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The Dominion SATURDAY. FEBRUARY. 28 1920. WAR MEMORIALS

. Throughout ■ New Zealand there is a desire in almost every community to perpetuate in some enduring form the memory of those of its sons who'fell in the war. .This instinct is deeply planted in human nature, and among the greatest monuments of all time are memorials to war. Already somo-memorials have been erected,-and-there .is-, discussion of the form, that othors may be most fittingly given: By tho memorials we'erect to-day future generations will not only pe" told what we 'did in the .war, but what the' war did to the minds and souls of the peopleY(ho survived it. There is much difforence of. opinion whether these monuments should be. useful as well as beautiful. Some argue that there is no better way to commemorate our dead than by the erection of buildings .that will' serve tho needs-of living men. Others argue that a memorial, embodying ;au ideal should have no'other function than to speak to.the,people who look upon. it... Until these differences : arc reconciled, or .-some- sense of the general drift' of ■■ opinion throughout' "the" country gathered-It-is -wise to hasten slowly in. deciding on. the form of our great' national memorial.- • In the meantime each 'Community : desires without unnecessary delay to commemorate« the sacrifice of its men .who will, ncycr return. A correspondent has written to .us asking for some., guidance as to the form these, local, memorials should -take.'- -This is.a docision that must be left largely to the collective feeling-', of'tho, communities. VN'o artificial .uniforraity can .he _.enforced, and to attempt to do. so "would be disastrous. The most that can ba done is to direct attention to somo of those general .considerations which shoulcfunderlie a sound decision. The first thing we all desire is'''that the'war memorials • shall be-of a. nature .'to endure, and have as much of, pornmnency as the resources we possess ,can : give- them. The second is that they shall-beau-tifully and fittingly ' commemorate the sacrifice, of these in whoso ■honour wc erect them, and by those attributes of-beauty and fitness he an inspiration to all who behold

thorn... Whether' tbeso ends are best to be attained bv.thc erecting of- a. building serving 'also an utilitarian purpose' or by a monument standing for. remembrance sake-alone is a po'ififc on which much' can bo said on, either sidc-i But if wc erect; a building we must remember that, in the come of years the.need it was drsifrncd to fill may no longer exist or' the IruiJding may have become unsuitable for meeting it. and sink to desuetude, and- obscurity..'. That is a risk, which the advocates of- a building or other utilitarian scheme must bear in mind.' In the United States'a number of'towns are building, "community, houses" as memorials 'of the war. These are peonies' club's,, so to speak, which combine halls arid rooms where people can oomo. together for all sorts of public purposes—singing, dances, concerts, lectures,, and public service bygroupS;of citizens organised for such purposes as. Bed Cross volunteer worki . In the design of these ib usually, included a handsg'mA- entrance •■hall jnr vestibule in which .commemorative tablets, and pos-

sibly also statuary, may be placed. If a utilitarian memorial be decided upon it is tha need of the locality in which it is erected that will determine- ite character. _ On the other hand if the memorial.is'to be a pure monument its essential qualification is that .it shall be worthy, This does not necessarily mean that it must be expensive. Whatever form we give it, it must he of the best. An oruption through the country of slovenly statues of unsoldier'like soldiors will not embody the veneration for our dead that inspired' their bui 1 dors; If statuary is desired by smaller communities it might be a sensible, proceeding for two or three to club together and between them commission a sculptor of eruiiicnce to design a statue of which replicas could bo cast in bronze. For a-plain stone monument the cenotaph designed by Sir Edwin Lotyens and erected in London for the"-peace"celebrations has proportions which give it beauty and dignity. It has already been reproduced on a smaller scale in some towns in England-. -. Simplicity is the keynote of this memorial to the dead 'which/so poignantly t.b-i n,t,t<Mit.ion of the millions who bebeld'it in peace week_ in London. It is .a rectangular piece of- masonry, whose construction presents no ■difficulties, and-on the base of'.it: the namnx af the fallen soldiers could be inscribed. The appeal of such a monument depends greatly nn the surroundings in which it is placed. It-could be made the feature of-a schemo of street improvement. A square might-be created in the centre 'of which it would .stand. At the intersection of two avenues of trees, again, the nobil ity of outline of a-monument would bo greatly enhanced by the contrast ing vistas of green. Yet again it could'be made the dominating foa ture of ..some eminence, A favour ite form of commemoration in smaller American towns has been the planting of a. tree with a simple tablet" in memory of each local soldier!'who fell. An avenue of trees leading to a! monument, one tree for' 'each dead soldior, would not only be a beautiful, thing in itself, but would have a beautiful symbolism" What could he finer and more appealing to the imagination than an avenue; of hoary oaks keeping green through the years the memory of those whom we had sought '.to honour 1 These _ tentative suggestions we make in [ the hope that public-spirited citiEcns who are considering alternative schemes may perchance find in them something that is helpful, i In evert the, smallest township a memorial will not. fall far short of/its purpose if it combines the elements of simplicity arid .permanency. The "most dangerous pitfall is ,to adopt an idea ..olabor.ate and ambitious, beyond the . means and craftsmanship available to embody it. And in nothing is simplicity and restraint more to be sought than'in j.ho_inscription placed upon whatever memorial may be. erected.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200228.2.15

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 132, 28 February 1920, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,003

The Dominion SATURDAY. FEBRUARY. 28 1920. WAR MEMORIALS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 132, 28 February 1920, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY. FEBRUARY. 28 1920. WAR MEMORIALS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 132, 28 February 1920, Page 6

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