WHEN THE PRINCE OF WALES LANDED IN AUCKLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 44, 22 February 1927, Page 7

WHEN THE PRINCE OF WALES LANDED IN AUCKLAND.

v jgSi

It was on tie journey back from Rotorua that tie serenity of the Royal party was iy Mr. Massev, •who vas on the train, receiving a telegram announcing a general strike unles? ccrta n demands of the driver* and men -were imint-diately granted by tie Government- The t-triker;-. bowevrr. offered to take the Prince and his jarty whernir he wished to go. This offer was aovj■t«-J !••- the return to Auckland only. By \h<- effort* "f Mi. Massey, tie strike was soon j-etil.-d. Inn the Prinze had several days more than he had anticij>ai«il in Auckland, much to the gratification of .Auckland, despite the inconvenience of the strike. Then tin* Prince again set forth, throujrh the forei-t-. of Waimarino. and past smoking Xpaunihoe, into tb* , plains of Taranaki. to Hawcra and \Yaniranui. and Xapier. Hasting , ?, and Wellington, the capital, when* another tremendous reception was accorded him. At Petone there -eras re-enacted for him the landing i>f Captain Cook from the Endeavour, in 177! J. and the landing of the Reverend Samuel Taylor and other missionaries from the ship Tory, thirty-mc year* later. Maori warriors in war canoes ei-corted each of the boat processions to the beai-h. and vain'ed chiefs received the white visitors on the ?>andy short , . From Wellington the Renown took the Prince tn Picton. and from Blenheim the parly drove 70 miles to Nelfron. From there the Roy a ] -WMtor went lo Reefton. in "Westland of the warm heart," the home of Seddon; to Inangahua. Greymouth. West port, and Hokitika. Then on by train to Otira. thence by coach and foot across Arthur's Pass, and through to Christchurch, where on one day the Prince shook hands with 4000 people. Wonderful enthusiasm continued to be shown at Oamaru and other town* down to Dunedin and lnvercargill, the furthest south city being reached in cold wind and rain, which. however, did not in any way chill his ■welcome. The return journey of 400 miles to Lyttelton by tram was done in record time, and the Prince then embarked on the Renown for Australia. The Prince pave a farewell dinner on his ship, and handed the Prime Minister a farewell message, in which he said:— "This is a land of opportunity, not merely for some, but for aIL I have never seen suc& wellbeing and happiness so uniformly evident throughout the population of town and country alike, . . Xew Zealand is one of the greatest monuments of British civilisation, and I have felt, from end to end of the Dominion, that nowhere is there a British people more set in British traditions or more in British ideals." Iβ Canada and Australia. Before his long tour, the Prince had visited Canada. He left Portsmouth in the Renown on August 5, 1919, and six days later arrived at Newfoundland, where, after a great toene. he went on to Xew Brunswick, thence to Xova Scotia, making his official landing at Xew Halifax. He visited all the big cities of Canada, and the Canadians took him right to their hearts. He liked Canada so well that he bought a ranch in Alberta. On his more extensive tour he left England in March, 1920. calling at Barbadoes, Panama, Honolulu and Fiji, en route to Xew Zealand. At Barbadoes, by tie way, the Prince evoked a storm of applause at tie formal State dinner by his contradiction of the malicious! y inspired rumour that the West Indies were to Iks disposed of to tie United States. "I need hardly say," he declared emphatically, "that the Kings subjects are not for sale to other Government s. Your destiny, as free men, is in your own hands. Your future is for yourselves to shape and I am sure Barbadoes will never waver in its loyalty, three centuries old, to the British Crown." After his historic tour of this country, tie Prince went on to Melbourne, tie Renown covering the 160<> odd miles in three days, despite rough weather. It may truly be said that tie Australians—who am not generally given that way—idolised him, and let him go from their midst with a very genuine regret.