Memorial Unveiled

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1082, 20 September 1930, Page 13

Memorial Unveiled

IN MEMORY OF W. F. MASSEY Ceremony on Point Halswell Special to THE SUN WELLINGTON, Friday. IN the sunshine of a fine afternoon, the memorial on Point Halswell to the late Rt. Hon. William Ferguson Massey was unveiled by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, today. Members of all political parties, of all shades of opinion, of all grades of society, attended the ceremony out of respect for the memory of the dead statesman, and the official speakers paid honourable tribute to his work both for New Zealand and for the Empire.

“This beautiful monument to his ■. memory—not too beautiful for the ' man—is one of the finest tributes ever paid to a single individual, and there could be no finer character for such a monument than the late Mr. Massey.” “Although I would fain that the task had been placed in abler hands, I conceive that, is his Majesty the King is the centre and symbol of Imperial unity, so I as his representative —wholly detached from those domestic controversies which, while putting to the test the qualities of statesmanship, inevitably range public men in oposite camps—cannot unfittingly pay a deserved and unchallengeable tribute to one whom his fellow-coun-trymen loved, whom the whole Empire honoured, and whom the outside world respected.” Those words uttered, respectively, by the Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates, for many years a colleague of the late Mr. Massey, and his Excellency the Governor-Gen-eral, Lord Biedisloe, showed the tenor of the ceremony. The culmination of two years of painstaking labour in building a memorial to one of New Zealand's greatest men was marked by the unveiling by the Governor-General of the plaque in the ctntre of the front wall of the structure, showing the wellknown bust of William Ferguson Massey. People from all parts of New Zealand came to do honour to the memory of the dead statesman, and the ceremony, simple as it was, chord of responsiveness in everyone, so that one could visualise the spirit of “Bill” Massey present among the people he loved and served. “A FIGHTER’S GRAVE”

The weather, with the sun shining celarly from a cloud-dappled spring i sky, and with the deep blue waters of the harbour faintly rippled by vagrant breezes, was fitting for the ceremony—Mr. Massey would have been happy to see his deeds remembered in such surroundings. Indeed, there could be no more fitting spot for a memorial than Point Halswell, 120 ft above sealevel, and facing both harbour and city—the scenes of a lifetime spent in a labour of love for the people of the Dominion. The late Prime Minister was a fighter, and his remains rest on an old fort, built in the infant days of Wellington and New Zealand, so that there is especial satisfaction in the thought that such a man should be buried in such a place. In the sunshine the majestic monument of white New Zealand marble gleams, and on the greyest of days it is always conspicuous from every point. It is “more lasting than brass,” and a fit token of the respect of New Zealand for a man. The monument might have been erected to some warrior of Sparta, for its very simplicit/ and boldness show man’s art in the highest degree. In the front arch there appear only the words “A memorial of loyal and faithful service to King and Country” above the plaque of Mr. Massey, which is flanked by the provincial and Dominion coats--oi-arms. On seaward front of the memorial are laurel wreaths. STRIKING MONUMENT At the entrance there appears a tablet setting forth the fact that the whole is a memorial to William Ferguson Massey, and describing his life

and service to New Zealand. A flight I of steps leads to the gunpit in which rest Mr. Massey’s remains. As the Acting - Prime Minister, the Hon. E. A. Ransom, in his speech, said, the memorial is a tribute to the ability of the architects concerned. Against the waters of Wellington Harbour, the dark trees on the hills behind Point Halswell and encircling hills of Wellington, the monument is striking in its effect. No one could be unimpressed by it, no matter how blase a traveller he were. Steps on either side of the walled entrance to the gunpit lead to the avenue of approach, which has low walls along it, recessed for seats as an integral part of the j design. At the seaward end of the j avenue, three steps lead up to the i sanctuary, on either side of which | stands a pylon 11 feet high. From the ! pylons, walls lead to the semicircular front screen, through the openings of which one catches mingled glimpses of hills and sea, city smoke and the blue sky. That is a brief description of the ; spot which attracted nearly every member of Parliament, past and present, to Wellington today, and the; opening of which was seen by a crowd which flanked the memorial itself and filled the lower slopes of the hill a", the back.

“UNSWERVING FIDELITY" LORD BLEDISLOE’S TRIBUTE THE GRAVE OF A STATESMAN Press Association WELLINGTON, Friday. “Beneath our feet on this lovely promontory, in sight of the ships arriving from the Homeland as well as of the capital of this Dominion which he served with unswerving fidelity and unflagging zeal, rest the human remains of a great practical Imperialist, William Ferguson Massey,” said the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe. when unveiling the memorial. “It is not perhaps inappropriate that a space where once stood a battery to defend Wellington’s beautiful harbour should now contain the body of a statesman who, with a view to world liberty and the honour of the Empire, took so prominent a part in the efficient prosecution of the war and the attainment of the blessings of peace. “William Massey, like so many men. sprang from the soil and was normally employed in winning a living from i£, in all conditions of weather and fluctuating fortune. He was a man of simplicity of life and faith, of robust courage and unquenchable hopefulness. Ho was a shrewd and formidable fighter, but his force of character, coupled with his sincerity and honesty of purpose, impelled a measure of confidence and respect such as surely few Parliamentary protagonists have enjoyed. “From a life such as his we learn the value of the subordination of self to service, the sinking of personal ambitions and interests in zeal for the public weal. These are attributes of all statesmen who have left their mark on history, and without them no man can live permanently in the memory of his fellow-countrymen. “It is my pleasure and pride now to declare this memorial open, and at the same time to express the sincere hope that many will arise in all classes and parties in. this Dominion and help in the shaping of its destinies, who will seek to emulate the robust simplicity, piety and honesty of him whom it so fitly commemorates.”