Tour Problem Solved

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30020, 3 January 1963, Page 10

Tour Problem Solved

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, January 2. Royal tour organisers have nearly solved what could have been their biggest headache—how to move officials to and from Waitangi on the arrival and departure of the Queen.

The Royal yacht, Britannia, will arrive at the Bay of Islands on the morning of February 6 and leave at 10 o’clock that night The yacht, with the Royal party aboard, will arrive at Auckland the next morning at 9.15. During that time 150 people organisers, newspapermen, police and many others, must also return to Auckland to await the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Because thousands of visitors are expected to crowd the one good road and the subsidiary road between Waitangi and Auckland, the tour offi-

cials decided they could not rely on moving these people by road.

They had another problem too—where in the Bay of Islands could all these people be accommodated for all the hotels for miles around have been booked for V.LP.'s. The movements officer, Major H. B. Honnor. and the transport officer, Mr S. G. Mudge, said today they had managed to kill both birds with the one stone by the use of special trains which can also be used for sleeping. On February 4 a special train consisting of bunk cars will travel to Opua and stay on a siding for accommodation purposes till the night of February 6. On the morning of February 5 another train, consisting of sleepers, will be used as an ordinary passenger train to take

guests, officials and Cabinet Ministers and their wives to Opua. Some of these people will sleep on the train overnight awaiting the Queen’s arrival. Special launches will take them from Russell to Waitangi, and cars will be arranged to take others from Pahia to Waitangi.

On the night of February 6, after the Royal yacht has left for Auckland, both these trains will rush back to Auckland and so the party will be there in time for the Queen's arrival.

One problem still remains—the provision of food for the officials, police, guests and newspapermen covering the tour. This, however, will probably be ironed out after the tour organisers have "isited Wellington in the next few days.