GOVERNOR – GENERAL’S VISIT.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5063, 10 December 1926, Page 2

GOVERNOR - GENERAL’S VISIT.

Enthusiastic Welcome to Paeroa. Memorable -Day For Citizens. ? . « Reception in the Domain.

The inhabitants of Paeroa were early astjr ygstefday morning, finajising arrangements fpr a suitable welcome to the Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson). In the main streets the greatest activity was no-

ticeable. The streets decoration com-

mittee, led by Or. 'H. J. Hare, was busily engaged hanging flags across the thoroughfares at. various vantage

points. Owners of business premises in the main street responded generously to the appeal of the Mayor, to decorate their premises, and nikau palms, cabbage trees, other, bush greenery, and bunting were used with striking effect. Temporary flag-staffs were erected and National flags, fluttered from many points. By ten a.m. the town looked very gay, and the decorations were a credit to those responsible. At a point near the Roman Catholic Church a large banner was displayed across the Waihi road bearing the words, “The Borough of Paeroa welcomes you.” Several other emblems of welcome were displayed throughout the town.

Yesterday morning dawned with a grey sky, but fortunately the Fates were kind, and the weather, held good. Promptly at 11 a,.ml the Vice-Regal party arrived at the borough boundary on the Waihi road, where they were met by His Worship the Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) and the Mayoress, and Mr A. M. Samuel, M.P., and Mrs Samuel. The party, comprising His Excellency the Gpvernor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson), Lady 'Allice Fergusson, Miss. Fergusson (GovernorGeneral’s niece), Mr James Fergusson (son), and. Captain C. P. V. Wentworth, aide-de-camp, were then conducted to the Paeroja Domain, in which strings of flags were displayed. A guard o'f Honour drawn from the No. 3 platoon, A Company, Hauraki Regiment, under Captain E. A. Porritt, M.C., and Lieut. W. L. Lawrence, was mounted on the route to the band rotunda. I

As theii- Excellencies; stepped out of the car the first, verse o'f the National’ Anthem was played by the Salvation Army Band, under Bandmaster E. Martin, and the Guard presented the Royal Salute. The Governor-General then inspected the Guard, and congratulated tiierff on their smart appearance and soldierly bearing. He reminded them that, they were of a famous regiment, and to always aim at carrying on the great traditions. Proceeding to the rotunda the party passed down an avenue o’f Boy Scouts on ptn'e side and Girl Guides and Brownies on the other. The party was; greeted by the war-cry of the Scouts and the call of the Brownie.s. After carrying out an Inspection Thfeir Excellencies suitably acknowledged the welcome. Addressing the parade, His Excellency expressed his pleasure at meeting the Scouts and Guides, and congratulated the officers, Miss F. K. Emmott and Scoiutmasters/ D. A. Vincent, and T. D. Davies, on the steadiness a,nd smart appearance of all r,anks. Addressing the troop, His Excellency, as Chielf Dominion Guide, counselled the Scouts not to be content to be merely scouts and to wear the uniform, but to be good scouts and work with a definite purpose in view, that of becoming good citizens; As scouts they were serving their country ajid fulfilling a useful purpose. His; Excellency "appealed to the citizens to get' behind the movement and support it all they could. Behind t.he scouts the schoolchildren were drawn up under their, teachers, and they cheered Their Excellencies to the e.cho a,nd waved small flags.

The Governor-General displayed a keen interest in thei 38 returned soldiers who paraded near the rotunda, under Major E. spPke to each man, and shook hands as he passed down the lines. While the Governor-General.iva,s chatting tot the “Diggers” little Betty Porritt presented Her Excellency with a beautiful bouquet, which she graciously accepted.

The party then took their seats in the rotunda, where also were, seated, in addition to the official party, the chairmen of the Ohinemuri County Council (Mr H. M. Corbett) and Hauraki ‘Plains County Council .(Mr E'. L. Walton), deputy-Mayor of Paeroa (Mr E. Edwards) and town clerk (Mr W. C. Alexander). THE MAYOR’S ADDRESS. On behalf of the citizens His Worship the Mayor warmly welcomed Their Excellencies. He said that the ..visit of a Governor-General to Paeroa 'was always an important event, and because of the long lapses of time it was doubly important and thrice welcome. It wa® nearly six years since the town had been honoured by a visit from Lord and Lady Jellicoe, and before that the Earl of Raiifurjy had been the last Governor to visit Paeroa;. The citizens were highly honoured and greatly favoured to receive a visit from so distinguished a soldier and illustrious person as Sir Charles Fergusson. The presence of nine different schools that day bore witness that the distinguished service of His Excellency was widely known, crowned with the fact of the wonderful work of Their Excellencies in the Dominion. It reminded the citizens of the great heritage given them, and biWght them to realise, and think about the great Empire Which it was their privilege to belong.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME. The following is the text of the Address of Welcome, signed by the Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) and Town Clerk (Mr W. C. Alexander) :— “To His Excellency, Lieut-General Sir Charles .Fergusson, Bart., Doctor o'f Laws, Knight Grand of St. Michael and St. George, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, GovernorGeneral and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty’s Dominion, o'f New Zealand and its Dependencies: “ May it pipage Your Excellency. “On behalf of the burgesses of Paeroa and the settlers of the surrounding distinct we have much pleasure in extending to you and Lady Fergusson a hearty welcome to our town. We welcome this opportunity to convey to Your Excellency an assurance of our unswerving loyalty to His Majesty King George V., through whose Throne we have our place and partnership in the great Commonwealth of British Nations. “This visit of Your Excellency gives us cause for great rejoicing, and we here pledge ourselves, afresh to the service of the King and Empire, and express to you our sincere desire that this feeling of fidelity and devotion may long continue among us. “As the representative -of His Majesty, and .as a soldier who has rendered great service to the Empire, it will, we feel, be gratifying to you to know that during the Great War this district had a record second to none in its response to the cajl of duty. This 'followed a similar record in the South African War, and one of which ■we feel we can be justly proud: it contains a historical' fact worthy of mention here. On Tui-Kairangi Hill, the.hill which forms the eastern portion of this domain, there stands a memorial to Sergeant-Major- Roland Bradford, a Paeroa man, and the first man o'f any of the Empire’s oversea forces to lay down his life hi the South African War.

“The spirit of these men lives with us always ; and we convey to you,, m His : Majesty’s representative, the assurance that the call o'f the Empire in days of Reace or War will find a loyal response in this district. "To yourself and Lady Fergusson we tender respectful greetings and our best wishes that you may continue to have a happy and prosperous term of office in this; Dominion, and that you may long be spared to continue to serve the Empire that you have served with such ability and distinction in the. past. “We honour you to-day as the representative o'f His Majesty in , this Dominion, and for the great work which you have done for the Empire in Egypt, Belgium, France, and the British Isles. >

“We appreciate greatly the personal interest taken in us, as evidence'll by the presence of Your Excellencies in Paeroa to-day, and we trust th,at during your short stay among us you may be conscious of the reality o’f our loyalty and the. sincerity of our esteem.”

GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S REPLY. '

In rising to reply,- the GovernorGeneral was received with unbounded applause and cheer,s. His Excellency explained that where a written address of weloßme was presented to him it was usual to give a written one in reply, so. that it could be pla.ced 'in the archives of the municipality.- He then read the following reply to, t.he address o’f welcome :— .-

“I thank you very much for the address of welcome; which, on behalf of the inhabitants of Paeroa anl the surrounding district, you have presented to Her Excellency and myself. We appreciate thA kindly terms in which t,he welcome is expressed, and assure you of the pleasure which it gives us to visit the district ®ind make the acquaintance of those jvho reside in it.

“It is an additional pleasure to a soldier like myself who had the honour df being associated with Nqw Zealand troops during the Great War to come to a, district which prides itself on its traditions off loyalty ajnd of Service to the Empire. I am fully assured that those traditions will be always trqa-sured and maintained by you, and that the loyalty which youexpress to His Majesty’s Throne and person will always be characteristic of Paeroa and its people.”

The Gbvernpr-General further acknowledged the wonderful welcome, and §aid that he would like to add .a few ll'ess. 'formal words. Proceeding, he expresed the pleasure it was to Her Excellency anl himself to be among the people of Paeroa, that m-Q-ning. Their greatest regret was, however, that owing to the* exigencies cJf the tour the visit could only bq a very brief one. After nearly two years in the Dominion he had -not yet succeeded in visiting every district. It was a difficult matter to speak to such a large gathering of all shapes and sizes (laughter), so he would ajddress a ’few remarks to the grown-ups first. His Excellency said that the address of welcome had a distinct feature about it, because it spoke so strongly o'f .loyalty from bqgjnning to end, and it directed the mind to what New Zealand had done. On coming to New Zealand Their Excellencies had bqe n particularly struck with the wonderful loyalty of the peoplle, and their determination to be worthy elf the British race and all the glorious traditions associated with it. Some

people fought shy of the word Empire, because- they thought it aggressiveThe Empire had been built with a noble purpose, and it carried a heritage that commanded respect. In taking a share in the glory o'f the Empire it was necessary to accept the responsibility. associated with that glory. The British Empire, had been the principal factor in civilisation. Times were changing continuously, but the link attaching to the Old Country was the wonderful sense df, kinship. After 80 years of settlement in New Zealand it was a noticeable feature to hear the boys and girl? of to-day speak o'f England as Home, thus showing that the sense of kinship was, an inseparable tie. . New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. J. G. Coates, was right when speaking at the Imperial Conference he had stated that New Zealand was always behind the Empire. (Applause.) Kiplipg had put his finger on the mat,te,r when he wrote that the garden and flowers were lovely, but it was necessary to remember, the people who did the work. Those people were equal sharers, in-the glory of the garden. The Empire was like a garden, but it had not been made by people saying how beautiful it was. Courage’, determination, sacrifice, and work had made the Empire what it was to-day. It shoulff.be; a cue to people to help and become partners in the glory o'f the Empire. No matter what the job was, put your heart into it and give df youw-best service always. The dignity of labour counted in every undertaking. Practical sympathy and a common understanding was necessary "for welfare and peace. People of to-day could not do better than strive to emulate the spirit ol the pioneers of the country, and take an intelligent interest in the work ol Empire-building. (Applause.) ADDRESS TO THE CHILDREN. Speaking to the children, Hijsj Excellency repeated the story of the fivepointed star, and its meaning, that if worn by the children of Samoa. He explained that every boy .and girl could help the country by doing his or her share of the hard work withoul shirking or grumbling.. He counseUec them to be loyal to God, King, country, neighbour, and themselves, anc then they could call themselves Empire builders, and there was no finei title. It was not necessary to* be £ great sailor or a. soldier to do good What counted was working for thi happiness .and welfare of one’s fellowmen. The Governor-General asket the children to never lose an opportunity to be loyal to their parents ant teapherst, and make an earnest resolve to do all they could for the gooc and welfare o'f the beautiful Dominioi of New Zealand. So that the visit o Their Excellencies should be a memorable one for the children he was going to ask for a holiday for. them. His Excellency concluded by agaii thanking the citizens for the verj cordial welcome, which, he said, gave him great help arid encouragement ii his, work as their Governor-General It. had afforded Their Excellencies considerable pleasure in meeting the people of Paeroa and district. ■ INSPECTION OF SCHOOLCHILDREN After being introduced to the bor oiyjh and county councillors, theii Excellencies proceeded to inspecl the chidren from the 'following schools : Paeroa District High Schoo (4'00), Paeroa Convent (80), Tirohi; (40), Kerepeehi (28), Netherton (70) (16), and Karangahake (36) Their Excellencies were introduced t< each r teache;r as.-they passed down th< lines of children.

His Excellency expressed pleasure and delight- at* seeing such a large gathering of clean, healthy-looking children, and he thanked them for. the loyal welcome accorded to Lady Fergusson and‘himself. After spending some time chatting to various people, Their Excellencies proceeded Across the domain, to where a site was arranged for the planting of a couple of trees. Under the ableguidance of the domain superintendent (Mr W- Hamilton) Lady Fergusson planted a Japanese maple and Sir. Charles Fergusson planted a scarlet oak (Pinoak). The planting completed, His Excellency shook hands with Mr Hamilton and congratulated him on the beauty a,ud care for appearance o’f the domain. He also expressed the hope that the trees planted that day would flourish and add to the beauty of the surroundings. The party then drove through the ■ town to the railway station, fta the return journey a brief stop was made at the Ohinemuri Club, where His Excellency and his aide-de-camp were welcomed by the president (Mr A; Steadman). His Excellency express-ed-his pleasure at meeting the members, whom he congratulated on having such a good building and up-to-date appointments. After leaving the club His Excellency, as Grand Master of the New _ Zealand Constitution of Freemasons, paid ah informal visit to Lodge Ohinemuri 107, where he was received by the Worshipful Master (Bro. B. J. Coldicutt) and officers and brethren of the lodges ” Their Excellencies were later the . guests of the Mayor and Mayores at, private Inucheon at the Criterion Hotel. $ Luncheon over,.His Excellency spfent a few minutes in the commercial ropm, where a number of citizens were • presented to him. At 2.20 p.m. the Vice-Regal party left by motor-cars for Te Araha. Crowds of people assembled outside the Criterion Hotel and cheered the party as they drove off. Hundreds of 'schoolchildren lined up on the bridge and gave Their Excellencies a wonderful send-off by rousing cheers and. waving of flags.

There can be no doubt as to the sincerity of the welcome accorded Sir Charles and Lady Fergusson during: their bridf stay at Paeroa. That itwas appreciated is evidenced by the fact that His Excellency said that he looked forward with keQn pleasure to’ again visiting Paeroa and spending ai night in the town on some future occasion. In saying good-bye to HisWorship the Mayor the GovernorGeneral thanked the people throughthe Mayor for tjie wonderful welcome,, accorded Their Excellencies, and congratulated the Mayor on the splendid’ organisation and beautiful decoration*;