PAST RECALLED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 March 1940, Page 8

PAST RECALLED

TRIBUTE TO OUR PIONEERS

(By N.J.8.)

“Never the loins closes, never the wild-fowl walte, But a soul goes out on the East wind that died for England's sake— Man oi- woman or suckling, mother or bride or. maid — Because on the bones of the English the English flag is stayed.” —Rudyard Kipling.

Masterton district's participation, this week,.in universal celebration of the centennial of New Zealand settlement by mon, women and children of the British race (using the term British in its accepted wider sense) calls for a small measure of sentiment that — come now century on century celebrations following in this first one's wake —might never seem so appropriately applied to later ones. If only by reason of this year's last muster of all who can reasonably claim to be called New Zealand pioneers; its second generation pioneers, who for tlie most part will soon themselves make way for the hist remnant of citizen among us who can lay claim in any way to such title, this year's gathering of local district pioneers should rank in future memory as one especially worth recall.

As one who stood on October 30, ' 1921, side by side will! members of Wellington District Early Settlers' Association, at the historic, though somewhat neglected, gravesides of Edward Gibbon Wakefield (founder of New Zealand colonisation), and of his brothers (Colonel William and Judge Daniel Wakefield), in Bolton Street’s long-closed, but still picturesquelyplaced cemetery; and hoard recited the Kipling verse above quoted. I can but sincerely regret that so many, if not all. of those first-arriving, original pioneers, who that day assembled to honour the Wakefields as Empire builders in sight of their tombs and epitaphs; and even the Wakefield flag unfurled. have, since then, themselves, found graves (if of less historic importance) wherein to rest their own. age-weary, honoured bones. For such as these, and of those'of our local pioneers who will foregather at luncheon, on Thursday next, well might have been written (in his lighter yet prophetic, mystic strain) Arthur O'Shaughnessy's unequalled tribute, whose first and last stanzas I here append:—

"We are the music-makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams. Wandering by lone sea-breakers And sitting by desolate streams; World-losers and world-forsakers.

On whom the pale moon gleams; Yet. we are the movers and shakers Of the world forever, it seems.

"Great hail! wo cry to the comer From the dazzling unknown shore. Bring us hither your suns and your

summers And renew our world as of yore. You shall teach us new songs, new numbers, ' ' / And things that we dreamed not before; Yea. in spite of a dreamer that slumbers,

And a singer that sings no more?" So, thought-untrammelled despite the great Empire they at least i. :11O w how to serve and honour being once more in the throes of a world’ conflict of greater and more sinister aspect than any it has ever yet contended with (and waged for the freedom of all races, creeds and colours) let our district’s old-time, last-surviving pioneers, meet together in peace and harmony (perhaps for the lasi lime) and thus contribute responsive heartbeats to O’Shaughnessy's slightly paraphrased lines: "Bring we our suns and our summers. to renew our world as of yore." Yes. Thursday. March 1-1. coming, should bo a groat and memorable day ioi- them: our worth.v and climax-aee. reaching pioneers—j am. etc.. N .1 I). Mn.lli-rloo, Mal'i?li 111