ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27212, 2 December 1953, Page 3

ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

800 MORE GUESTS TO BE INVITED COMMITTEE'S DECISION A total of 4000 guests will attend the civic garden party in honour of the Royal visitors in the Botanic Gardens on the afternoon on Tuesday. January 19. The garden party committee yesterday morning held a ballot to select 800 guests, additional to those also chosen by ballot last week. Some of the invitations are expected to be delivered to recipients on Monday. Originally, it was thought that the garden party guests would number 1500, but the committee decided to invite 3000 and asked citizens to apply for invitations. The response was heavy. After studying arrangements for the party on the archery lawn, the committee decided that the number of guests could be increased to a maximum of 4000. “If the weather is unfortunately wet. the garden party will have to be abandoned.” said the Mayor (Mr R. M Macfarlane. M.P.) yesterday. “It would not be possible to transfer the party to King Edward Barracks.” The guard of honour at the party will be provided by 60 senior boy scours, sea scouts, girl guides, and boy and girl life brigade members. They will hold white cords from the Eveleyn Couzins memorial, where the Queen and the Duke will alight from then car, to the Royal pavilion at the west- j ern end of the archery lawn, a dis-' tance of nine chains and a half. Investiture in Theatre Elderly citizens who could not te expected or were unable to stand tor two hours at the garden party will be given precedence by the City Council for invitations to attend the Royal investiture in the Civic Theatre on the afternoon on Tuesday, January 19, the Mayor announced yesterday. Four hundred seats have been made available to the council by Government House, which is responsible for the investiture. The Mayor said that the civic list would not be strictly followed in the issue of invitations to fill the seats allocated the council. ; The Civic Theatre has 1200 scats Each person to be invested has been asked to nominate five guests, a total of 300. The invitations, except for City Council seats, are in the hands of Government House. The investiture is expected to last half an hour.