Electric shock threw man from rooftop

Mr. M. Srhoj, and the R.S.A. president, Mr. D. T. Coulter, was also on the dais.

The Kaitaia Municipal Band provided the music for the hymns and prayers were read by Rev. C.F. Peart. The address was given by the Rev. I.C. Smith, who said that they were gathered in the name of Anzac as a cross-section of our society.

Some had been directly involved in warfare, some through members of their families who were caught up in the war machine, including such people as the speaker, who had only been a child in World War II but who had relatives who had been prisoners or seriously wounded, and there was also the increasing proportion of those who had no contact with the war, the youngsters who had no idea of the anguish and strain it brought.

This was not the time to speak of the evils of war or the way Anzac Day is observed. They were there to pay respects to those who died in wars.

He had very little to say to those who had been in combat and had seen their comrades die. This was outside his experience, but all present owed to the returned men and their comrades the freedom we have today.

“Ours is the greatest responsibility. We are living in a country which has been made free by the blood of her young men – a dreadful price to pay,” he said.

Where did our responsibility lie today? It lay in the heavy burden to carry, in the care and rearing of our children, and the guarding of our heritage. Our responsibility lies in increasing and preserving our country’s stability, prosperity and health.

“If we do this our children will inherit a society worthy of our name and the chances given to us by the dreadful sacrifice so many young men paid – the price of their lives,” said Mr. Smith.

After the ceremony the returned servicemen who had paraded and their guests returned to the R.S.A. assembly hall where lunch was served.

The Loyal Toast was given by the president, Mr. Coulter, while Brigadier S. Hartnell, D.S.C and Bar, gave the toast to Absent Friends, recalling the old comrades who had passed on in the flush of youth.

On Wednesday there had been the usual school Anzac Day ceremonies, including a service at Kaitaia College conducted by the Rev. W. J. Patrick.

There were others out in the county yesterday, including at Houhora, where Mr. J. MacAulay was given his life membership of the R.S.A.

— April 26, 1968 While fixing the spouting around his roof, a Pukenui man, Mr. Brian A Wagener, slipped and his elbow touched an electric power wire, the shock throwing him from the roof, about midday on Sunday.

Mr. Wagener fell through the wires to the ground, breaking an earth wire on the way down.

He landed on the grass and was apparently knocked unconscious. He was treated by Dr J. D Paton, and though still in bed yesterday, he was “much better”.

— April 9, 1968

The address