Lord Ballantrae back

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33985, 28 October 1975, Page 18

Lord Ballantrae back

N.Z. Press Association

AUCKLAND. October 27. Looking just as people would remember him, and just as jovial, Lord Ballantrae (the former

. Sir Bernard Fergusson) arrived at Auckland today for a short visit. ' Complete with monocle, and with the same ready wit that punctuated his five-year 'term as Governor-General. I ' Lord Ballantrae is in New; 1 Zealand as a guest of the: 1 Government. In Wellington on Friday he; •will open the Charles Fer-! gusson Government depart - ’ mental building, which is I ’.named after his father. Sir Charles Fergusson, who was

also a Governor-General of New Zealand.

i On his arrival today. Lord 'Ballantrae said he was ter[ribly touched that the build'i ng was to be named after his (father, and that he had been i invited back to open it. I “It took me three minutes To cancel five prior engagements to enable my wife and I to accept,” he quipped.

It is his second visit to New Zealand since his term as Governor-General expired in 1967. and he said that on[ the flight out three different’ Air New Zealand cabin crews [ ’came up to him. and said. ’“Welcome home, sir.” . “It was one of the nicest (things that could have happened,” Lord Ballantrae said. (“And that is what it is like |for us to come back.” i One of his earnest wishes

is not to attract too much publicity. He realises that he will be in the public eye for the opening of the building, but then he wants to slip away and spend the remainder of the visit as a “private person.” Was there anything in particular he wanted to do? “We have got some specific plans, but 1 won’t tell you what they are,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. “We want to spend the time looking up old friends. But the disastrous thing about a visit like this is that there are so many people and so many places we want to see, it is heart-breaking that some will miss out. “I hope nobody is hurt if we have to leave them out.” Lord and Lady Ballantrae will leave New Zealand on November 17.