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Hokitika Guardian, 10 January 1924, Page 2

“Gl.OliY and honor to the .Men ol Old” - that was the note of the Jubilee gathering yesterday, expressed repeatedly by the speakers at the several functions. It was g|ioil to see Hie assemblage of the old folk, and to note the kindly feeling extended by all in the attentions readily extended to the pioneers. The gatliei ing itself was worthy of the occasion. It was representative of the district, and it was pleasing to see so many of the old folk gatluoed lor the event.. Most of the old folk could date their first association with the district hack over of) yea is ago. It is a wide gap in the ordinary span ol life. Ihe llight of years meant that over fifty years ago the old folk of to-day were the young generation of the sixties and seventies full of energy and in the Hush of an ambit ions youth all “>cerners of danger". .Most of them sought advent lire, and on this difficult Ccast with its dense forest and swift livers, hint it is full. Yesterday’s event brought together not only the male .section of the pioneers—hut also the female section; and the latter contin-

gent it was very gratifying to note, was not a meagre one. A hearty feeling i f goodwill and comradeship was noticeable—a breath nt the old Const si irit was in the air. and all fell very much at home, li was a reunion in which ill joined hearlil.v and the function passed off doubly pleasurable on the account. The diamond jubilee of the Westland goldfield is now a matter ol history, hut ii is a milestone which will hi' remembered I'm long and like the g( Ideii jubilee of ten years ago will lie en I It'll to remembrance very often In i hu.-v with pleasing recollections of the nnnivctsa.iv.

Jrnir.EF. time remind** u- that leu years ago the fiftieth anniversary was held here and passed off with considerable eclat. Looking hack it seems u > short. period infixed. h*n in the interval Father d ime hu> < homed many ot the old pioneers, Those early arrivals of 1861 and 1865 are now in very thin ranks. It. is the sad aspect of the ocoisioo. Lint we must all he conscious |of what their life and work here meant in initiating Ihe period of development which followed the advent of the pioneer hand. Of the many who came here seeking fortune ami advontmv, all had their share of the : Jar ter. and not a few of the former. The more fortunate were able to depart to other parts, hut those who remained continued true to the love of tin* Coast. and devoted their energ'es and resources to the furtherance of the district, where they were domiciled. In many eases they lived in remote and isolated places, and these became the true pioneers. There is fin a remnant left, toil their work and worth are at k;ni recognised, and the present- occasion affords this opportunity of doing honor to their memory. The decade which has passed since the golden jubilee represents an important period in the history of the Coast. Of necessity, the greatest event has Keen the removal of our isolation by the piercing of the Southern Alps with a line of railway. That is an adjunctive aid to the future ot the district which must forever ho adding to our prosperity. Wo have to remember that it was the pioneers who were the prime instigators in pleading for the work, and they were practical in their line of agitation. I hey were convinced of the manifold benefits to he derived and dipped deep in their own pockets to support their views and attain their desires. It was a long drawn out effort, for then* wen* maitv obstacles to overcome, hut their sound and genuine beginning laid the Inundation for the realism of to-day. So. now, we must not he unmindful of what was done by the pioneer baud in starting so successfully the agitation which was to-ensure the linking of the Ka<t and the AVest, and to afford Westland in particular, the opportunity of gaining such an accession to the means whereby its material prospeirtv might be the hotter and quicker secured. Looking backward over the past, therefore, we must not b? unmindful of the unselfish work done bv the pioneers in the early colonisation of the district. I heirs was not a light task. They had obstacles and difficulties to face and overcome which are not in sight "to-day ; hut in spite of it all they have left a heritage which this and the coming generation should prize, resolved ro make the most of the opportunities presenting themselves., and so carry on the good work which will remain tor all time to the credit of the pioneer hand of the Const of fifty and sixty years ago.