AT HAWERA.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 July 1919, Page 5

AT HAWERA.

Fortunately the weather enabled the citizens of Hawcra to worthily honor the peace celebrations on Saturday. A fitting and imposing procession, the units for which assembled in front of the Winter Show building, and marshalled by Major Cox, moved off at 1 pjn., through the streets of the brightly festooned town, a feature of the gay decorations being three arches in High Street, and most of the shops being specially dressed for the occasion. Amongst those present was Lieut. Laurent, V.C., and it is estimated the crowd numbered between three and four thousand.

A platform had been greeted wlierefrom the speeches were .made, and on this structure the Mayor, returned soldiers, veterans, and otliers took their place, cheers being given for the returned soldiers, Mr. Lloyd George, and Marshal Focli. After, reading the King's Proclamation df Peace, the Mayor referred to the docasioii as one Of rejoicing and thanksgiving. They eotild, he said, never forget the great sacrifices made by their/men,_ and they thought, in their, rejoicing, with sorrow for those men who wouljS never return. Mr. G. V. Pearce said the day wa9 a memorable one, because it marked the official ending of the greatest struggle hi the history of the! world, wherem

and at his call cheers were given for "Our Boys." After a short selection by the Band, Sir. Haselden delivered a very appropriate and effective address in which he said that the New Zealand soldiers had proved to be as good as the best. He warmly oulogised the services of Sit Douglas Haig and his generals. Sir, Wni. Birdwood and the other New Zealand leaders, also Admiral Beattv and his doughty officers He finally alluded to labor unrest, and the necessity for findin# and applying an effective remedy. In the evening the town and the tower decorations were brilliantly illuminated, and a feature of the procession was tho Fire Brigade with torches, flares, and Roman candles, while colored lights of the lorries, decorated cars and Waggons added brilliance to the scene. The people kept up their amusements in the street until they were tired, or listened either to Hyharo's orchestra, tho Male Choir, or Air. Gormley's concert party.

Children's Day (Monday) opened by taking the children to the Winter Show buildings, where they were sumptuously entertained, the building being prettily decorated, as were the tables, the latter being the work of Mrs. Hooker and the Technical College girls. Subsequently the company of juveniles were 'invited to witness the picture shows at the Opera House and Grand Theatre, special programmes being arranged! The children had a royal time that should impress the memory of the occasion indelibly on their minds. INGLEWOOD. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Unfavorable climatic conditions provented the sports programme for Children's Day being carried into effect, and the event has been postponed until a future date, when the children will have an opportunity of enjoying and rejoicing in the peace arrangements in their own way.

Although wretched weather prevailed, there was a large crowd of spectators to welcome the New Plymouth children, who arrived about IMS, the leading car conveying the Salvation Armv Brass Band halting at the Coffee Palace corner, lhe Mayor cordially welcomed the leaders, Arrangements were made for the procession to wend its way around the square, but .this idea was altered, and the procession went through the lines 0 r spectators along Rata Street, where each car was lustily cheered as it passed en route to New Plymouth, via Egmont village.

An effigy of the Kaiser was placed in a conspicuous position. Its erection was due to the enterprise of the Boy Scout?, who were responsible for its manufacture. The Kaiser was .to be burned in the evening, being conveyed to the stake behind a torchlight procession. Several cars conveying country school children arrived early. Provisions were short, and Mr. A. Lile saved the situation by providing refreshments for the wee visitors and their attendants. .YenPlymouth residents are to be conpratuated on their effort. The trip will ]onlive in the minds of the children wh<? joined in the great procession, wTiilst the local children will likewise remember the unique occasion when their brothers and sisters from New Plymouth passed through their town. WAITARA. (From Our Own Correspond cut.) c . Waitara, Julv' in. Since the days of the Waitara Bc-stta there has not been a bigger crowd in Viaitara thai) there was on Saturday for the peace celebrations. It i s rather hard to judge the number, but I should sav there must have been between two and three thousand people in town. The feather during the day was flnp but there were two or three nasty showers. The procession was formed up at 10 30 opposite Mr. T. Elliot's, and there the judging of the decorated vehicles took place. Mr. A. H. Halcombe (Urenui) acted as judge. The prizes were allotted as follows Motor lorry: Mr. E. Kendrick 1; this was a coach decorated as a Red Cross ambulance, and was very good. Motor car: Mr. B. Kendrick 1 (motor car decorated in red, white, and blue). Tableau.v: Freezing Works 1 (a truck got up as an electric light plant with a placard inscribed: "We've got to see it a skit on the borough electrical plant with an impersonation of the Mayor sitting in front and the electrical engineer going about his usual duties). Best decorated bicycle: Connie Spurdlc. Best fancy dressj Master Clare. These were both very nicely got up. A lorry with Miss Osmnn as the centre figure and six other girls, all dressed in white and representing peace, arrived too late for the judging, but was considered so good that a special prize is to he given for it. There were very few decorated vehicles, and this part of the procession was disappointing. The procession marched to the bridge. Lieut. Brabant was in front, then came the band, next the cadets and one returned soldier; then the school children bearing flags, five or six hundred of them' followed by the decorated vehicles. The procession was about a quarter of a mile long and looked very fine. It had been arranged that the band and speakers should be on the bridge, but it was found that owing to the large crowd it would be impossible for the speakers to make themselves heard any distance away, and so the speecnes were made from .the balcony of the Waitara Hotel. The first speaker was his Worship the Mayor, who said that during the past four years they had had an anxious tirne f but that to-day ,they were celebrating peace—and not only peace, but peace with victory. Mi. W. T. Jennings, M.P., then spoke of the necessity of all pulling .together to solve the difficulties that had been brought about by the war, and he appealed to the people not .to let internal strife mar their efforts in this direction. The Rev. Mr. Gavin spoke of the duty of the people who had not been to the front to see that the returned soldier was treated fairly, and mentioned the fact that they were trying to form a returned soldiers' association in Waitara, which required 100 members before it would be recognised, and lie appealed to the returned soldiers present to put in their names at once. He also mentioned that they were endeavoring to start a returned soldiers' club at Waitara, and he asked .the people to help them in this respect.

The Eev. P. B. Laurence said that he was reminded of an incident which happened on the Somme. A service was being held some four miles behind the front line; enemy shells were coming over, and the road of Bin. guns further behind made a veritable pandemonium, and they were singing the hymn "Pence on Earth." Many of them wondered if peace would ever come again, but to-day they were celebrating peace, and tlicy should thank God for it. He sftid that a repatriation committee had been established in Waitara to see that returned soldiers were properly started in civil life tgf^k

Mr. Atkinson said that the past four years had been an anxious time, but in, his mind the only time he had any doubt as to ,the result was in 1914, as to whether Britain would come into tho war. The decision hung in the balance for a short time. Since then, he had never any doubts as to the result. At 12 o'clock all men uncovered their heads and stood with bowed heads for j five minutes, in compliance with the j command of the King, while the band played a selection, "Peace," a very fine piece of music, in which occurred "Abide With Me" and which ended with "The Last Post." This ended the procession part of the ceremony. The soldiers' dinner, which hud been catered for by Mrs. Sutherland, of Belle Vue Boarding House, was a great success. The Clifton Hall had been decorated with flags and greenery and looked very fine, while the tables were a picture, A hundred and seventy-nine returned soldiers, the parents of lallen 6oldiers, and friends partook of the dintier, with which everyone was very well pleased, it being a complete success. The children's lunch, for which a large marquee had been provided, went off splendidly. The tent wns arranged so mat the children marched through, and the food, which had been put up in paper bags, war. handed to the children at one end, while cocoa was dispensed at the other end. An ample lunch was put into each bag, arid no one need have been hungry. Afternoon tea was also dispensed iu the same way, and one could hear nothing but praise lor the way the arrangements were carried out. The ladies who helped in this, and also those who waited at the soldiers' dinner, must be complimented on the complete success of both undertakings. The Waihi school children gave an exhibition of club swinging and Swedish drill, which were both excellently done and well dserved the applause accorded them, ill's. Reid must have been gratified at the reception they were given. The balance of ,the afternoon was filled np with children's races, and, as these were got off smartly all the time, a large crowd of spectators were kept interested. As ,the finale of this part of the programme, a scramble took place for small coins, which were scattered by Mr. T. Buchanan and his helpers. The display of fireworks by the Fire Brigade, which started at 7.30 p,m. from the cattle wharf, was a very interesting spectacle. Fifty pounds worth of fireworks had been procured by the committee, and it took over an hour to fire these. The night was very dark, and the rockets and other fireworks, bursting and showering different colored lights, were very fine. The bonfire on Manukoriho was lit at about 8.15 and burned strongly. This ended a day which was a notable event in the history of Waitara, and of the world.

The borough stall' had put in three days in getting greenery and decorating the town- I think few towns could have been better decorated than Waitara was. The bridge, in particular, looked exceedingly effective, with three sets of flags stretched across and ferns and niKau palms decorating the arches. "Several strings of flags stretched across McLean Street from Johnston's garage to the bridge, and flags were waving amongst the greenery from every verandah post. ELTHAM. The Eltham proceedings, commenced with a procession which left the File Brigade station shortly after 11 o'clock. Three mounted couriers—li.cd, White, and Blue—headed the procession. Then, iu order, followed the Eltham band, under Bandmaster Murray, a large number of returned soldiers, cadets, the voiui«er school children in fancy costumes, Eltham Salvation Army Boys Home lorry, with tableaux representing Britannia and her Allies; Eltham Comity Council, Queen of Peace; Manga - toki school children, also Mr. Joshua Rogers, an old Maori war veteran, Mata school, St. Joseph's Convent School, Eltham scliool, representing Liberty and Britannia, and two other lorries with children in fancy dress, a number of cars, Salvation Army band, cars, Eltham pipers, with Mr. Tristram in tho lead, cars followed by Eltham County tat boiler with the "Kaiser" on board, but where fiound for you had to guess. Passing along York Street, Conway Road, London and Bedford Streets, Mountain Road, Bridge Street, back to the Town Hall, the head of tho procession was nearing the Town Hall when the flrebell gave the signal that it was twelve noon, when the procession halted for fire minutes and the Last Post was sounded. Among the fancy dresses worn were several striking bathing costumes, another with a Stars and Stripes dress and battleship head-dress, causing much comment. V>'hen the procession reached the Town LTnll, the Mayor, Mi'. G. W. Taylor, tho Hon. W. C. F. Carncross, Mr. C. A. Wilkinson, M.P., and Rev. Messrs j (Stent and Hoslcing briefly addressed the people. The Mayor then called for three cheers for the King and for the returned soldiers. Tho children turned up in force for the luncheon, which had to be taken in two sittings at the Town Hull, while the returned soldiers were given lullchpon at the Athenaeum Hall. During the afternoon races for the cliildr;n were run at Tan mat a Park under the supervision of the School Committee, lollies being distributed at intervals. About 4 p.m. the children were again marched to the Town Hall and given tea. At 7 o'clock a tor.chlight procession left the Fire Brigade station for Taumata Park for the fireworks display, of whicli the members of the Fire Brigade had charge.—Star.