Children make Princess Anne’s visit a special day

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 1

Children make Princess Anne’s visit a special day

Children played a special part in Princess Anne’s fleeting visit to Christchurch yesterday.

Hailed as a success, the visit packed a morning tea, a civic luncheon, and a childrens’ rally into five hours. The public played little part, but it was a big day for hundreds of Christchurch children. It also promoted much interest in the Save the Children Fund, of which the Princess is world president. Two minor hitches in the travel arrangements failed to mar the Royal event, the Princess’s third visit to Christchurch. To the embarrassment of officials, the Mayoral car which had carried the Princess through the city broke down on the final drive to the airport. Princess Anne had been 15 minutes late leaving the Pioneer Sports Stadium, the Daimler broke down in Clyde Road, and she had to travel in another car in the entourage. Earlier, a last-minute hitch occurred as Princess Anne was about to leave Wellington. . A leak was discovered in the engine of the V.I.P. Andover to be used for the flight, minutes before take-off time. Hurried arrangements were made for a back-up Andover. Stewards quickly transferred trays of sandwiches and urns of tea and coffee between the two aircraft. The switch was completed by the time the Princess arrived on the tarmac, and no time was lost on the

flight. The Andover arrived at Christchurch at 10.15 a.m. as planned. The Royal visit began with a conversation on milking cows. “She wanted to know what my line of business was,” said the chairman of the Paparua County (Mr J. Y. Pethig), who welcomed Princess Anne as she stepped off the plane. Mr Pethig is a dairy farmer at Yaldhurst. “She asked me if I used a milking shed or a barn all winter,” he said. In the brief conservation that followed, Mr Pethig told the Princess that it was necessary to use a feeding shed only in really bad weather. “She seemed quite interested and knowledgeable,” he said. Princess Anne was whisked into the city for morning tea with 750 members and sponsors of Save the Children Fund, at the Town Hall. Several groups of school pupils had lined Memorial Drive for a glimpse of the Royal entourage. At the Town Hall about 100 women stood outside waiting and in the foyer about 60 children, including 22 from St Michael’s Primary School, formed a guard of honour, wearing sashes with “Junior Save the Children Fund; the Helping Hands” on them. Denise Wright, aged 15, of Papanui High School, presented Princess Anne

with a bouquet. “She asked me how many years I had been in the fund," said Denise. “I told her I was on to my four certificate — we get that from selling Christmas cards and stamps.” Further down the line, the Princess stopped to talk to three girls from St Margaret’s College: Tammy Chen, Tonia Chaffev, and Elizabeth ParryJennings. “She asked us who we sponsored.” Tammy said. “We said we raised money during Lent and sent it off to different things and we’ve got two families and three children, and are hoping to sponsor another child. She said. ‘Good work’.” What did you think of her? “She’s pretty . . . really tall. I didn’t think she would talk to us. She’s easy to talk to . . . really friendly,” said the girls. That summed up the hour-long reception. The Princess, ignoring photographers and distractions of any kind, spoke to numerous persons for an hour inside the hall, giving each her individual and concentrated attention for a few moments of conversation. “She’s got a very agile mind there,” commented the public relations officer for the Save the Children Fund, Mrs Judy Wilding, towards the end of the reception. “I was quite impressed. She’s not just a president of the fund in

name — she really does work for the furid in England ... she was asking everyone on the committee something pertinent to their work.” However, many of the women seemed to be more impressed by her appearance and her manners. “I wonder what gives the English such lovely skins?” asked one woman, looking at the Princess, who was delicately flushed in the heat of the auditorium. ‘‘The net round her hat is very much like Queen Mary’s toque. She’s lovely . . . I’m trying to decide whether she’s got pierced ears or not. I’ve never seen a waist so small. She’s wearing a thick belted coat, you must remember. She spoke to someone beside me— her voice is quite soft. . . “I wonder if she were just an ordinary person like us—would she stand out? . . . I’m sure she would. There’s a quality of . . . something about her.” Mrs Helen Latter, of Oxford, said Princess Anne asked her where she worked for the fund. “I said I just worked on my own with friends. She said, 'Have you still got friends?’ I said, ‘Yes, I have. We haven’t actually got a committee up our way. I’ve been in the fund for six to eight years. I come down to meetings when I can.’ I think she’s marvellous.” “What colour would vou

say her coat was?” asked another woman. “I would say it’s lilac.” Mrs Elizabeth Harper and Mrs Jean Wragg, secretary and president of the Mid-Canterbury branch of the fund, found Princess Anne easy to talk to. “I spoke to her last time she was here,” said Mr Harper. “We mentioned we’d started a shop in Ashburton. We sell marmalade and babies’ booties and so forth to pay the rent. We mentioned how good home baking was for making money. She said that when she goes to fetes, it’s the first thing that sells.” At 11.35 a.m. five minutes behind schedule, Princess Anne left the auditorium to go to Noah’s Hotel for a short rest before her luncheon engagement.

Noahs Hotel was dressed for the occasion. A red carpet led the way to a foyer lift. Even the lift was given the Royal touch: red velvet drapes and a red upholstered bench. Back at ,the Town Hall, the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) and Mrs Hay escorted Princess Anne to lunch. About 200 people were served with beef consomme, roast Canterbury lamb, duchess potatoes, baked kumara, glazed baby carrots, French-cut beans, and boysenberries and ice-cream. At the lucheon, Mr Hay made a short speech welcoming the Princess to Christchurch. The visit would give “a great deal of pleasure to many citizens, young and old, and particularly those concerned with the Save the Children Fund,” he said. He asked the Princess to convey “good will, respect and greetings” to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Princess Anne, in a reply, said the Save the Children Fund was the main purpose of her visit to New Zealand. She was trying to visit all the countries in which the fund worked. “Both with fund-raising and at the business end, where the funds go.” She complimented New Zealanders on their ability to raise funds: “I will try to find out why you are so good at fund-raising, so I can pass the secret on to branches in Britain.”

Princess Anne recalled happy memories of her last visit to Christchurch, for the Commonwealth Games in 1974. She told the gathering of difficulty she had experienced awarding medals to weight-lifters. On one occasion she could hardly fit the medals — “an exotic dog collar” — over the ears of the victorious weight-lifters.

The Princess concluded: “It is very nice to see you all here. Maybe I will be able to come back in due time.” Children from Christchurch schools were among the invited, guesfe; While the Town Hall luncheon was finishing, about 200 mothers, small children, babies, and policemen at the Pioneer Stadium waited in a cool breeze for the Princess to arrive. , Inside the stadium 1000 schoolchildren from all parts of Canterbury representing leisure and sporting clubs, waited in colourful array. The Royal party moved up into the gallery at the back of .the stadium, and the Princess was seated on a raised platform. Rodney Bryant,, the master of ceremonies, introduced members of the Christchurch School of Instrumental Music orchestra, who played " “God Save the Queen” and another item. Then several cyclists from Canterbury clubs glided on to the floor of the stadium in an exhibition ride. They were followed by a charming group of eight children

from the Canterbury Dance Studio, who presented a dance composed for the occasion. After that came rollerskaters; skateboarders; combined Christchurch pony clubs in full riding gear in a walk-forward; gymnasts; tennis players, feinting left and right; a combined display from Christchurch marching cliibjs, to the beat of a lone drummer; netball girls (the most popular sport in Christchurch, said Mr Bryant) throwing a few passes on one side of the stadium — and volleybailers doing the same on the other. A Maori group from Te Wai Pounamu did a poi dance followed by a fierce haka by the male members of the party; there were boxers skipping; skiers walking on in formation, bristling with skis and poles; the “Tadpole Squares,” a . Christchurch American square dancing group; six fencers, complete with masks and swords; the junior section of the Canterbury Football Association, in the seve n t y-fifth anniversary year, not to be outdone a little later by the Canterbury rugby boys who are celebrating the Rugby Union’s centenary this year; cricketers; basketbailers: Girls’ Brigade members; Scottish dancers, f

with piper; and finally, an hour later, the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band. The star of the show was a tiny Samoan boy who was part of an item by the Samoan community of Christchurch. They sang a song accomapnied by guitar, which Mr Bryant “roughly” translated as “Bring your own coconut shells over here and sing a song,” and the little boy performed perfectly, about two bars behind everyone else. His name is Tesimale Abkuoi. After the show was over, Princess Anne descended into the body of the stadium and spent half an hour chatting with the children and adults who had formed round the hall in front of the static displays. At the magic stand, one of the boys manning it for the Christchurch Society of Magicians, lan Clark, an apprentice upholsterer, did a trick for the Princess, placing two white doves in a box, spinning it round, and producing a white rabbit from where the doves had been. “She was very amused,” he said. The whole performance, was the result of eight weeks organisation by Mr Bryant, the City Council's information officer, including a rained-out rehearsal on Sunday.

“The Princess stayed 10 minutes longer than planned, so she was obviously enjoying what the kids were doing for her,” he said, when it was all over. The rehearsals, by the 750 children involved in the active displays, had been “somewhat shambolic.” Mr Bryant said. Word of this must have reached the Princess, as she was heard to remark during the gathering: “Not bad for a first night.” From there, it was back to the airport. Small groups of mothers and schoolchildren waited patiently for the Princess to pass. Patients from the Rannerdale war veterans’ home in Hansons Lane stood out on the footpath, some wearing pyjamas and some leaning on crutches or sitting in wheelchairs. At the airport, a few restless people waited to wave goodbye to the Princess. They Would have been disapointed because the entourage drove through a side entrance on to the tarmac in front of the Canterbury Aero Club. Maybe because she was 20 minutes late, or possibly because she was worn out. Princess Anne wasted no time at the airport. She climbed the steps of the Andover and without looking back went inside.