MAORI WAR MEMORIAL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 87, 8 May 1909, Page 6

MAORI WAR MEMORIAL

The Maratand Hill monument, erected . to the memory of the Imperial and ] ' Colonial Forces, and the loyal native* ; who took part,in the Taranaki Maori wars, was unveiled yesterday afternoon . ,by his Excellency the Governor, Lord ] Pluaket, in the presence of a large assemblagc of the pioneer settlers and veteran soldiers, the defence forces', and the general public. The (lay was'showery. During the morning there were varying propheci.-s as to the weather. When the eun sliOiie brightly all were hopeful that the rain which had caused an abandonment of the .previous day's function bad spent itself. The sunshine was short-lived. Heavy showers fell, about mid-dav, and in the early afternoon. Only one slight shower, however, interfered with tw» ceremony, and that one fell during the concluding jortioii'.of his Excellency s address and the chaplain's dedicatory prayer. Colonel J. Ellis, V.D., acted as marthai, and disposed the veterans, volunteers, and cadets upon their arrival at the monument. They had marched in procession from the Drill Hal], handed by th c 4tli Wellington Battalion Band. Lieutenant-Colonel Okey, \ .1)., was in charge of the forces, the, other Battalion oificers being Major Malone, Quartermaster Captain F. W. Okey, ChaplainMajor Evans, Surgeon-Captain Home, and Sergeant-Major Armitage. Lieutenant-Colonel Baueliop, OftieerCommand the District, ivas also present. The Taranaki Rifles, under Captain F. T. Bellringvr and Lieutenant C. B. Lever, mustered 33 strong; and of the - Taranaki Guard*, under Captain Mills and Lieutenant Beadle, 42 were paraded. Major F. \Y. Sandford, V.D., was in command of the Xo. 1 Battalion of Public School Cadets, with the following eta IT officers:—Captain and Adjutant Johnston, Quartermaster-Captain ' 'Bary, and Sergeant-Major Linn. The companies mustered a*'follows: —Central, Xo. 1 company, Captain Mellroy - anjl Lieutenants Day and McGahey, 40;,Central Xo. 2, Captain Bocock and Lieutenants Whitcombe and Sullivan. 3!); West End, Lieutenant White, 50; Fitgroy, Lieutenant Bailey, 2(1. The Veterans, manv of IJiem wearing medals ' for the Indian Mutiny, Crimea, and

others oi Britain's struggles, besides the Xew Zealand dec-oration and the Royal Veterans' Association badges, mustered' fully eighty strong, under Captain Standish. They were arrang- " ed two deep along the left of the hollow si|uare, a few paces from the monument, and past them the Vice-Regal party ■ marched to their places on the dais erected at the north front of the monument. The volunteers and cadets' formed the remainder of the square. ' A mounted escort preceded the gubernatorial carriage, drawn by four greys to the crest of the hill. ' There their Excellencies and suite dismounted, and , walked to the dais. Lady IPlunket paid a neat compliment to toe Colonial Defence Forces by wearing the- dark green and gold uniform of the Xorth Canterbury Jlounteds; of which she is honorary CoIoneLMARSLAXj) .HILL: A RETROSPECT " ■ llr.S..Percy-Smith, on behalf of the committee, thanked his Excellency and La'dy Plunket to whom they were greatly indebted for graciyg this cereiiiony with their presence. H e had just received the following telegram from the ~ Premier, Sir Joseph Ward:—"The settlers of the Taranaki district are met this afternoon to unveil 6 monument which Will serve to preserve fresh in the minds of the pre6eat and future generations of our fair jDoniiuion one of the many instances oi heroism and sacrifice performed by our brave soldiers , during the unhappy wars which, characterised the early colonising of Xew Zealand. I exceedingly regret that my Ministerial duties ilo not admit of my being present at tin- ceremony this afternoon, to assist the residents in doing honor to the memory of those who fought and died for their Sovereign and their country in the Greater Britain of the South. I sincerely hope that the proceedings to-day will b r in every way most successful.—J. G. WARD." Mr. Smith, in explaining the origin of the memorial, said it was unique in tliu Dominion. There were none in the Dominion so comprehensive. There" were monuments erected to regiments and to individuals, but this one commemorated the deeds' of the naval and Imperial military forces, the militia and the loyal Maoris. The origin of this monument was due to one man in this place, Captain Mace, who had felt that there should be a more general monument than had so far lieen attempted. 11* and others communicated with the Mayor. Jlr. Dockrill; a meeting was held, and officers elected. He acknowledged the herculean and honorary labors of Jlr. W. F. Gordon, the secretary. Having received good response to an appeal for funds, the committee decided on this monument out of a number of competitive designs. A contract was let to Mr. Parkinson, of Auckland. About a year had elapsed, owing to the marble figure having to h e obtained from the famed Italian quarries' at Carrara: and now here was the monument. Jlarsland Hill would, he thought, lie esteemed a very suitable place for a monument of this nature. It was the first spot which had been, fortified by the British in the province. Prior to that it had been an old Jlaori pa. called Pukaka, and the hill'stood some sixty o r seventy feet higher than the present summit. It was beautifully terraced in those days, fortifie'cL and palisaded. In the troublous times of the "fifties'." when the Maoris' Were fljuhtingl amongst themselves, jt was feared that the more re- . mote settlers mijjht become embroiled ' in the quarrels.- »wing to tile proximity of" the righting pas to their homesteads. Colonel Uailley was sent down from Auckland, and he selected this hill as th,. best site for the military barrack". . which were to be erected. Two hundred and fifty s'oldiers were sent here, and they camped on the site of the present Government Buildings; another two . hundred tumped on the spot where the Technical School now stands. Those forces, under the direction of the Roval Engineers, cut down the hill sufficiently to provide barrack room, the beauty o f the hill being unavoidably sacrificed.. Then followed ih e erection of the bar racks, with its palisade pierced for guns. There had been a feeling of unrest from the days of Hone lieke's war. and this gave rise to the formation of the Land League. In IS6O a .Maori chieftain, who claimed ownership], s'old a hlock of land at Waitara to the Crown. Another chief, Wi Kingi. defied Imiii to sell, and when the surveyors went out htf turned them off and fortifibd a 'position. Then followed the ten-years' war.. So his Excellency would see that Jfarsland Hill had beeii connected with military matters for a very great num--I>er of years. It was for years a refuge for the women and children of the settlement. Owins to the incursions of the Maoris, and (heir destruction of the ' homesteads and farms, the settlers all came"into Xew Plymouth, ami no man was allowed beyond "the lines." the. safe area being marked by treu"hes and sod walls. And in times of dasiirer a t «isnal gun from Jlarsland Hill brought all the women and children flocking to the barracks for safety.

,: • : , 1- TS . EXCELLEXCT'S ADDRESS. vk* » His B »""ency the Governor addresfc--./.7. ™ the gathering as follows: liflSt (riven us of the object of this v'-. "Mnorjal. the method by which it has g/.-s been obtained, the services of those aV' brave men-aye, and women—whom it gr.it eommenmrntM, reopens one of the Wtl *™ rlous I )a ß es in our Empire* historv. EWs (Hear, hear.) The. landing of the sti'lW- '■■ «'*r(; Devon and Cornwall settlers, their their <rturd\ per>ey>rrtnee. g~ mk their, reward u smiling' homesteads g&MM sploiidicl land Then the iniitterfp'Pf* of wati '' th <' c °nt«ntratioii on this' K"Hhen little town and the labors of Kj< twentv years (tone up in the smoke of g|a£'yieir burning farm' Ladies and gentlefar the histon might lie that B§||pf" »">' _ nation winch ha., attempted hat we mar piidc mu selves WgHwt (tie i;eat of the stmj is that which ha? shown again and £ , thousand j ears.

UNVEILED BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR UNIQUE PROCEEDINGS

ditions maintained; how easy it vouh' have been for a narrow-minded or half hearted Mother Country to have re /used to take up their defence. But no, thank God, that has never been, '> never been for long, our Empire's wa; of scaping difficulties or rcsponsibili ties. .Notwithstanding that Englaiv had hardly recovered from two seriou wars, British soldiers and sailors, vet crans' who had felt the bitter cold o lnkerman and Balaclava and the swcl tering heat of the Kidge of Delhi, cam to their countrymen's defence, an. after ten long years of war against on of the bravest native races the worl has ever known—(hear, hear, from th ranks of the veterans)—the Pax Britan nica came upon the land, and the pel manent foundations of a sister natlo and bulwark of the Empire were laid. I am very glad, as Representative o the King, to pay honor to the band c veterans here "to-day, who helped t make and keep this portion of his Em pire, and to add my tribute to tin memory of those who, throughout Zealand, died in the service of then Sovereign and their country. Thcit patriotism has set an example which a later generation has followed, in defence of the Empire, in South Africa, and in generous assistance to its lla£ on the broad seas. To you who have erected this memorial. subßcrilbere at Home and abroad, 1 also extend niv congratulations; for nvhilst the greatest monument of those white men and loyal natives who kept Xew Zealand for the Empire is that prosperous Dominion itself to-day, it is well that 011 this historic spot a litting monument to their honor should keep their memories green.'' His Excellency concluded his address amidst hearty applause, tempered by a' shower of rain. At the conclusion of his speech, his' Excellency ■Withdrew from the north aspect of the monument the flags which had veiled the principal inscription. The volunteers came to the salute, the band played, and the lmgler sounded "The 'Last Post.'' Cheers were given for Lord and Lady Plnnkct. A PRAYER OK DEDICATION. - Chaplain-Major K. Evans then

; tepped and offered a dedicatory prayer, as follows:—"Oh, Almighty and Everlasting God. in Whuiu we live and move and have our beinjy. Who rulcs't over the empires of this world and di*posest of tliem ns Thou wilt, mercifully hear our prayers and' accept* and hallow this memorial which

with our hands we have erected to Thy honor and glory and in loving memory of our liretliri'ii wh<i fought for thus

fair land and fell upon tlic fields of battle, and who now r est in peace. Continue to lis. we beseech Thee. the blessing?- of peace. Hake wars to cease i:i all the world, il'onr down upon us and upon all nations the spirit of peace, and finally bring ns all to the City of Eternal Peace, the Heavenly Jerusalcn. there to praise Thee everlastingly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Allien.'' .FURTHER PROCEED]^!*. His Excellency then inspected the veterans, conversing with many of them, 'congratulating them 011 their appearance and their pluck in coming out on-such :t day to honor their"* departed comrades. Mr. Percy-Smith then presented the members of the committee to his Excellency and Lady Plunket, who appeared qujte interested in the Jfew Zealand Cross which was conspicuous upon the breast of Captain Mace, X.Z.C.. the prime mover in the matter of erecting this monument. Several of the veterans were then presented to his Excellency, including lieutenant Johnstone, the sole survivor of Taranaki's first mounted corps iii action. The school cadets, were the next to receive attention. Tile lads were evidently conscious of the respect due to royalty's' representative, and carried themselves well. Lady Plunkct presented the Taranaki Public School Cadets' championship belt to Lieutenant !i. Wliitcombc. who jron it at (lie recent Taranaki Ititle Association meeting. The troops were then inspected in their turn, and their Excellencies having arrived back at the dais were photo, graphed in front of the monument with Captain A. C'athorne Hardv. aide-de-camp. and Miss Hill. Coloiiel'Ellis. V.])., Messrs Qron,, (Royal Ilorse Artillery), with Afghanistan and Egyptian war medals, and T. Quigley, with medals lor service in the Indian .Mutinv. the Crimean and Xew Zealand wars. ' The troops came to the Roval Salute, the band played the National Anthem, and this most historic ceremony was at an end.