Christchurch Woman In Nigeria Saw Private Exhibit For Queen

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27908, 3 March 1956, Page 2

Christchurch Woman In Nigeria Saw Private Exhibit For Queen

NEWS FOR WOMEN

An exhibition arranged specially for the Queen by an expert on Nigerian antiquity, and which was not open to the public, was one of the most interesting things Mrs Ken Widgery saw a few days before the Queen’s arrival in Ibadan during her Nigerian tour. In a letter to her parents, Mr and Mrs Fred Woodfield (Murray place), received yesterday, Mrs Widgery, formerly June Woodfield, a past pupil of Rangi-ruru, said it was only by chance that she saw the exhibition, as her husband, who is chief executive engineer for the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, had to arrange lighting to show the exhibits to advantage. The exhibition would never be open to the public, because so many of the articles had been lent by big chiefs, and many of the crowns and other exhibits had so much “ju-ju” attached to them they were never allowed to be seen by anyone but the actual members of that “ju-ju,” said Mrs Widgery.

“We had a very good look round, but could have spent hours there,” she said. “Some of the things were magnificent, especially the crowns. The really big chiefs have crowns made from beads, with perhaps gold or silver worked into them, and others are made of silver or gold. The bead work is beautiful, and the colours lovely. It is quite impossible to describe. “Ken was actually floodlighting the beaded crowns, so that the full beauty of them could be seen. He had another look after the floodlighting was set up, and he said the difference was amazing.” Day of Queen’s Arrival Describing the day of the Queen’s arrival, Mrs Widgery said: “We were up early, as we had to get to the Electricity Corporation’s compound about two hours before the Queen’s arrival. We had plenty to see before the Queen’s arrival, so weren’t bored. To appreciate it all you have to understand the political set-up here, which is rather complicated. There was, until a few weeks ago (the letter was dated February 14) a man named Adelabu who was on the Council of Ministers. He was, and still is the chairman of the Ibadan District Council. “A certain Mr Nicholson was asked to make inquiries into the affairs of the Ibadan Council, and a few weeks ago the Nicholson report was made public. In it Nicholson had said that the general council was all right, but there were six instances of corruption and dishonest acts involving the chairman (Adelabu) and four other councillors. After a few days Adelabu resigned from the Council of Ministers. but he is still chairman of the Ibadan Council. It was stated very firmly in the press a couple of weeks before the arrival of the Queen that she would not be asked to shake hands with certain people whose hands were unclean. Adelabu and his hangers-on were not at the railway station to meet the Queen. The Prime Minister of the Western Region is Awolowo, and he was at the station.

“But Adelabu decided to hold a political rally on a large open space not far from the station and just off the route. He arrived in full force on a white horse, with huge coloured umbrella, and all his hangers-on, just two minutes before Awolowo drove up to the station. It couldn’t have been better timed. All eyes were on Adel-

abu, and he was being cheered loudly, because he is extremely popular in Ibadan; and Awolowo. who is very popular, too, had hardly any cheers. There was a little worry in case Adelabu tried to make too much noise as the Queen went by, but he didn’t get too rowdy. “Another amusing incident happened when the army marched on. They all looked very gay, because they have scarlet waistcoats over their khaki uniforms. They lined up correctly on the Royal route from the station, and then a little fellow appeared in fatigue kit, with a large duster, and he went solemnly up and down the lines polishing all the boots. You can imagine the cheers he received. Then the water cart came by. Of course the P.W.D. had forgotten all about that, and did it need a coat of paint! Ken took a shot of it, and we thought it might be amusing to put it in after the Queen’s car when showing the film.” At the investiture the colour and magnificence of the chiefs in their robes and beaded crowns stole the shew, said Mrs Widgery. Later, at the cocktail party on the lawns of the secretariat, the silver and gold crowns shone in the artificial light and looked beautiful.

“After the cocktail party we went to the club, and what a party that was! Everybody le’t their hair down, and celebrated the arrival of the Queen,” said Mrs Widgery. Royal Garden Party

“We wondered what sort of a crush the garden party would be, because I kept on thinking of the. garden party in Christchurch. Once again the chiefs looked magnificent, and that day they had amazing umbrellas, usually carried by their wives. We had to get to Government House about an hour and a quarter before the Queen actually came into the garden. We sat in the shade on the lower of the three lawns when we arrived, thinking that the top lawns would be so crowded that it would be better to keep away from there. We had afternoon tea, rather similar to the New Zealand standard of catering at the same sort of thing, and a friend and I had a ‘cat session’ on the various frocks and hats. “Shortly after we had had tea, one of the ushers started going round asking people to move up to the top lawn, because there was nobody up there. We went up, and realised why when we got there. There was absolutely no shade whatever, but we felt it was going to be worth sitting in the sun for half an hour, because we were right by the door of Government House,, and next to the walk that had been roped off where the Queen was going to walk ”

Mrs Widgery said she. thought the wait in the sun was rewarded when the Duke talked to her husband about electricity, and commented that the power had not gone off yet. The last appearance of the Queen in .Ibadan was when she opened the new Parliament building there. “The Public Works Department had worked like mad to get it finished, and inside isn t completed now, but the outside is, and most of the interior,” Mrs Widgery said. “As the foundation stone was not laid until March of last year and the building is big, I think they did fairly well.” . Mr and Mrs Widgery have been living in Nigeria for the last 18 months.