Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 1934 THE ROYAL VISIT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18585, 20 December 1934, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, DEC. 20, 1934 THE ROYAL VISIT

£risbornc is honored to-day by a visit from the son of our beloved King and Queen, and as we go to press the people are preparing to give the Duke of Gloucester a truly Royal wel come. It is the first occasion on which this district has been favored with the presence of a member of the reigning house. When the Duke’s parents came to New Zealand in 1900 a strong effort was made to have the Ophir, on which they were travelling, brought into the roadstead on its journey north, in order that the people, who would go out on tenders, might have a glimpse of the Royal visitors, but the exigencies' of time in a closely-fitted schedule of engagements prevented the vessel being diverted from her course, And so endeavors were made to communicate with the liner by wireless telephony, then in its earliest experimental stage. This also failed through lack of a suitable receiving set aboard the liner, though it was stated that some signals were received. The disappointment of thirty-four years ago will be amply retrieved to-day by the pleasure that this community has in welcoming His Royal Highness to so historic a spot as Poverty Bay. The Duke is sure to be reminded that he stands on ground which was (he first in New Zealand to be trodden by British feet, and it may please him to note the pride of the people in this early association with the Homeland as shown by the honor paid to the discoverer of New Zealand, Captain Cook, in the fine monument erected to his memory near his first landing place on New Zcalnnd soil. Poverty Bay cherishes its connection with the great English explorer and has long sinco outlived the stigma attaching to his misnomer of one of the richest districts in the Dominion. Prince Henry will be welcomed as the worthy son of a father who has done so much to inspire and strengthen the ideal of a United Empire. The King's intimate interest in all parts of his realm, his wise leadership and devotion to an ideal of service have endeared him to his people everywhere, and it is natural that the communities overseas should welcome

the opportunity of showing their esteem through "the honor they can pay to His Majesty’s son. Royal tours such as this are truly a potent influence in maintaining the bonds of Empire. They give a fuller appreciation of the meaning of Royalty according to British ideas. Like his father and brothers, the Duke of Gloucester in his visits to Australia and New Zealand has revealed something of the secret which maintains so unique a relationship between the Monarchy and the British peoples in all parts of the world. Each Royal visit has strengthened the bond and confirmed the people ill their devotion to the Royal Family. The secret is the faculty possessed by His Majesty and his sons of making themselves at home anywhere, and the close personal contacts that they make have won them the friendship and affection of all classes of the people. Gisborne has not a great deal of entertainment to offer Prince Henry. It realises that ■he has had a strenuous day’s travelling and that he must welcome a respite from the official functions that have filled his programme for so many weeks past. But it docs appreciate the opportunity of mooting him in public assembly and demonstrating its loyalty, and as the Duke departs to-morrow on Iris northward journey we trust he will carry nwav pleasant memories of his brief sojourn amongst as.