Serenaded As She Sailed
(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)
LAUTOKA (Fiji), April 8. Massed choirs of Fijians serenaded Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother with the island song of farewell, “Isa Lei,” as she boarded the Royal yacht Britannia at Lautoka last night.
Fijians rushed to line the edge of the wharf for a last glimpse of the Royal visitor as her barge moved slowly away from the circle of light on the wharf into the darkness of the harbour towards the Britannia.
The Britannia left Lautoka at 10 p.m. for Kadavu, where the Queen Mother will spend a restful Good Friday beside the beautiful Astrolabe Lagoon. She will sail in the Britannia around the coast of Viti Leva, the main island of the Fijian group, to the capital city of Suva, where she will attend an Easter Day service
at Suva’s Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral before sailing on to New Zealand.
The Queen Mother arrived at Nandi yesterday after flying from Canberra at the end of her 16-day Australian tour.
On the drive to Lautoka she drove past Veiseisei village, where warriors in ceremonial dress, bearing clubs and native spears, ran beside the Royal car while a lali, or wooden drum, was beaten continuously. At Lautoka, the massed choirs greeted the Queen Mother with a Fijian hymn.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CV, Issue 31030, 9 April 1966, Page 2
Word Count
215Serenaded As She Sailed Press, Volume CV, Issue 31030, 9 April 1966, Page 2
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