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Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 261, 27 March 1913, Page 4

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Tliis afternoon (hi' pioneer!? of Tarauaki —a rapidly thinning band—are to be entertained by Hie Mayor and citizens at a social gathering in Pukekura Park; and we sincerely trust that the people' of the town and locality will attend ill large number* and do their utmost to make the affair a success. Without point; to the extreme of "ancestor 'worship," New Zealand as a whole might well take a lesson from the Chinese in the matter of paying respect to parents and old people generally. In an especial sense the people of Taranaki are under an obligation to honor the surviving early settlers. The pioneers of this district had to face difficulties and dangers such as were not encountered in any other part of the Dominion. They had literally to hew themselves homes out of the dense bush that covered the country almost to tha coastline. and an idea ol the immensity of their labors may be obtained by viewing the huge trees and the tangled undergrowth in the Egmont National l!e----serve. In addition, they had to fight for (lie protection of their homes, and even of their lives, against brave, determined and resourceful enemies. On several occasions they had to take up their rifles and engage in hush warfare,

while their wives and children found i refuge in camps and block-houses. (The I people of to-day are reaping the fruits j of these early toils and troubles; and 1 j they would be indeed guilty of base in- ; gratitude if they failed to recognise the debt they owe to the early settlers, whose labors alone made possible the steady growth and development of Taranaki and the conversion of the once wild region into what is justly called "the Garden of New Zealand." The savage woods and men that had to be conquered may be sai-:l to have been blessings in disguise, since they had a beneficial elTect on the pioneers, inuring them to hardships, making them brave, sturdy and self-reliant, and cultivating in them an adventurous and progressive character. In these days of prosperity, ease and pleasure-seeking, the newer generations are prone to forget what their predecessors did for them by subduing the ■wilderness and establishing conditions of peace and security. Hence such a gathering as that which is to take, place this afternoon is a useful reminder of the services rendered by the early settlers. Viewed in this light, the people of to-day. in paving honor and respect to their predecessors, will benefit themselves, while at the same time they may awaken ■feelings of pleasure and pride in the breasts of the aged pioneers. There will lie nothing in the nature of liero-worship—no laudatory orations or other form of "fireworks," but just simple, friendly, human recognition, with Social talk and exchange of reminiscences, which is a programme that will prove more acceptable to ,the veterans than mere adulation. An admirable feature has been added to the programme by the younger men of the town, who propose to entertain the war veterans at a special picture entertainment, followed 'by a supper in the evening. This idea w.as initiated last year; it was carried out successfully, to the vast enjoyment of the old-warriors; ■ • and we have no doubt it will prove as [ successful to-night. It i$ to be hoped, ! too, that these functions —tiie afternoon . picnic and the evening entertainment — • will become annual fixtures, and will be , . faithfully parried out so long ag. there is -a survivor of the troublous time,s in the • history of Taranaki. Among the pion- • cers who are thus honored, there are > women deserving of as high praise as . tlie men —women who showed the pos- > session' of stout hearts and willing - hands, and who in their own sphere . were as hardy, courageous and resouree- !• fill as their male, relatives. Taranaki . has reason to be proud of these brave > men and women. In honoring them, our . townspeople will do l honor to them- . selves.