DUKE AND THE TWINS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 61, 14 March 1927, Page 5

DUKE AND THE TWINS

"POPULAK INSTITUTION" (By Telegiaph.—Press Association.) ' CHRISTCHURCH, 13th March. Judging from the official programme, •yesterday promised to be one of. the least interesting days in the Eoyal tour in the South Island, but on the eon,trary, it was one 6f crowded .incident and interest. The Duke w. in one of his happiest moods and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day though it was a long and' somewhat arduous one for him. ■■'•■.'.■'■ • He was particularly interested in the bathing arrangements at the State mine which enabled the miners to get rid of their working clothes and have a general clean-up, thus enabling them to return to their homes in such a State as would enable their wives to keep their model homes model.

During the run from Greymouth to Christchurch a stop was made a^ .Moana, a wayside station. Here, while the engine/was watering, a charming incident occurred. The Duko and his secretary,-^Mr. Hodgson, got out on the platform, where there were three pairs of twins of six years, six months, and three months respectively. Mr. Hodgson presented"}one of the babies with a small flag he was carrying. The Duko, noticing the incident, said, "Oh, they must-have one each." He thereupono got a small bundle of flags and presented one to each of the other I twins. The Duko was highly amused when one little loyalist waved his flag, and hit the other twin on the head with it, especially when ho learnod that the aggressive one was named Albert. Twins, he said, seemed to be a very popular institution on the West Coast.

At Ruru, the train was halted while, the Duke inspected a sawmill in full working'order; and at Otira he, spent some time with the young'children of the railwayincn. .- DRIVES THE ENGINE. Here an electric loeomotivo was switched on to the train,' and the Duke mounted the footplate. Under the tuition of the senior electrical jengineer he took a. hand in driving through the tunnel. .At Otira, on the other side of the Pass, the Duke again mounted the footplate of tho famous locomotive, "Passchcndaelo," which is tho war memorial for the men in the; Railway service who lost their lives in the war, , and which tho Prince of Wales drove when he was in"New .Zealand. On the locomotive there were with ithe Duke, Sir Heaton Rhodes, Commander Buist' and Mr. Lynde, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Railways, who is always on duty on the Royal train. The Duke succeeded in switching the locomotive on to the train successfully, and remained on the footplate till Cass was reached. Here the people were expecting to see him in the Royal ear at the end of the train, and were'surprised to notice him waving his hand with a lump of greasy tow in it from the engine. The train went down the incline to Cass over a good piece of line at a high speed. Good time was'now made towards the Canterbury Plains, and once on the,flat the Royal train rushed along a 50 miles an hour, having made up for a good deaj of lost time on ■ the Greymouth side. .