GIFTS TO HEROES OF THE WAR.
....The mementos which the Timaru Committee purchased for presentation to Major-General Baden-Powell, General Sir George White, and Colonel Kekewich, arrived in Timaru from Christchurch on Saturday, and were formally taken over by the Committee, who met at the Town Hall at 3.30 p.m., and approved the design. The mementoes are three miniature cannon made precisely after the pattern of the gun used in the defence of Mafeking, and every detail is adjustable and can be taken to pieces just in the same way as a cannon ordinarily used in warfare. The wheels, axle, and all the heavier parts are made of silver, while all the finer parts and the tires of the wheels are of gold. The cannon itself is of greenstone, and on the one to be presented to General Baden-Powell, there is a gold band near the touch-hole with the letters "B.P." on it. In each cannon there is no less than 80 different parts; every spoke can be taken out of the wheel, and the gold caps on the axle-box may also be taken off. In length, the guns are about six inches, and the greenstone barrel is two and a half inches. The guns each stand on a honeysuckle plinth, 8in by 6in, and on this plinth is a silver plate with the following inscription in Maori, "Nau mai e te Toa na Timaru," which interpreted, means "Hail, brave men; Timaru salutes you." Underneath this, each one bears an inscription addressed to the heroes of Mafeking, Ladysmith, and Kimberley, respectively, and setting forth that it is a memento from residents of the district. The guns are made entirely of New Zealand material; the silver was obtained from the Thames, the gold from Otago, and the greenstone and honeysuckle are also New Zealand products. They were designed by Mr. M'Nab, both design and workmanship reflecting the greatest credit on the workmen.
The Evening Post [Wellington, N.Z.], Monday 15th October 1900
