AUSTRALIAN PLANS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22582, 10 March 1948, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN PLANS

BEGINNING IN MARCH AFTER VISIT TO N.Z. (10 am.) CANBERRA, March 10. The Royal tour of Australia will start from Sydney in March. It will probably last from 10 weeks to three months and West Australia will be the last State visited. It seems certain that Australia will be visited after the Royal tour of New Zealand. Plans for the tour were discussed yesterday at a conference called by the Prime Minister, Mr. J. B. Chifley. He announced later that the Minister of Munitions, Senator Armstrong, will be Minister in Charge of the Royal visit and that, if necessary, he will visit-England to discuss details of the tour with Buckingham Palace officials. z

There is no prospect of Mr. Chifley himself going to London for this purpose. The State Governments have been asked to appoint a special Minister or official to co-operate with the Commonwealth which is awaiting details from London before commencing work on the Australian programme. Serious accommodation problems are expected to be encountered, particularly in Canberra. BERTHING VANGUARD (P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 10. The battleship Vanguard on which Their Majesties and Princess Margaret will visit New Zealand next year, will be able to berth at both Wellington and Auckland, it was learned in Wellington yesterday. The exact draught of the Vanguard has not been disclosed.