GENERAL FREYBERG'S VISIT RECALLS EARLY LIFE IN LEVIN

Chronicle (Levin), 30 October 1947, Page 6

GENERAL FREYBERG'S VISIT RECALLS EARLY LIFE IN LEVIN

There will be many in the croWd which greets Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg in Levin tomorrow, who will see him not as a hardened veteran of many Rattles, but as a bright and likeable youth who 34 years ago went quietly about his profession in this town. In the short space of a little over 12 mcnths young Freyberg made many friends in Levin, and his prowess in the fi eld of sport won him admiration, which in many instances amounted almost to hero worship.

It was at Wellington College that Bernard Freyberg earned the sobriquet of "Tiny," by which he is still known. At school he achieved fame as a swimmer, winning both the junior and senior championships in the same year. In the school cadets he reached the rank of sergeant. At the Otago University, Dunedin, young Freyberg qualified in dentistry. Following preliminary training in Wellington, he assisted in a practiee in Morrinsville and while in that town was Gazetted a Second-Lieutenant in the 6th Hauraki Regiment. From Morrinsville he came to Levin, entering the practice of Mr. D. S. Mackenzie, a friend of his Wellington College days. Physical fitness was alfhost an obsession with Bernard Freyberg. Hardly a day would pass that he would not startle local residents with his sprinting and swimming ability. Every night would see him setting out for a quiet jog to Hokio Beach and back. Sometimes he varied his route by going along the beach to the wreck of the Hydorabad, and back via Waitarere. "It was not long before he rallic-d a large following of Levin's younger set around him. Hokio Beach was their favourite rendezvous and many a weekend saw them utilising its facilities to the utmost. Mr. W. G. Clark, who was one of : Bernard Freyberg's foilowers, in recalling those days, says: "I was much younger than Freyberg, but I remember those outings well. He would stay for hours in the water, swimming out far ahead of the

others. He used to have us quite worried at times, but he , would always reappear further down the beach. He would go for sprints up the beach, taking the older chaps with him, but he was always a mile ahead and home long before- the others. "He used to live down Weraroa | Road," continued Mr. Clark, "and | his cheery, high-toned whistle was a familiar sound to everyone in the street. 'There goes Bernard Freyberg' we used to say. He is reputed to have swum the Horowhenua Lake, but if he did I should not

think, knowing his later performances, that he would consider it as a great achievement." Another of Bernard Freyberg s acqUaintances, Mr. Herbert Dencon, of Queen Street, recalls how "Tiny," together wiGh. a man narried Brewster and himself, formed a deputation to the Levin Borough Council urging' improvements to the swimming baths. A Dominion senior swimming chamion in 1910, Bernard/Freyberg excelled in long distance swimming. While in 'Levin, accol'ding to Mr. Denton, he won fivl big races. A keen footballer, Bernard Freyberg attained representative honours in 1912. A member of Levin Wanderers Club, he played in a forward position and, according to Mr. J. Sciascia, he was a very good stalwart on the side of the scrum wiuh W. Winiata. "We had plenty of good forwards in those days," addgd Mr. Sciascia, "so that to get into a representative team you had to be really outstanding." Swimming and football were not the only sports in which Bernard Freyberg participated while in Levin. Goli, tramping, boxing and tennis all claimed his attention. In everything he attempted he was enthusiastic and thorough. It is said that he was a familiar figure at roller skating in the former Cosmos Theatre, the building now known as the Auction Mart. Behind all this Bernard Freyberg had an insatiable craving for adventure. His close friends say he was disturbed over the d.^ath at the Pole of the great explorer, Robert Falcon Scott, and it was then that he revealed something which is not generally known — that he had had very serious ideas of going on that ill-fated expedition. One of those who was perhaps more closely associated with Bernard Freyberg- was Mr. D. S. Mackenzie. The Mackenzie family hold him in high regard and they still keep in touch. A photograph of Sir Bernard in the upiform of the Royal Naval Brigade hangs above the mantelpiece in the Mackenzie home. ' "Bernard Freyberg was good at his profession, a hard man to ruffle, extremely approachable and good natured, yet capable of very deep feeling," said Mr. Mackenzie. "He was friendly with everyone and was very fond of children. He is godfather to one of mine. Anyone could ask him to do anything within reason at any time, which was more than could be 'said for many people." As his work often took him to Otaki, Bernard Freyberg soon became well known there. Travel-

iing soutb in those days had little of the attraotion and eomfort it has today. A spot near the Ohau Bridge was subject to' particularly cold winds. Travelling from Otaki with Mr. Mackenzie one night, Bernard Freyberg showed his resourcefulness by producing a sack of straw into • which he unceremoniously climbed. A member of the Levin Club, when it had a membership of between 18 and 20, he established himself in the eyes of members by producing a quantity of pies on a bitterly cold night at a time when they were most acceptable but | unprocurable. A keen tramper he took the 6.45 ! p.m. train on one occasion to Pae-j kakariki on a Saturday and walk- j ed back to Levin on the Sunday. | It seems strange that one so j naturally active should have chosen i so quiet an occupation as den- 1 tistry, but there is nothing to indi- 1 cate that he was then anything but j satisfied with the profession he I had chosen, and when he finally! left Levin >it was to go to America j

to further those studies. In Alan Hereus' hook, "Freyberg," it is recorded that while in Levin young Bernard "took a short vacation from dentistry and shipped aboard the Maunganui bound for Australia." It was characterisfcic of the man, wrote Hercus, that he chose to sign on as a stoker. "Before the voyage was completed some of the flremen had "collapsed with fatigue and 'Tiny' volunteered to work double shifts, and arrived back in New Zealand with enough hours behind him to qualify for a fireman's ticket." His life after lerving Levin is well known, though he personally disclaims many adventures attributed to him. In the eyes of the world, however, he has become a legendary figure. Always at his best in action, General Freyberg, as leader of the New Zealand Division, won the respect and admiration of every man under his command, and his appointmcnt as GovernorGeneral was received in the Dominion with whole-hearted approval.