TAHITI'S WOUNDED

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2655, 29 December 1915, Page 6

TAHITI'S WOUNDED

NORTH ISLAND MEN WECOMEB

TOWN HALL GATHERING

• Owing .to the early hour at winch the Maungamu arrived, the wounded and ./sick Soldiers from the front and Egypt who arrived from Port Chalmers by the // Tahiti did, not .receiv'o that, ./effusive greeting at tlie harbour-sido which would. :-have- been" the!. case' had. . the :■ steamer arrived a few hours later " One of '-tho .welcoming ' party-yesterday remarked that if the desiro" to get /the meai:to their,homes as, speedily as possibtej':'then, an early a'rrival.'is'justified, but if it is desired'that the public be given tho opportunity to welcome the then a little "stage management" ""'.is''required '.to bring about' the desired ' result.'■ 'The little group that awaited : arrival of the Mauuganui at the ■ King's Wharf at 7 a.m. consisted mainly of Defence Department officials (iucliidmg . Surgeon-General Henderson), V officers of the Records-Branch, and St. 'John Ambulance men, who superintend; /'• «d the landing' of the, serious casus. ■ Later on the motor-cars arrived, rnanJicd by members of the Motor llessrve, jM looking smart and soldierly m lthuki ; " uniforms, and between'. 10 a.m. aid .10.30 a.m. the men were driven direct to the Town Hall (instead of following ./the usual city route), and were there' . nccordcd a fitting welcome. . . When tho .Tahiti arrived nt Port Chalmers she'had 178 invalids and con- .. valcscents on board, .of which ntmber 7&'were..;for.thp ; South Island. ;Of the ';.V remaining 103 men, who arrived here by tho Mannganui yesterday, there were . only eight cot cases (who wore removed . tho Hospital per ambulance), 37 Imq / still -tp receive*' hospital treatment, /and 1 ■ the-remaining 58 are convalescent, or . quite fit again,, thanks, to' a splendid ••7 trip/in the Tahiti and the careful retention given to ; all on board. Vs to iho reason for the men's return, about half of ' them have suffered severely from .enteric fever and-dysentery, whilst • > the rest , have beenwounded, mostly in the advances made between August 6 . a:ul 10, and again on August 28. The T:.l;iti's men' do not number any of those who returned to the tranches 1 at' Gallipoll after the rest on. Leinnos island. ■ ■ , There was only : one death on .board; ' that' of Private L. Harrison/ of Te- ' muka. (Canterbury Infantry), who died '•/ two_ days, after leaving Suez, and .was buried in the Bed Sea. . : Captain W. T. Beck, D.5.0., of Auckland, who> was Director of Ordnance,l."is charge of the returned contingent, tile, other' officers are; Captain Pitt '(Wellington), adjutant; ; Surgeon-Cap-tain Farris (medical/officer);, and the Rev. Mr; MacDouald (chaplain). Among .thoso...who. returned were also eleven nurses, including four .who were on the Marquette when she /sank—Sisters ,Blackie,_ M'Leod,' Wilson, and Looney. Tho majority of tlie nurses remained in the/South Island; ... ~ ■ AT TOWN HALL . ~. —— .■ .■■■, .i THE SPEECHES. • ; The proceedings in the Town Hall after /tho . soldiers and relatives ■ had been seated were • opened by all joining, in singing the Hundredth Psalm,' the City ~ Organist giving the-lead'from the-big • organ. ' ■ . . s Our soldier Heroes. The Mayor (Mr.'J. P. Luke), who was associated on the'platform with tho Right Hon. Sir ;J. G. AVard, the Hon: -Sir Francis Bell, K.C., His Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), the Hon. W. Fraser, -and several' members of Parliament, mentioned - that /apologies for non-attendance had been received from His Excellency the Governor, the Prime Minister, the Minister nf Defence, and the Minister of Internal Affairs. After, apologising.'for the hur- . ried manner, owmg' to the holiday seai sou, ir, which the, reception had been organised, His Worship, in the namo of i the citizens of /Wellington and of New ' Zealand generally, extended a hearty welcome to the returned officers and ; -, 'anen, and tho base hospital nurses pre- • sent,, who had. been on tho ill-fated 'Marquette, two of the/latter being pre-'sent-and occupying seats ; on the plat- : fornix. 1 : The Mayor paid a warm tribute, Ho tho courage and bravery of those who '• ill ad set aside their home ties and gone out to take part in tho fight for the [Empire and freedom. -Any man, he who left New Zealand on our behalf was a man worthy not only of con- . fidenco, but of having; his name emblazoned on the country's traditions for . ..all time'.' In"a few days we were crossing the threshold of a New Year, and •before that year closed he hoped there - would he such a- victory for the arms 'of the Allies/that a lnsting peace would , be established. (Loud applause.) -.'.v. , Peace Only With.-Viotory. Sir/J.G. Ward expressed regret thai official duties prevented the presence of' / ■ tho Prime Minister. Although we were 0 ill the seventeenth month of the war, ./ the Empire, was- in the fight to a complete finish. Ho quoted with full acceptance the Hon. Mr. Asquith's re- : cent, statement that, notwithstanding all ' the/ vicissitudes and some mistakes, he would not detract one word; from the . docision, of the Empire to take up arms ■in defence of,, the. .freedom .. for, which they were .'fighting.' l'(Lpud \ applause.) In New' Zealand the feeling to-day was the same as at the outbreak of the war —that it was the duty, of/every man able to go to tho front to do 'so, and take,part in the protection of the • hearths and homes not only of New Zealand, but of all parts of the.Empire. Sir Joseph Ward made, happy- reference" to the fact that amongst the'returned Bpldiers were men of both New Zealand races —the pakeha and Maori. Ho extended a hearty wolcome to both. They had, he said, been fightinp: together as brothors; they had returnefas brothers, and he hoped they would be, soon restored to the full strength of their man- ■ hood and be- ready to go out agin, if the necessity arose, to do their share in this great struggle.- He. joined in the prayer of the Mayor that early , in 1916 would see victory for the British, the French, and tho Russians. (Cheers.) Honourable Soars of Battle. \ Sir Francis Bel', in the course of a short, terse speech of welcome. 6aid that but for the men who were fighting, there would he no home left for Englishmen. He knew that those who came homo to us bearing tho honourable scars of battle realised that, acuto as their isufferings and hardships had been, thev were as nothing compared, with. the sufi. fon'ngs of the people whose lands were occupied by the Germans, for they had not only their dead and wounded to jnourn, but they saw their country under the heel of the time-being conqueror. He hoped, and he believed it . was the hope of all in New Zealand, that the returned soldiers and nurses votild be the best recruiting agents the : Dominion had. The men who had done their pari should proclaim to those who were left that it was their duty to follow 1 on and keep,the ranks of the fighters ever filled. (Cheers.) It was no use our thinking the war 'could he ' brought to an end without onrheb, and that others' could do the work. In tho beginning of last century an Englishman wrote: "In native arms and native Tanks the only hop'o of freedom lies," ■ and that sentiment was as true to-day as when uttered, and in it lay the salvation of our Empire and tho success of our cause. ■ ■' ' i, Duty Nobly Done. The Hon. W. Eraser,' Minister of Public Works, said that the soldiers of tho Dominion had fought,-not - for glory alono, but for freedom in its fullestsense, and thoso things which made lite worth iiying* .Qui;.. ,donei_

(their share nobly, and sadly I'ad somo suffered. That was fully recognised .fry all. It now rested with New Zealand to do its duty by its soldiers, and lie was sure that events would prove tiiat tlio Dominion was not unmindful of the sacrifices our soldiers had made, and that none would suffer in consequence of their proved patriotism and loyalty. (Cheors.) . The Empire's Battle. The Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) said that our soldiers were lighting, not for New Zealand alone, but for all our race and all our countrymen. If history was searched lie did not know if record could be found of _ such a war as we were now experiencing. It had been said for many years by some people that our race was degenerating, and that wo were not equal to our' fathers. But what was the faot? The bravery shown during; this ivar was equal to anything tne British race had ever displayed. (Loud applause.) Then again, the sacrifices that had been made by those who wero not fighting had also been far greater than had ever, been recorded in British history. In the wars even of the past fifty or sixty years, neither in the matter of bravery nor sacrifice was there any' evidence of a parallel to what had been manifested) during the past 18 months. Sir .Robert Stout congratulated the soldiers and nurses on tlieir safe return, and expressed the hope-that they would soon recover and .enjoy, a long term of citizenship in our midst. (Loud applause.) At this stage tne. entire audience rose and stood in reverent attitude for a brief period, in silent memory of those who ha<K died-in defence of the Empire. i The Soldiers' Thanks.

. Corporal J. Hughes, of Auckland, speaking on behalf of the returned soldiers from the northern portion of New Zealand, very sincerely thanked thoso present, and especially the ladies who had assisted; for. the warm-hearted welcome extended to them. It showed that the soldiers were, not forgotten by the citizens of New Zealand l . "I stand hero as a married man who is sacrificing his wife and five children in this great battle," continued the speaker, the remark evoking an outburst of applause. "We have', got one of the most terrible wars that, ever a country—ever the world—has known, and I invite every single man to take his rifle and tight for the honour and glory of the British flag in this crisis.' I myself, to a certain extent, should look after my own kith and kin, but my patriotism and the rules and Government I have lived under in a British country have been sufficient for me, and they should he sufficient foi every Britisher, in the country. (Pro., longed applause.) . l, ~ " Captain. Pitt, of the Native.Contmgent, also thanks for. the very kindly' receptions given jo. the 6oldiers by the Wellington people. In the course of a few remarks, Captain Pitt, who was adjutant on tho Tahiti, paid a tribute -to the excellent conduct of tho men on tho voyage to New Zealand. The formal part of tlie reception proceedings wae brought to a conclusion by the;singing of tne National Anthem and cheers given for the hoys at the front." "TOO SHORT!" , , ' "See," said one of tho Rotorua Majbris, wh(o / returned' to Wellington with tho Tahiti's -wounded, yesterday, u my"-arm too. short!" "With that lio held out both, of his arms, and one showed fully four inches shorter than the other. ."I-.got shot in the lett elbow.. ' He did not smash the bone, but cut up the sinew, and make my arni shortH-see! At-'. Rotorua I goi .to the hospital—perhaps they, make him long again, eh?" A HERO'S DEATH. "You .may.have heard some account of Captain Spedding's death before this," said one trooper, "but I would like to pay a tribute to him, for he died a hero's deathi He emptied both his revolvers into the' Turkish ranks,. and was still standing tp to them with a rifle—Miobolt of' which he was just pulling back to lie was shot.We were nJI extremely sorry to lose him. DASH OF THE MAORIES. I Amongst the troops on the Tahiti wero a good number of Maoris. Tho appearance of- many 'if these swarthy campaigners gave evidence of some ous. service! -■ Most of them belong to. the North Island, and all were wonder-, fully cheerful and appeared thoroughly contented' With their lot. Captain Pitt, who leit New Zealand ; in command of tho No. 2 Company of the.Maori Contingent, has been invalided home on account of rheumatism and oi her troubles. In the course of a brief'interview, he did much to confirm the excellent impression that has already been formed with respect to the Splendid fighting qualities of the Native race. "It is, of. course, many years 6ince our men have dono any fighting,": he explained, "but they showed wonderful aptitude in adapting themselves to tho conditions in, Gallipoli, and we»6 soon amongst the best troops there. Their ancient pride of race' and their characteristic spirit of independence do not make them ideal barrack-room soldiers, and they may lack the rigid discipline of the regular troops, but when practical work is wanted they are 'there' every time. : -In fact, the authorities were so 'impressed with their showing that they divided our companies up amongst some of the others, and some of the men rather resented this, as tlioy would much, sooner haye remained all together. . Speaking of the withdrawal of the ;New Zealand ' and Australian troops from tlie. Peninsula, Captain Pitt gave ,: it as his opinion that the Turks themselves would not be sorry to see tho last of the colonial troops. "I am very keen-to return to ; the fighting _line," concluded the captain, . "and I think all the Maoris on board are imbued with (i like desire." TURKS ALWAYS FICHT FAIRLY. Some of tlio men speak very interestingly of their experiences, and as they have had ample time for reflection on tho operations in which they played so important-a part, their iznpressions are the clearer for the retrospect. Olio man who was shot through the lungs early in the big fight in August was able to describe in detail that grim and silent advance in which so little was wanting to ensure a success that would have meant 60 much. "The Turks are very olever fighters, continued the speaker, "and they always adopt fair tactics;, but, of course, they occupy all - the commanding positions and had us at a great disadvantage. One scheme which thoy worked very successfully was to construct an advanced trench, and after holding it for a time to abandon it to our men with some show of reluctance. It would then be found that the enemy had placed tlio trench in such a position that it could be easily enfiladed from a higher position—either with machine-guns or shells. We lost a good many men by this means, but soon 'dropped down' to it." "Tho Turks have an eiiorinous number of machine-guns, about six to our one, and, of course, they do great execution with them, especially upon an advancing body of men. Their latest ischeme was to play these guns on a certain piece of ground over which our troops would have to pass. As soon as a man got within range, down lie went, wounded in the foot, nnd wlijle on the ground his body would he riddled with bullets."