ART GALLERY FOR WANGANUI
LAYING OF THE FOUNDATION STONE. Yesterday afternoon the GovernorGeneral, Lord Liverpool, laid tho foundation stone of the, Sargeant Art Gallery at Wanganui. Lady. Liverpool also was present. Tho building is tjie gift to the town of the lato Mr. Hoifry . Sargeant. It is being erected on the site where tno Rutland stockade stood, will cost ,£IB,OOO, > and.will be a very beautiful edifice. The Mayor of Wanganui, Mr. C. L... Mackay, said Mr. Sargeant was one of the early band of pioneers to whoso energy and enterprise New Zealand. owed 60 much. Ho came to Wanganui iu its earliest days. His chief assets were a strong arm, a firm will, a clear brain, and a sterling character. With these he worked' his way to a large fortune and an honoured position. He assisted jn the early growth of the town and district. 110 saw New Zealand grow into a nation. In all this marvellous development ho hud pliiyod his part. And pion in the fulness of time lie passed to his rest. Keen man of business though lie was, his mind was open to every form of intellectual activity. No subject of human interest or sympathy was alioil from his regard. Of science and its marvels lie was a lifelong devotee. The local museum owed much to his generosity. Nor was he insensible to the claims of art, in overy branch of which he displayed a constaut inStrest. These studies were tho recreation of his prime, the solace oi his declining years. Nor did they engender in him tho intellectual selfishness thiit not unseldom follows in then- train. He desired that everyone should enter into the kingdoms that ho found so delectable and should enjoy with him Ino pure and unsullied pleasure afforded by the contemplation of the true and beautiful This feeling ho often manifested during his life, and it even survived his death. To ensure that futiiro generations of his' fellow-citizens should enioy free as air tho advantages which lie prized so highly, and which he had worked so hard to obtain for himself, he leit a noble fortune to build and endow an art gallory. He thus added another to. tho long list of public-spirited citizcns who hud dowered and beautihod tho town. It was his bequest they were inaugurating that day. They gratefully accepted his bounty. But they must not forget that the acceptance of the gift biought with it a great responsibility. It wu« ll.eir duty to see that proper use was made of it, that their children ob nine, its fullest boneht, uud that the gitt wab not merely preserved, but added to, embellished, and enriched. Some might think that while the present war raged tho time was inopportune lor tho inauguration Of such a scheme. He (Mr. Mackay) did not so believe, l'rom the material point of view alone it was well to demonstrate that the war did nctt absorb all our energy, but that our national and civic lite still moved forward with tho same steady progress that had marked it in the past.
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3196, 21 September 1917, Page 5
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515ART GALLERY FOR WANGANUI Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3196, 21 September 1917, Page 5
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