CITY'S SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2363, 20 January 1915, Page 6

CITY'S SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY

■ » ON FRIDAY NEXT FUNCTION AT NEWTOWN PARK [BY SVIiVIUS.J On Friday next Wellington, will bo seventy-five years old. It is precisely three-quarters of a century since Wakefield's bluff-bowed, broad-barrelled sailing ships made port after 90 or 100 days', battle with the elements. What a sight was presented to the hungry eyes of the huddled immigrants sent out by the New Zealand Lana Company; with what exuberant spirits did the youth of the past view the dense, green bush that covered the Blopes of the harbour ranges almost to the water's edge; with. what heartaches did the more Boberrtbinking of the elders view, the arduous' work they knew must be done before tli'ey could enjoy the comfort of the meanest of homes. The Stout-Hearts. Doubtless, the task ahead, the insertion of the thin end of the, wedge of European civilisation into a country entirely primeval—appalled some of those who had ventured so far and risked so much. But they were stout hearts, bold spirits, those men of 1840 and 1841, who snapped tradition, habits, customs off short, to carve out a new life in a new land. Had they been otherwise they would never have taken ship at all, for the conditions of travel across the ocean wastes offered none of the inducements that obtain nowadays. The voyage out: was a long, wearisome sea tramp, with calm and' tempest to contend with, crowded quarters, poor food—and what ahead? .'A country that few of, them, if any, knew anything about, as prior to 1840 the country had not been explored by white men in anything like a systematic manner still, it was known to be a country of fair promise', where a man with a strong arm. ■ a stout hearty and an adventurous 6pirit might in time ease himself of the memory of the grinding poverty and harsh class restrictions that tended to make the life of the working man in the Old Country merely a j barely endurable existence. The country was fairer than the dreams of the most optimistic. It only needed industry to bring it into fruitfulness, and .who will say now that this has not been accomplished? Who, of the few hundred immigrants who arrived in Port Nioholson in 1840, could have imagined that within a oentury the land would prove productive'enough to beoorne a steady food-supplier to the Old Country P , Who could possibly have dreamt that within threequarters of a century New Zealand would have matured sufficiently to-place an army in the field to fight side by side with the forces of the Mother Country? ' . A Creat Discovery. Perhaps nothing has helped New; Zealand to obtain its eminence among the Dominions overseas as that great , revolutionary discovery—the refrigerating process. It was known that New Zealand was bountifully blessed as a. country wherein to raise sheep, and wool at an early stage became a staple product of the greatest value, but it was the discovery that a ship's hold oould be converted into a freezing chamber that gave the country an enormous impetus forward by opening up the prospect of being able to place our mutton on the London market in a <fresh condition. This development went hand in hand with the advance in ship-building. Gradually the old lime-juicer was relegated to the background, and steamsr with insulated holds of encouraging_ capacity took their place, reducing the time occupied, on' a voyage by more than half. Then came the dairying boom, and the successful placing on the Home market of our butter and cheese,, and shipments grew and grew until they have reached proportions that make us proud of the land we live in, proud of the hardy pioneers who blazed the trapk, and equally as proud of the fine Bpirit of industry which to-day infects everyone on the land in this fair Dominion. And while the industries were devel- . oping swiftly the country became dotted with smiling settlements, settlements grew into towns, and , towns became, cities under the passes of the wizard Progress. ' The forest was felled; heavily-bushed country became rolling , downs of billowing grass, flecked, with sheep;' [railways stretched their iron fingers across the length and breadth of the land; our ports became havens of comfort and convenience to the ships of all the earth; end the people respected and, admired for .the energy and love of country which mark a live, clean-spirited demooraoy..: , ■ ' "The Day." So on Friday next "the day" will be celebrated —the diamond jubilee of the Wellington • district, and practically that of all New Zealand. The celebration of the event has-been deputed to an amalgamation of three of our local societies—the Early Settlers Association, the New Zealand Natives Association, and the West Coasters Association—who are to mark the day by keeping high carnival. The first event will be a procession, which will have: plenty of novelty in its constitution. There will he depicted the homes and _ dress of the earliest pioneers in striking contrast to .that or to-day, the 'Maoris will represent the ancestors that the land wa-s purchased from, the printers will show an ancient press and a modern printing machine, and gold-miners of long experience will demonstrate how they puddled for gold in the day 6 when the world was wide. This section is being left to the West Coasters, who are naturally those who know the difference between gold: and mica. A theatrical display will also be included. At the Park in the morning a reception committee will pay tribute to the few (alas, how few) original _ settlers of '40 and '41, who will do their utmost to be present. They will represent the past —an honourable past—whilst the childrln, who will be entertained at sports' and games, will stand for the rainbow-tinted future. ' During the afternoon there will be sports conducted under the auspices of the W.A.A.A., a costume burlesque cricket match, and all manner of side-shows, and in the • evening a grand concert will be held, at which old-time ballads will be sung by old-time singers. Truly, Friday should be a day of memories.