POKENO’S WAR MEMORIAL.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 628, 29 April 1921, Page 5

POKENO’S WAR MEMORIAL.

UNVEILING CEREMONY. An impressive and interesting ceremony took place at Pokeno on Monday, when the Hon. G. J. Anderson, Minister of Labour and Mines, unveiled the war memorial erected on the Market Square, Pokeno, at the corner of the MaungatawhiriThames and Great South Roads, to perpetuate the memory of soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice, and the roll of honour in memory of soldiers who did their bit to uphold the traditions of the British Empire. The obelisk, which stands 15ft high, has a concrete base 4ft deep and 9ft square, built up with large boulders which were collected during the Maori war by Imperial troops for other purposes. The four flights of steps and the column are built of Australian stone, while the name block, containing 50 names of men who went forward, including 12 who made the supreme socrifice, is of Coromandel granite—it is thus an Anzac monument. The names of the following men who fell appear:— Messrs A. Bates, J. Butler, L. T. Dean, D. Fraser, H. Cadd, A. Lorie, IT. J. Munro, J. McGill, A. McLachlan, W. McNeish, B. Pendergrast and E. Pope.

Inscribed on the obelisk is the following: “ Respectfully dedicated to the memory of our gracious dead and in honour of those Britons : who served with them, 1914-1919, bv Pokeno residents. ‘For us they fought. For us they fell.’ ” The following committee had charge of the arrangements:—Messrs •J. Dean (chairman), R. Munro (secretary), W. Anderson, C. Leathern, J. McDonald, S. O’Leary, C. O’Leary, F. Lorie and F. W. Buckingham. The monument cost approximately £2OO, which amount was subscribed by residents of the district and by means‘of various functions. The base work was done by voluntary labour.

The Minister of Labour, accompa r.ied by his wife and private secretary, arrived at Pokeno by the Main Trunk limited express. He was met by Cr J, Dean, the ridings representative on the Franklin County Council, and several members of the committee and afterwards entertained at luncheon in the Pokeno boardinghouse, when the following toast list was honoured: “The King”; “The Government,” proposed by Rev. Vaughan, responded to by the Hon. G., J. Anderson; “Army and Navy, J. Dean— Lieut. A. R. Hatt; “Monument Workers.” Capt. Wilson- —C. Leathern; and the “Glorious Dead,” proposed by Lieut. A. R. Hatt. The latter was honoured in silence. After the luncheon the party adjourned to the site of the monument. Here there was a large crowd of interested persons. Among them were returned soldiers, mounted rifles, senior cadets, infantry and members of the Rifle Club, while the school children from various schools were there in large numbers, besides representatives from the .various surrounding districts. Punctually at 2.30 the fall-in was sounded and the official party mounted the dias erected in front of the monument.

The chairman (Mr J. Dean) on behalf of the residents of Pokeno, extended a hearty welcome to the Minister and his wife. He was pleased to see such a large gathering of residents on such an occasion to do honour to those who made the supreme sacrifice in the gi’eat war. Rev. Vaughan, Anglican minister of Bombay, congratulated the people on the successful termination of their worthy effort to perpetuate the memory of those who fell in action and to honour those who were fortunate enough to return. On such an occasion all petty differences should be cast aside, so that all who could join in harmony to honour the dead and living who went forward to uphold the Empire’s traditions. Those who went knew what they were giong for. They went and did it. The New Zealand troops gained a high reputation on and olf the field of battle. They had a strong determination to do the vicht thing and a strong indignation against the wrong. They maintained a high spirit throughout and he urged upon thse present to do the same when in difficulties and New Zealand would still retain the name of “God’s Own Country,” and the worthy name the men who fought for her had. made. He then offered prayer. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, on rising to address them, Was greeted with loud applause. He said that it was n great honour for him to be with them to assist in bringing to a termination an effort to perpetuate the memory of those who fought for them. He eulogised the work accomplished by the secretary (Mr R. Munv,a who had spent considerable time in connection with the matter. It v.a-- bboir duty to honour the brave dead and those who were fort.mate to- return. ,-Thoy had assembled that dav to do honour to the gallant men who had given their lives that their fellow citizens might live in freedom

and independence. Anzac Day, April 25, 1915, was an eventful clay and he trusted that the clay would always be looked upon as such. It was the day of the historic landing of our boys, together with Australian and British soldiers, on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula. It was on this day that New Zealand joined .n and was cemented in the great federation of the British Empire. Their actions would never be forgotten in the annuls of British history. They landed on a shore said to be impregnable and against great odds. They held the slopes of the penincula for eight long months. He referred to the great fighting spirit exhibited by the New Zealanders and said was it any wonder. They had inherited it from their forefathers who came to New Zealand, a mere wilderness, and carved out homes, opened up the country for settlement and the path towards prosperity, as well as rearing happy families. Right from the North Cape to the Bluff they did admirable work. When the war came the boys heard the call to go forward to the great They sacrificed everything in order that the county could continue to enjoy freedom, justice and prosperity. Now that they had returned after upholding the Empire’s traditions we at home must be prepared to make sacrifices to meet our obligations anci assist them in difficult times. No promises were made when they went away, but promises had been made since they returned and he urged upon all to put their shoulders to the wheel to see that the promises were fulfilled. He had heard it said that the Government was not doing enough for the returned men. Anything the Government could do, would not be enough to compensate the men for what they did. The Government could only do a certain amount, it could not do what was .impossible. They had not yet done with the soldiers, and they intended to carry out the promises made to the very bitter end. He gave details of New Zealand’s war effort in men and money. Of the total of 124,211 men provided from the commencement of the war in 1914, 91,941 were volunteers. The casualties totalled 19,781, of which 10,245 were killed in action. A total of 32,270 were conscripted under the Military Service Act. He considered this a great record for such a small country as New' Zealand. It had cost the Dominion £69,000,000 for actual hostilities, but there were several accounts still to come from tthe Imperial Government. These would total about two or three millions. The Government had spent £25.720,000 on repatriation, one-third of what it cost to send the troops away to fight, five and a-half millions had been expended on gratuities, and £1,815,000 on pensions. The pensions could not he reduced and no' man of r.ght spirit would ever speak of having them reduced. It was better to commence on a low scale and increase but it would never do to start high and reduce. This the Government realised when the matter was brought up. They had put 18.148 people in rural homes and houses, and had spent £5,787,000 on land for settlement and £1,800,000 on land for soldiers, white £1,801,00 had been expended in putting soldiers into businesses. He urged upon all to assist the returned man in every possible

way. Tn conclusion, Mr Andersn con-

gratulated the Pokeno residents on the very fine monument and called on Mrs Anderson to perform the unveiling ceremony which she did while the large assembly stood bareheaded.

After Lieut. Hatt had made a few remarks the Last Post was sounded by a returned soldier named Healey. A vote of thanks to Mr Anderson was carried by acclamation and cheers.