A PRIZE ESSAY.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 December 1923, Page 4

A PRIZE ESSAY.

HISTORIC MEMORIALS AT HOKITIKA. Hv ]>ul»*‘l!a Wale, wimu-r <»i Pri/.r Kssay, Intermediate Division, | School). l .'mo memorials? Mom ol us should Ik* able to answer tin-’ question, lor surely wo have at >OlllO time or other kept si little artiele in memory ol some 0110 wo loved. .-J----11 .• 011 1 1 only duo may romeiii'a.-i tile dead by thi- particular keepsake, it i>. in its way. a memorial liecaus,.a uieiiierial i- a symbol by which ’.he dead are remembered and honoured. It is not only civilized race, who

commemorate the memory ol the dead, for in a small island in the T’aoitic call ed "Master Island" hundreds of stone ornaments have been set up in memory of men who have dine noble deeds. Although Hokitika is but sixty years old. there have been erected six historic memorials. Ihe first of these six to he constructed was the obelisk stole memorial at present situated at the entrance to the cemetery. It used V

be whore now stands the town clock o'l the crossing of Weld and Sewell Streets. The names engraved on it iire Townsend. who was drowned in the Greymouth river in lNid; Henry Wliili'nmbo. drowned in the I eroiiinkau : Charles llowal. drowned in I Slid in Make lirnmier, and George Holism wlio was murdered in l-filli. 'lhcxo four men were explorers who (lor it was before the discovery ol gold) were not here merely Lo become wealthy. W cannot imagine the hardships I bey suffered in paving the way lor the generations to come. I hero were many other explorers whose names are unrecorded and although the names m these four men are the only ones inscribed, the memorial will also remind us ol those whose mimes are forgotten hut whose work is not.

Standing at. the junction of Staflord and Mit/.lierberl Streets is the figure ot a man. It was erected at the time oi the -Jubilee of Westland. When gold was discovered people flocked to Westland to search for it and the aim ol the majority of them was to 1.ce0n,,wealthy and then return lo their homos. Most landed in boats, for the track across the mountains was so dangerous that few who left Canterbury for Westland ever reached their destination. The country was wild with dense forests right to Hie water’s edge and was almost entirely cut oil from civilisation, but it was soon a lnisv country with a teeming population. The diggers were dressed in moleskin trousers, Crimean shirt and slouch hat with " red cord round it. They wore a red handkerchief around their neck and a red sash round their waist. The siatue represents a digger dressed in this way and holding the chief tool for his worlt—a pick. ’Co obtain the gold on the beaches they used a cradle, and further inland it as procured by sluicing. In later years dredging became tin.’ chid

method oi separating gold irom the stones and at the present time Inis mode is still used but on a much larger scale. When the easily obtained gold bad disappeared tlm population drifted and finally only those pioneers with a good character and who were hard Wicker-, remained to make their homes

T n 's-ps '.Vest Coaster.' kit their homes and their country to light for tlie Motherland in Africa. 'I hi.-, was the first war (with exception of their petty quarrels amongst themselves) in which the inhabitants of our little island fought. It lasted lour years and during that time many of our faithful soldiers fell. To their memory a monument in the form of a clock was erected and it now stands in the former position of the Explorers’ memorial.

A statue, in front of the Hokitika public buildings was built to the memory of the greatest public man Westland has yet produced, Richard Seddon. Though lie had only n primary school education lie rose to the highest position in the New Zealand Government. On his appointment as Prim.: Minister in 1803 the other representatives of the people scorned them. They wondered how a. man from a little corner of the country could lend Parliament, but, if he did not know much about hooks, lie know about men. In his childhood he suffered many hardships. and it: was these petty trialthat brought out his virtues. He had a wonderful activity and could work all day and most of the night and when day broke again lie would still he ns fresh as ever. Hi- views wore democratic and lie brought into Parliament the Factory Acts .stating that the hours of labour were to he reduced and women and children were to he given a certain number of holidays a year. He obtained the franchise for women, and introduced Old Ago Pensions. The people whom he represented showed their gratitude for all he did for them by erecting to his memory a monument. In the Great European War many of our relatives fought and died for tlie Motherland. They helped to conquer her enemies and, to the memory of the fallen, their friends and relatives have caused a cenotaph to he erected in Cass Square. On this, together with tlie names of the dead is inscribed a verse which is very fitting to the purpose. A number of ex-scholars from the Hokitika school lost their lives in the war and a monument- has been dedicated to them in the schoolground. When one considers the ago of Hokitika,, one must agree that it has done its duty to its dead, ft has set an example to the members of the younger generation, and it is to be hoped that they will realise their responsibility and live up to the standards set" hv their forefathers.