. Yet to-day people in high places and people in not so high places were guilty of feeding this spirit of complacency. He would give the lie direct to any man to-day who said that everything was being clone that could be done. Certainly considerable improvements had taken place in Home Guard equipment since they had (irst started agitation but there were still many things which were lacking. These included field cookers, medical supplies, trailer, ambulances, ground sheets, signalling lamps, blankets and stretchers. -Time is Short All these things could be furnished and many manufactured in the town of Whakatane if funds could be raised and the organisation set going. Time was short. New Zealand needed a million marching leet and. a million nimble hands-. New ■Zealand to-day needed every ablebodied man and woman to rally to | her aid. Other speakers were Messrs Morton, Washer and Bunyari. Details of their remarks will appear in Monday's issue. The collecting of the cash donations was effected by cards which were handed in by Home Guardsmen and announced by. l Mr Bonham. All speakers were accorded, warm applause and the meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair. The provisional committee set up to form the local branch was as; under: Messrs C. F. Thomas, L. Buddie, Andrew McLean, Alex McLean, R. E. Blair, C. Kingsley-Smitli and W. . R. Boon.