Queen calls on museum—twice

Press, 2 December 1987, Page 1

Queen calls on museum —twice

By

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Canterbury Museum staff yesterday had two royal visits in one afternoon.

Half an hour after the King and Queen of the Belgians left the museum, on their first official visit in Christchurch, staff got a call from the Royal Household.

Could Her Majesty possibly return for a second tour of the displays and a closer look at some of the exhibits?

While King Baudouln rested at his hotel, Queen Fabioia paid her second call — an informal and leisurely tour of the museum.

The Queen’s request under-

lined the informality and relaxed atmosphere of the Royal couple’s first hours on their sixday visit to New Zealand. The plane carrying King Baudouin and Queen Fabioia arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule at Christchurch Airport. The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, had arrived only seconds before the blue-and-white Sabena jet touched down. The R.N.Z.A.F. honour guard and band were drawn up in double-quick time. ' The Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves, and Lady Reeves, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Lange, moved quickly across the tarmac.

At 2.30 p.m. King Baudouin and Queen Fabioia walked slowly down the gangway — the tall figure of the King gently guiding the diminutive Queen towards Sir Paul’s extended hand. The Queen, dressed in a camel-coloured coat and matching straw hat, chatted with Lady Reeves and Mrs Lange while the King met the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer.

A 21-gun salute boomed across the airport, the band played the Belgian national anthem and New Zealand and Belgian flags snapped In the stiff breeze.

The King inspected the Air Force ranks.

The first call by the King and

Queen during the brief visit to Christchurch was to the Canterbury Museum’s Antarctic Wing.

Outside the museum, the King and Queen talked with some Cashmere High School pupils. Two hours later, they were guests of honour at a Civic reception in the Christchurch Town Hall, at which the Mayor, Sir Hamish Hay, was the host. In his welcoming speech, Sir Hamish paid tribute to the assistance given to Allied servicemen during World War II by Belgians. Many former servicemen saluted “those brave Belgian citizens who risked their lives and those of their families when they assisted

them to escape and return to Britain to fight again,” he said. “I am expressing the hope of the whole of New Zealand that your first visit to this country will be a memorable one.”

King Baudouin paid his own tribute to the “strong relationship between New Zealand and Belgium, forged by the sacrifice of your soldiers.”

The tour’s informality was then highlighted by Queen Fabiola’s response to the region’s official gift — a large kauri bowl made by a local craftsperson.

Their brief visit to Christchurch will end this morning when they fly to Queenstown.