Princess to make short, busy visit

Press, 17 July 1979, Page 3

Princess to make short, busy visit

Princess Anne will pack a morning tea reception, a civic luncheon and a children’s rally into her five-hour visit to Christchurch today. The intinerary offers a chance for hundreds of children to see Princess Anne at close range at the Pioneer Sports Stadium, but for the public there will be only glimpses. The V.I.P. Andover is expected to touch down at Christchurch at 10.15 a.m. The Princess will then be taken to the Town Hall for a morning tea for the Save the Children Fund, of which she is world president. This will be an opportunity for some 750 members and sponsors of the fund to meet her.

The reception will continue for an hour. Princess Anne will be taken briefly to Noahs Hotel, and at 12.15 p.m. she will return to the Town Hall for a civic luncheon, attended by about 180 persons. Princess Anne will make a short speech in reply to a toast by the Mayor (Mr H. G. Hay). Mr and Mrs Hay will accompany her at 1.50 p.m. to the Pioneer Stadium where about 30 childrens’ groups will put on displays. She will leave at 3 p.m. for Christchurch Airport.

| The Ministry of Transport | expects little delay to traffic ias the entourage moves i about Christchurch. PointsJpien would stop vehicles at [each intersection along the route but only for a few minutes, said Chief Traffic Officer W. J. Noster. The head of the Christchurch police district (Deputy’ Assistant Commissioner G. E. Twentyman) said last evening that normal arrangements and safety precautions for a Royal visit would be taken. He expected no problems for the brief visit.

This evening Princess Anne will attend a reception by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) at Parliament House, Wellington. Yesterday in Wellington she mingled with about 280 children and chatted to many of them in the ballroom at Government House before presenting awards for Save the Children Fund money-raising activities.

Princess Anne presented awards for fund-raising efforts to 19 young people, two of them the first in New Zealand to receive Save the Children Fund scrolls — Gillian Hawkey and Margaret Kinraid, both of Christchurch.