Happy day for Dutch people

Press, 9 June 1978, Page 1

Happy day for Dutch people

By

JON HAGENAAR

It felt good to be Dutch in Christchurch yesterday, especially for the 350 or so members of the Netherlands Society who personally shook the hands of the Crown Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands at a reception at the Chateau Commodore Hotel. At home, they would have been lucky to get to within a few hundred metres of the Royal couple at any public function. For the older members of the Dutch community it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. A hint of tears in the eyes of a woman, aged 84, was testimony to that. Mrs E. van der Velden came to New Zealand 10 years ago; yesterday was the first time she came to within touching distance of any member of the Dutch Royal family. The few tears and many smiles were characteristic of the reception: a mixture of Dutch people giving of the fruits of a promised land, and nostalgia for a culture predating by far Abel Tasman’s first contact with old Aotearoa.

If the Dutch had settled New Zealand first they might have realised, as the British have, that rearing sheep is profitable in these latitudes. The two home-spun woollen jerseys presented to the Royal couple at the reception were certainly appreciated: their maker, Mrs A. van Noppen. of St Albans, was set the task of spinning the wool and knitting similar jerseys for the three children of Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus. The Princess and Prince mingled freely with the crowd. The frequent questions about rumours that the Princess would succeed Queen Juliana on the latter’s seventieth birthday in April got the reply that the Queen was in good health, and had no thought of abdicating. The usual small-talk about the weather brought the inevitable replies. The consensus of opinion: “It seems that you have to travel half-way round the world to meet personally members . of your own Royal family, only to find that you don't know what to say when you are face-to-face.” Earlier. Princess Beatrix

and Prince Claus had visited Lincoln College and the Canterbury Museum. Several hundred people waited on the roof of the Christchurch Airport terminal when the Royal aircraft touched down in bleak weather. After an official welcome by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) and Mrs Hay, the Minister of Transport (Mr McLachlan), and civic officials, the Royal party travelled by road to Lincoln College. There the Princess and Prince were met by the chairman of the college council (Dr D. W. Bain) and Mrs Bain, the principal of the college (Professor J. D. Stewart) and Mrs Stewart, and officers of the college. Wool-classing and landscape architecture classes attracted the greatest interest from the Princess and Prince, who had lunch at the college before being driven to the Canterbury Museum. The museum’s director (Dr R. S. Duff) and the chairman of the Museum Trust Board (Mr P. J. R. Skellerup) gave the Royal couple a special tour of the Antarctic Centre.