ROYAL TOUR

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 14 March 1927, Page 5

ROYAL TOUR

TRIP TO CHRISTCHURCHj. mm _ r ' SCENES EN ROUTE. " ■ ■; • -v DUKB DRIVES THE TRAIN. (BY TFT.KGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION. ) OHIRISTOBURGH, March 13. About 4 a.m. on Saturday morning there was a typical 1 West Cbast downpour of rain till dawn, and from then various oinvards samples of the Gotast, weather were experienced. Last night the Duke of York was again able to speak to the Duchess by means of telephone communication between Mr. T. • E. Y. Seddon’is house, Greynuouth, and; her room in the Commercial Hotel, Nelson. The decorations in Greyniouth were .some of the best seen on the New Zealand tour, the streets' being lined with greenery and magnificent arches, in which forest foliage and tree ferns were a great feature, spanning the streets. r - •

Though nearly every minute of the Duke’s time is occupied at.. stopping places with official functions, he is ever ready to add to his labours whenever occasion permits, and he displays an especially keen interest, in the country’s industries. This morning, in pouring rain, immediately after breakfast he was on 'his way to the James State coal mine. He jnst entered the mine. There wa®.not time to explore at more' fully, but he was keen to see for himself the conditions under which miners and their families lived at the mine.

lie inspected the bathing accommodation laud the arrangements for clothes-drying. Hie then passed on to Runanga. where most of the ; miners and their families live, and there saw* the conditions in their houses. This visit was not on the programme, but was purely unofficial and, for a time, the Duke was able to escape the eyes of the battery of cameras that have been following him everywhere on the tour. There was a throng of people to see the Duke entrain at the railway station. By this time the rain had temporarily ceased and, as the train speed- . ed up the G rey Valley the ever chang- ' ing mists of ■sombre, forest-clad mountains, made a succession of beautiful , scenes.

Lake Brunner, where a stop was made at Moan a, a wayside station, was like a Scottish highland loch in a storm. Here, while the -engine was watering, a pleasing incident occurred. The Duke 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 Duke, noticing the incident, said : “Oh, they must have one each.” Be thereupon got a. small bundle of flags and presented one to each, of the other twins. . . . ... ... At Rum the train was halted; while the Duke inspected a sawmill in full working order. The New Zealand flag was flying over the mill, in which a huge riniu log was being sawn in sec-, tions. The Duke was introduced to the; manager of the mill and also to. the Cornish sawyer, one Penliralluriach, with whom he had ta lengthy chat. The mountain tops remained shrouded in clouds, but fine effects were produced and swollen waterfalls added to the grandeur of the scene. At OtiLra the Duke spent some time with the ybu’.ig children of railwaymen. Here an electric locomotive was switched on to the train and the Duke mounted. 1 the footplate under the tuition of the senior electric engineer. Me took a hand in driving through the tunnel iab Otira, On the other side, of the Pass, the Duke again mounted the footplate of the famous locomotive “Passohendaele,” which is the war memorial for the men in the Railway Service who lost their lives in the war and which the Prince of Wales drove when he was in New Zealand. • On both locomotives there were, with the Duke, Sir Beaton Rhodes, Cbmniander Buist and Mr. Lynde, chief mechanical engineer of railways, who is always off duty on the Royal _ train. The ‘Duke .succeeded in switching the locomotive on to the train successfully and l-emained on the footplate till Oass was reached. Here people were expecting to see, , him in the Royal car 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 of. the train. The train went down the incline to Cass over a good piece of line at high SP Good times was now; made towards the Canterbury plains and, ..once on the flat, the Royal train rushed' along at 50 miles an hour, having made up for a good deal of lost time on the Grey- i mouth side. The rocky crags and glaciers of Mount Rolleston were hidden in clouds, but once the train was well over the main divide there was clear sky and-the sun shone warmly. The Cathedral. City excelled itself in the magnitude and enthusiasm of its demonstration, the joyful pealing ■of the Cathedral belle above the cheering of the great assemblage being a unique addition to the loyal demonstration. None could be otherwise than impressed also with the enthusiasm of the. five thousand people who crowded Alexander Barracks. ' . Royalty 4u rely was never before welcomed with such a lengthy musical programme by band and choir, and apparently them are more notabilities in Christchurch than an any other two cities in New Zealand, Even the bandmaster. a somewhat shy figure in khaki uniform:, was honoured with, a Ducal handshake. . It wa® a kindly thought of the Mayor and Mayoress to have . [provided a bouquet of orchids and a beautifully decorated basket of ’ fruit for the Duchess, but the orchids avail now be somewhat failed and the bloom off the fruit before they can reach the Duchess. . , Another point in which Christchurch excelled wa® the illuminations, especially in. Oathedral Square, the spire of the cathedral dominating the square and shining in the dim light, adding tlie final effective touch to the entranc- ? ing scene. .A Last evening the Duke dined with air. Aeland at the Christchurch Glut Returning to his hotel, he received another demonstration from the crowd which was. still waiting in. front of • Warner’s. To-dav the Duke attended morning service at the. Cathedral. This afternoon he will visit the residence of Mr. Humphries, the French Consul. In the evening he will dine with .the brother of on old friend who was in the Navy with him.