FIVE MEMBERS OF ROYAL FAMILY DRIVE THROUGH STREETS

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33447, 31 January 1974, Page 1

FIVE MEMBERS OF ROYAL FAMILY DRIVE THROUGH STREETS

Thousands turned out in 30deg temperatures to welcome the Queen, Princess Anne, and Captain Mark Phillips to Christchurch yesterday, and to watch five members of the Royal Family drive through city streets on their way to the Royal Yacht Britannia berthed at Lyttelton.

More than 5000 greeted the Royal visitors at Christchurch Airport, and thousands more lined streets on the route into the city and through the city centre.

One group included a Spanish family: Mrs Marie Teresa Porta, and her children Sergi, aged 10, and Ingrid, aged three.

The Porta family came to Christchurch from Barcelona three months ago, and after waiting almost an hour for the Royal visitors to pass, they declared themselves well pleased with the look of the British Royal Family. The children clutched small New Zealand flags. The crowd’s particular interest in Princess Anne and her husband was obvious, and at the airport there were cries of “We want Anne”— and one raucous “Over here —come over here.” The Royal Family drove in

two cars—the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales in the first. Areas roped Crowds started gathering at Christchurch Airport at 1.30 p.m., more than two hours and a half before the Queen was due to arrive. They lined roped-off areas on either side of the Canterbury Aero Club’s club-rooms four and five deep. The official ceremony started shortly before 4 p.m. with the arrival of the Gov-

ernor-General (Sir Denis Blundell) and Lady Blundell. The Prince of Wales, in naval uniform, arrived shortly afterwards, just before the arrival of the Duke of Edinburgh, also in naval uniform.

The Royal flight, a specially prepared Air New Zealand DCB, under the command of Flight Captain R. Johnson, drew to a halt at 4.19 p.m., four minutes behind schedule, and the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles mounted the gangway to the scattered cheers of the crowd.

Queen appears Minutes later, the Queen appeared at the head of the gangway, smiling and waving to the cheers and ap-

plause of the crowd. She was dressed in an emerald and white silk jacket and skirt, with a hat of swirled organza, and was quickly joined on the gangway by Prince Philip, Princess Anne—in a sapphire jacket, skirt and hat—Captain Phillips, and Prince Charles. Captain Phillips wore the uniform of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards. The Prime Minister (Mr Kirk) and Mrs Kirk followed the Royal party from the aircraft, as the Royal visitors were welcomed to New Zealand by the Governor-General and Lady Blundell. The official party then moved to a covered dais on the tarmac, and the Queen took the Royal Salute.

Army band The Band of the New Zealand Army, under the direction of Captain J. D. Carson, played the first verse of the National Anthem, the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment guard of honour presented arms, and the first of 21 guns boomed out across the airfield as the Queen’s New Zealand Standard was broken out on a flagpole near the dais.

The inspection of the guard followed, the Queen being escorted by the Guard Commander, Major T. N. Turner, of the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. This brought the Queen closer to some of the public, and the children broke into cheers, and transformed the front rank of the crowd into a thicket of waving arms, sprinkled with a few flags. Mr Kirk presented the Speaker of the House (Mr Whitehead) and Mrs Whitehead to the Queen, Princess Anne and Captain Phillips. Others presented included Ministers of the Crown, the Chief Justice (Sir Richard Wild) and Lady Wild, Commonwealth High Commissioners, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Marshall) and Mrs Marshall, the Chief of Defence Staff (Lieutenant-Gen-eral Sir Richard Webb) and Lady Webb, the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr N. G. Pickering) and Mrs Pickering, and the Paparua County Chairman (Mr D. H. Warren) and Mrs Warren.

P.M.’s speech Mr Kirk’s speech of welcome and Her Majesty’s reply followed. Less than 20 minutes after arriving at the airport, the Queen and the other members of the Royal Family moved to the cars for the journey to the city. The crowd dispersed almost immediately, but not before stopping long enough to give a round of applause to the Guard of Honour and the band, something both thoroughly deserved after an hour in the direct rays of a particularly fierce sun. Cars lined the roadside for up to half a mile from the airport, and after the Roval entourage had passed, homegoing spectators plus the normal end-of-day city traffic jammed some streets for hun-

dreds of yards back from major intersections. Traffic officers took over traffic direction at several light-controlled junctions, but it still took many motorists more than 45 minutes to cover the eight miles into the city.

Slow drive Spectators—many dressed in the sort of attire the heat of the day demanded —lined much of Memorial Avenue, but the kerbside crowds were thickest in the city centre, where the entourage slowed to the ceremonial drive speed of about 7 m.p.h. Spectators started gathering on some streets about 40 minutes in advance—most favouring the shady side—but some sweltered for half an hour in the sun. When the entourage arrived the crowd was relatively quiet, most being content to clap, wave, or just stand and stare. The Cathedral bells rang out as the cars passed through Cathedral Square, where crowds stood five and six deep. Again, it was noticeable that the greatest interest seemed to be in Princess Anne and her husband, and both reacted to the applause with broad grins. Hundreds watched from upper-floor office and shop windows.

From the city, the Royal entourage moved to Lyttelton, where the Royal Family was greeted by representatives of the Lyttelton Harbour Board and the Lyttelton Borough Council before boarding the Britannia.