THE WAR MEMORIAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5438, 21 June 1929, Page 2

THE WAR MEMORIAL.

CENOTAPH AND REST ROOM. DECISION OF COMMITTEE. An important decision concerning a ladies’ rest room was arrived at by the executive committee at its meeting on Wednesday evening. The committee would have called a public meeting to discuss the matter again and decide what should be done but for the fact that the number of functions already arranged make it practically impossible to secure a suitable evening for over ten days,, which was considered too long to wait. The arrangement now is that the objective of the amount to be raised shall be increased from £450 to £B5O, and all money obtained over £450 shall be used towards erecting ladies’ rest and Plunket nurse rooms.

The members of the Borough Council have been consulted, and they have agreed that if the sum of £4OO is raised by the public for this purpose the council will undertake to erect a brick front wall right across the present library section, with brick ladies’ and nurse rooms on the side of the present library, at an estimated cost of £B5O.

Early in the year the council placed the sum of £lOO upon the estimates, towards the cost of ladies’ rest r00m... and this amount is available, but under the new proposal the council would have to find at least £3OO. It is therefore proposed to spend approximately the same amount on ladies’ rooms as on the cenotaph, and it is sincerely hoped that this will enable those who favour some useful form of memorial, and particularly our country friends, who undoubtedly desire a rest room because they know how great is the need, to join with enthusiasm in helping to reach the objective.

The decision to include a ladies’ rest room and Plunket nurse rooms in the objective of the present enterprise must commend itself as a worthy effort to meet the needs and views of the farmers and those who do not see the merit or worth of that form of a memorial which a Cenotaph is typical of. There is, beyond all question in every community, as the Mayor has said, two distinct schools of thought concerning what form any memorial should take : those who hold that any memorial should take the form of something which we cannot use ourselves, something which we do purely through love and a sense of duty towards those who by the memorial we would honour and remember, and in the erection of which we offer an unselfish tribute; and those who prefer a form of memorial which has a useful purpose for living humanity, and whiph will in some measure minister to human needs. The two views are divergent and irreconcilable, and both may be equally sincere. If in erecting a War Memorial a small town like Paeroa can find worthy expressions for both schools of thought we shall have done that of which we may have just cause for pride. Within the two ideas before mentioned there is room for numerous differences of opinion as to just what should be done, and according to tastes opinions will vary ; yet sound measures can be advanced for both selections.

It is worthy of note that the War Memorial designed for London, which is the heart of the Empire, is a Cenotaph.. It is of a type peculiar more or less to our day ; & embodies modern ideas in design, and doubtless in the years to come it will mark this period as other types denote earlier

periods. There can be no question that national emotions are greatly stirred from time to time by gatherings at the Cenotaph at Whitehall, and it will continue to make its great silent appeal down on through the ages. At the Cenotaph to be in Paeroa we, too, and those who follow us, may Be led to remember and be inspired to emulate in deeds of service and' sacrifice the spirit of men who have kept the world free for democracies such as ours. :

To many, mothers who with thank-, ful hearts tarry to rest awhile in the comfort of the proposed ladies room similar wealth of thought and inspiration will come, and it is beyond all controversy that the need for such conveniences is very real. . If some useful form of memorial is to be erected it could not be anything more needed, and probably nothing more useful or valuable than a ladies’ rest and Plunket nurse rooms.

Though the effort needed to do these things is a great one it is in no sense a measure of the debt we owe, and when, we reflect that if done at this time it will afford a measure of relief to men needing employment it becomes doubly an obligation which We must bestir ourselves to see carried to a succesful conclusion.

In the decision to includs ladies’ rooms the Borough Council have doubtless sensed the strong public opinion on the question, and in undertaking to spend at least £3OO of the ratepayers’ money on the proposal they have done all that, the ratepayers could be expected to do under the immediate circumstances. It will doubtless alter the council’s plans for the year and something else will have to remain undone, but it is a valuable contribution, and we think the ratepayer would desire it to be done. There should not be room now for any heart burnings, and we should all get behind the movement and do our utmost to see that the objective is realised.. Our duty towards the men from this distrjet who. served and died, our duty to posterity, our responsibility toward fellow citizens in need, and pride of citizenship all combine to urge us to sink minor differences and to be really enthusiastic.