STERLING SERVICE RECOGNISED

Chronicle (Levin), 22 February 1947, Page 3

STERLING SERVICE RECOGNISED

MR. AND MRS. L. G. LOWRY HONOURED Presentation At Shannon The Druids' Hall was filled to capacity orUThursdky eveningwhen the public of Shannon and distnct gathered to extend a comphmentary social to Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Lowry as a mark of appreciation for the excellent work they have done for the community during the many years in which Mr. Lowry represented them as member ot Parliament. The hall was attractively decorated for the occasion and visitors commenced to arrive at an early hour. Orchestral ltems kept them entertained until the concert programme, which occupied the first portion of the evening, was commenced. Prolonged applause heralaea tne arrival of the guests of honour and the official party, which mcluded the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, Mr. and Mrs. Kemp, Mr. E. T. Tirikatene, M.P., Mr. M. H. Oram, M.P., and Mrs. Oram, and Mr. Phil Holloway. They were extended a welcome as they arnved by the Mayor, Mr. R. E. Downes, and the opportunity was taken to introduce Mr. Fraser to those P1®^ent. Mr. and Mrs. Lowry and the Prime Minister mixed with the crowd and -renewed many old friendships, the Prime Mmistei i greeting each of those present in I turn as he made his way to his S6At about 8.30 p.m. the concert programme opened with _ ^erse speaking by the pupils of Miss Lois Lind. This was followed by two delightful vocal numbers by Mi. Richard Lind. Miss Iris Sutherland, a visitor from Palmerston Noith then entertained with two Scottish folk songs. Mr. J. D. Campbell icn~ dered two vocal numbers and Miss Lois Lind delighted those present with two of her popular humorous recitations. Mrs. S. W. Barber C0T~ pleted the concert programme with a bracket of two songs. Those who took then places on the stage for the addresses of appreciation, besides those in the official party, were Mrs. J. A. Easton, Messrs. J. D. Campbell, J. . P Liggins, S. H. Roberts, R. R- Lindi and S W, .Barber. Little Shirley McLean presellted Mrs.. Lowry with a beautiful bouquet and Mrs. Oram, Mrs. Kemp and Mrs. Easton with posies. Prior to calling upon the Mayor j (Mr R E Downes) to address those present, the master of ceremonies (Mr J. T. Bovis) tendered aDoloEdes from Mr. G. A. Monk, Mr. W E. Barber, Mr. R. Craig h, -Mr. and Mrs. R. J- Law and Mr. J. D. Aitchison (.Opiki). In opening his remaiks, the Mayor said that it was qnaeed pieasure and a pnvilege to exien. a welcome to the guests of honoui and to the distinguished people nresent Mr. Downes stated that it was the first time that the Prime Minister had visited Shannon to attend a function of the kind and also expressed pieasure that Ml and Mrs. Oram and Mi. ^lkawne were able to be present. P that Shannon would see Mi. aria Mrs. Oram on many occasions m ^The Mayor went 011 to outline the work done by Mr. Lowry during the 11 years which he had iepresented Ihe. Otaki elforate, especially dunng the cighty when Shannon was pait of that electorate. Mr Downes smd lhat Mr Lowry had always done the best that it was possible to do, and the large gathering present served to prove that he had won the admiration of the people geneiaUy. The Mayor went on to say that fo a number of years he had had the pieasure of being closely absociatea with Mr. Lowry 111 his woik and knew the sacrifices which both he and Mrs. Lowry had made to seive 4-vv^ nonnip hp. reDresented. ±16 was

sorry that, owing to ill health, Mr. Lowry had been forced to retire from public life. He was a man the country could ill afford to lose. The Mayor concluded by wishmg Mr. ■ Lowry a speedy letum to health, and hoped that in the years to come both Mr. and Mrs Lowry would enjoy many hours of happi^Tlie next speaker, Mr. J. H. P. Liggins, speaking on behalf of the local bodies, said that they all new the hard work which membeis of Parliament had to do, especially during the war years, but whenever anything cropped up m the local bodies with which he was associated, which necessitated the caiiing'- for assistance o.f the local member Mr. Lowry had always responded 'in an enthusiastic manner. He seemed to have some supernatural way of getting over, under or through the amount of red tape which sometimes surrounded mat- • ters, and had always done wonderful work in connection with the local bodies. Mr. Liggins concluded by expressing the desire that Mr. and Mrs. Lowry would enjoy health and happiness in the future years. The president of the Shannon branch of the New Zealand National Party, Mr. S. H. Roberts, said that it was a pieasure for him to be assoeiated at a gathering to pay tnbute to Mr, and Mrs. Lowry. Al»

though he was politically opposed, he cuuid say ne haa never met a more upright and smcere man than Mr. Lowry, He had always given continuous servlce to either friend or f'oe. Mr. Lowry baeked everytning he had said or done, ana it was through tnat sineerity that the Ministers of various departrnents knew that anything brought bef ore them by Mr. Lowry was genume. Mr. Roberts stated that ne nad not had the pieasure of knowmg Mrs. Lowry 'personaily, but many of his fnehds had paid nigh triDute to her sineerity, and had mentioned the excellent work she had done to help her husband carry out his duties so thoroughly. Mr. Roberts hoped that Mr. and Mrs. Lowry wouid visit Shannon many times in the future, and wished them health and prosperity in their retirement. In a few well-chosen and appropriate remarks, Mrs. J* A. Easton, who spoke on behalf of all the women's organisations, tendered sincere thanxs to both Mr. and Mrs. Lowry. She said that all had watched the progress of Mr. Lowry's recovery from his recent jllness with hope in their hearts that he would be able to r'esume his place in public life. Although he was retiring from that life ih the meantime, Mrs. Easton expressed the hope that his health would soon be back to normal and that he would be with them again m the not too distant future. Mrs, Easton concluded by wishing Mr. and Mrs. Lowry the very best for the future. On behalf of the men's organisations of the district, Mr. S. W. Barber stated that he was very .pleased to add to the previous speakers' remarks in connection with Mr. Lowry's work in Parliament. Mr. Baroer said that it was widely known that members oi Parliament had a haid job of work to do, and Mr. Lowry was one who had paid the penalty through overwork. Mr. Barber added his recognition to the wholehearte'd appreciation of every organisation in the district to Mr. and Mrs. Lowry for the excellent work they had done for the electorate. He expressed the hope that they would live l.ong. and enjoy good health in the coming years. The superintendent of the Mangahao Power Station,: Mr. J. D. Campbell, was -the- next to add to th^# .ftribute already paid, to Mr. and Mrs. Lowry, JHc said* that he* intended to bring before the public two instanceS where Mr. Lowry had helped to benefit the school children of Shannon. The first occasion was during the time whan Shannon was part of the Manawatu electorate, and its bwn member was away from the district. On this. occasion he had approached Mr. Lowry in connection with the swimming baths at the local school and before five o'clock in the evening he had received a telegram stating that the baths had been granted. The other occasion was when the Horo whenua College was just a dream in the minds of local school committeemen, and it was through the hard work of Mr. Lowry that ihis school had been made a fact and a great benefit to children all over the district. Mr. Campbell added that he hoped Mr. and Mrs. Lowry would enjoy health in the many years to come. The next speaker was Mr. Phil Holloway, who contested the Manawatu electorate at the recent election. Mr. Holloway said he had come as an . outsider, and had though t hard who he should represent. He had come to the conclusion that he would add his tribute to Mr. Lowry as a representative of the youngej people of the district. Mr. Holloway stated that he had travelled far, in the past few months and he had heard nothing but praise for Mr. Lowry everywhere he had gone. Both Mr. and Mrs. Lowry were beloved by young and old alike right throughout the ; district. It was the goal that every ! young person should set themselves i , j i 4-„ VloH-qv rvll r» t.w

to SUliVtJ IjU hlctn-C a uguugi. just as Mr. Lowry had done.in the past. If anyone could achieve the goal reached by Mr. Lowry they would have achieved something worthwhile. Mr. Holloway concluded his remarks by offering the respect, the love and the thanks of the young people to Mr. and Mrs. Lowry,- adding that he was very grateful indeed to have been given the opportunity to offer his thanks to two such popular people. Mr. M. H. Oram, M.P., said that it was a great pieasure to be able to bring his feelings before the public in regard to Mr. Lowry, a man- who had done such great work for not only the district, but for the whole of New Zealand. It was with honesty, sineerity and goodwill that he expressed this message. Mr- Oram said that an M.P.'s work was far from being completed when the smoke of battle of an election»campaign had died down. He had not only to tend to the needs of every single person he represented, but also to the needs of the country and the Empire. No man has carried out that work better than Mr. Lowry, stated Mr. Oram. When Mr. Lowry had found it necessary to retire from Parliament, it was realised that there was no man whose loss was so great to the country than that of Mr. Lowry. Mr. Oram concluded by saying that he was (CONCLUDED ON PAGE 6)

MR. L. G. LOWRY.— Cont.

pleased to see such a large gathering, and he was pleased to be able to shake him by the hand for a job well done. Mr. Oram stated* that he was expressing the wish of .the Leader of the Opposition, and every Gpposition piember in the House, when he wished both Mr. ahd Mrs. Lowry every happiness. ! ; Mr. Oram was followed by Mr . ,E. T. Tirikatene, M.P., .who said he' was pleased to be asspciated .with the assembly and to represent the Maori people, but the.re \yas a cer-; tain amount of sorrow to have ,td speak on Mr. Lowry's retirement from Parliament. Mr. Lowry, was one of his greatest friends, said Mr. Tirikatene, and he was also niie .of the greatest friends of the Maori people, not only in the district he represented in Parliament, but over the whole of New Zealand. 'Mr. Lowrv had served as chairman of the Maori Affairs Committee. for a number of years, but his work with the Maori people had commenced long before that. His kindly expression had won him the heartfelt gratitude of every person, whether Maori or pakeha, with whom he had dealings. Mr. Tirikatene said he was expressing the wish of all the Maoris when he expressed regret that Mr. Lowry was retiring from public life. He hoped that both Mr. and Mrs. Lowry would enjoy many years of health and happiness, and they carried with them the blessing of each and every member of the Maori race. Prolonged applause greeted the Prime Minister as he rose to add his tribute to Mr.^ Lowry- • Mr. Fraser said that Mr. Lowry .was one of the most trustworthy and reliable men that he had had the pleasure to be associated with in Parliament or in private life, ana he had always considered it a pleasure to . co-operate with a man like Mr. Lowry. Although suffering from the results of the 1914-18 war, Mr. Lowry had -offered his services again upon the outbreak of the second world war, just as so many had offered their services when their country was in need and in danger. Mr. Fraser then paid 'ribute to Mr. J. G. Coates, Brigadier J. Hargest and Mr. W. J. Lyon, who had all laid down their lives for our liberty. Mr. Fraser said that in the early days of the war the country hadhad many problems in connection with manpower. Everyonc had a job to do and every one had done it well. Mr. Lowry was among those 'who had worked hard and tirelessly for the benefit of our country, and it was through this nard work that his health had' broken down. Mr. Lowry had also served his country at the conference table overseas and when he, himself, had gone to the countries visited by Mr. Lowry, he had hear.d nothing but ,high praise: expressed by some of ■the leading stat'esmen in England, . Canafia and: the Uhited States for ';:'th6'-'fexcellenfi worfci Mw Lowry had dQne„ Mr, Fraser also added to the 1 Tribute ' paid by Mr. Tirikatene in the ; work Mr. Lowry had done on :the Ndtive Affairs Committee. . He - said' that' it was the finest thing ih i public life td-knbw tliat bne's ser-' vices had been appreciated, and by a thd rerriarks expressed at the gathering Mr. Lowry would realise that it- had been worthv/hile to serve tliese people. Mr. Fraser concluded

by noping tnar oom Mr. ana Mrs. Lowry would enjoy many years of good health and happiness, and that Mr. Lowry would be able to return to public life once again. Upon the Prime Minister resuming his seat, the Mayor said that he now had a very pleasant duty fco perform, that of nanding over to Mr. and Mrs. Lowry a cheque as a small.mark of appreciation from a grateful public. Mr. Downes expressed the hope that'Mr. and Mrs. Lowry would buy something for their home which would bring back C memories of their many friends in "the Shannon district for the years to come. Cheers and applause greeted Mr. Lowry as he rose to reply on behalf of Mr. Lowry and himself, and it was some minutes before he was able to tender his sincere thanks. to his many staunch friends. Mr. Lowry extended thanks to those who had spoken in such terms of his work, and thanked those who had made the function possible. He continued to say that he was very happy to have represented them in Parliament and was indeed sorry that he had hab to retire from the wor-k' he loved so much. He had always- tried to earry out his work to the utmost of his ability, and whether a'man came to him in hobnaile'd boots or dress shoes he was a man and he treabed him as a man, whatever his political views might, be. It is a democratic country and' each was entitled to his or her yiews. M-r. Lowry made reference to his association with the Maori people,- his duties overseas and his other duties, which had meant so much to him, and hoped that he had served his people and his country faithfully. In conclusion, ha thanked the people of Shannon and district for a great'evenin'g, an evening that wduld live in his memo.ry for ever. The ladies of the social committee served a most enjoyable suppcr ana dancing to the music of a five-piece dance band conel-uded the latter part of the evening. : Just before the official party left, all joined hands and Mr. and Mrs. Lowry were, placed in the eentre of the gathering for the singing of "Auld Lang Syne." Mr. Tirikatene delighted those present by joining with the local Maoris in presenting a farewell haka. ■