"SAILOR PRINCE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 307, 28 December 1934, Page 5

"SAILOR PRINCE."

ROYAL DUKE'S VISIT.

HIS FAMOUS ELEPHANT.

MEMORIES OF THE SIXTIES.

The visit of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, to Auckland, has recalled to an old resident the time, in the far away 'sixties, when New Zealand was first visited by a Royal Duke, Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria. He was usually called the Sailor Prince, because he was in the Imperial Navy. "Mind you, that was a real visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1869," said the "Old Timer," "not a mere rushing through the place, for Prince Alfred stayed several weeks in Auckland, and being a good performer on the violin, he played in the orchestra of the Auckland Choral Society.

"To us youngsters the most interesting thing connected with that visit was not Prince Alfred, but the elephant he brought with him. It was the first ever landed in New Zealand, and probably there are still a few old residents who, like myself, can remember the whackings they got for 'playing the wag' from school in order to follow that elephant in its perambulations around the town. It happened to be the play hour when the Duke's elephant marched past our school, in Symonds Street, and, of course, we all followed it for the rest of the afternoon. I can assure you we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but when we assembled at school the next morning our poor dominie spent a strenuous hour impartially administering a caning all round. Some of the older boys, in addition, were ordered to write 500 lines. That, however, did not take long, for they all had a sudden access of loyalty, and selected 'God Save the King, because the lines are very short. The master, being a recent arrival from England, allowed it to pass, but stipulated that in future prose should be selected for an imposition.

Free Beer Ration. "The Jack Tars had taught that elephant to drink grog, and it was the custom wherever it went in town for the publican to provide half a bucket of beer for it to suck up its trunk and then fire into its mouth —a fascinating operation for us boys to watch. Sometimes the publican would liavo. a bucket of grain from the brewery, which diet also the elephant seemed to enjoy. The particular afternoon I was 'wagging it,' to follow the elephant, one publican apparently objected to supplying free beer, so he closed half of the double door at the entrance. That, however, offered no serious obstruction to the elephant, as he just put his shoulder to the door and forced it off the hinges. Rather than risk the elephant's weight on the floor of his hotel the publican promptly provided half a bucket of beer. The driver then directed his elephant to an open paddock in what is now a closely settled part of Eden Terrace. By that time there was a crowd of youngsters gathered, so the attendant put the elephant through a lot of tricks for their benefit. Then, to our intense delight, we were given free rides. We were quite content, after that, to take the whacking next morning, and when wo assembled at play time it was generally agreed it was worth it. "On New Year's Day the annual gathering of the Sunday schools was held in the Auckland Domain. The Duke's elephant was also present and was regaled with fruit and buns. Then for some time the children were given free rides on its back. When the animal thought it was time for him to have a rest he just slowly sat down and all the riders slithered to the ground shrieking with laughter. I was too young to think much about the Sailor Prince, but quite old enough to appreciate the rides on his elephant. Reception at Rotorua. "Prince Alfred was most hospitably received by the Arawa tribe at Rotorua. I heard afterwards that for State reasons he felt it incumbent on him courteously to explain he was unable to marry one of the handsome girls without first asking the consent of his mother, Queen Victoria. Many years afterwards I met that girl at Rotorua, and she was known by the name of 'the Duchess.'

"The late Sir Henry Brett told me that he was shipping reporter when tho warship carrying the Duke anchored in the Waitemata. He went out in a waterman's boat and boarded the vessel. As he was leaving to return to the wharf, he was aeked if he would take three officers off in mufti, and, of course, was only too glad to oblige. The three of them"chatted freely and interchanged jokes. It was not till the official landing next day that Mr. Brett learned who the officers were. One was the Duke of Edinburgh, another his equerry, Sir Charles Beresford, the third, the Hon. Elliott Yorke, and Sir Charles created a sensation later by driving a coach and four down the wooden wharf which then started from .about the sitp of ,the Waverley Hotel. The Hon. Elliott Yorke, during his stay in Auckland, took the part of 'Hamlet' in a play at the Prince of Wales' Theatre, which was on the site now occupied by Brunswick Buildings, in Queen Street. "I was one of the children assembled on the lawn at Government House to eing the National Anthem when the Duke arrived there. Since then I have witnessed the visit of the present King and Queen when Duke and Duchess of York, 111 1901, the Prince of Wales in 1920, and the present Duke and Duchess of York, in 1927. but I am sorry—for the sake of the children —that not one of them came with an elephant."