Wild With Enthusiasm

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31196, 21 October 1966, Page 1

Wild With Enthusiasm

“The Press** Special Service WELLINGTON, October 20. Culminating in wild heights of enthusiasm in Civic square, Willis street and Lampton quay, President Johnson and Wellington citizens became firm friends while between them they made a dreadful hash of the official timetable of the Wellington visit. Soup was cold at the State luncheon —the President was 70 minutes late getting there.

Typical of the wildly enthusiastic crowd was an incident in Lambton quay when a young Maori climbed on top of the President’s car armed with his camera and took at least a dozen shots as the President was speaking to the crowd.

Not one policeman or security official interfered with the young man and he remained on the roof of the car for at least a minute until the car moved on. It quickly became apparent that the schedule was going to go by the board from the time President Johnson was first sighted and by the time he reached Civic square for his meeting with the Mayor (Sir Francis Kitts) he was already half an hour behind time. It was the President himself who set the seal on the warmth of his welcome by his insistence on “meeting the people” and repeatedly leaving his car to shake countless hands. Hall Of Memories It all began on the way to and at the Hall of Memories in Buckle street. It was the first official appearance of the famous Presidential car, a Lincoln Continental about 20ft long, which arrived in Wellington from Ohakea soon after 7.30 p.m. yesterday. They walked slowly up the steps to the door of the Hall of Memories and before they entered President Johnson met members of the executive of the N.Z.R.S.A. and the Wellington R.S.A. His two resplendent mili-

tary aides then lifted the President’s wreath from its stand and preceeded him and the official party, which included the American Ambassador (Mr H. B. Powell) into the hall.

The wreath was of deep green laurel leaves with a fold of tricolour ribbon at the top and red roses with white flowers. The laurel was spangled with silver stars. The card, In the President’s handwriting, read: “In re-

membrance. Lyndon B. Johnson.”

After the wreath had been placed beneath the memorial statutary inside the hall, the President emerged to spend 10 minutes or so shaking hands and chatting to men, women, and children. Even down on road level again, Mr Johnson did not make straight for his car. Instead, he meandered along about 100 yards of the front of the crowd, shaking eager hands and again dropping a

friendly word or asking a question here and there. Lined along Jervois quay, the crowd, hoping to glimpse the President on his way to Parliament House, broke and completely enveloped Mr Johnson’s bubble - topped armoured sedan as it neared the lights by the Queen’s wharf gates. The gleaming Lincoln Continental, the President and two nearby City Council trucks momentarily disappeared beneath a sea of bodies and waving arms. Eight Secret Service men riding in an open car directly behind Mr Johnson leapt from their vehicle in a futile effort to keep the crowd back, but it was President Johnson himself who literally moved the mob. Sliding back the car top, the President reached down into the vehicle and came back up with a microphone in one hand. Apart from word snatches —“lt’s a lovely day .. . we’re really pleased to be here”— nobody could really hear the game efforts of the small sound system over the cheers and the yelling, but nobody cared.

For nearly 12 minutes the crowd had the President to themselves. Giving up on the microphone Mr Johnson started shaking every available hand and there were thousands.

Waitomo Seat.—Mr A. J. Ingram, a 40-year-old dairy farmer from Waharoa, will be the Labour candidate for Waitomo.—(P.A.)