NEW ZEALAND DANES

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 13, 11 October 1943, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND DANES

Gift Of Ambulance To Air Force

PRESENTATION CEREMONY

The unfortunate situation of Denmark and the debt New Zealand owed to that country because of the contributions Danes had made to the life of New Zealand were brought to the mind of a gathering in the Parliamentary grounds yesterday afternoon for the presentation by the Danish Association in New Zealand of an ambulance to the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The presentation was made by Mr. C. Langkilde, Auckland, Dominion president, who said he hoped the ambulance would get very little use. Mr. Johannes C. Andersen, the Wellington president, said the Danes who had settled in New Zealand had adapted themselves so Quickly to the country that one did not know them from New Zealanders except by their names, but they and their descendants loved Denmark as well as New Zealand, and when a couple of years ago Denmark’s enemies of a thousand years entered the country, there Was among them an upsurge of affection for Denmark. One result of that upsurge of affection had been the formation of the Danish Association in New Zealand. To show that their hearts were with the people of New Zealand and her allies they had collected enough money to present an ambulance to the. Air Force, in which they had sons serving, as well as in the Navy and the Army. Danes in New Zealand hoped that New Zealand would become as great a country, and would produce men as great, aS the older country from which they had come. Explaining the origin of the association, Mr. O. N. Hadrup, Auckland, said those who had formed' it realized that the struggle for the freedom of Denmark could be helped only by backing the Allies’ war effort, and the association stood for that, as well as to foster a love of the country Danes and their descendants called home. . Germans had attacked Denmark thrice in the last 100 yea Vs. Now, with the country occupied by Germans there was open rebellion, in spite of .martial law. It had resulted in loss of lives, but they would not be lost in vain. The day would come when the Nazi hordes would be overcome and freedom restored to the world. He hoped the ceremony that day would forge another link in the bonds of friendship between New Zealanders and the Danes who had come to the country.

The mayor of Wellington, Mr. Hislop, speaking on behalf of the citizens of Wellington, drew attention to the important contributions Danes had made to the life of New Zealand. The Minister of Defence, Mr. Jones, who accepted the vehicle on behalf of the Government, said there were four or five thousand Danes in New Zealand, and New Zealanders were filled with admiration for those among them who had joined the forces and with sympathy for the neonle in Denmark. The gift of tile ambulance was a sign of the donors’ humanitarian feeling, and it was appreciated because the Air Force, already greatly expanded, was still expanding. The ambulance would be a reminder to members of the Air Force that Denmark was still in the hands of the aggressor, and they would not relax till the military might of their enemies was totally destroyed, said Air Vice-Marshal L. M. Tsitt.