KING’S GUEST AND SOLDIER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20815, 25 August 1937, Page 8

KING’S GUEST AND SOLDIER

EXPERIENCES OF A NEW ZEALANDER MR TIRIKATENE TELLS OF TRIP HOME To have dined with the King one evening and then to have mounted guard as a private at Buckingham Palace gates the next morning; to have helped in the kitchen of a barracks by day and been the guest of the Duke of Kent-. Princess Alice and other Royalties at night; to have appeared at a reception in native costume as a paramount leader of the Maori people and three hours afterwards to take his place at a dinner to Empire Parliamentarians; such experiences as these, so unique that they may never be equalled, were included in a kaleidoscopic narrative of the visit of the New Zealand military contingent to the Coronation, which Mr E. T. Tirikatene, M.P. for Southern Maori, related to Arowhenua Maoris on Monday evening. Mr Tirikatene, who was one of the four Maori members of the contingent, told of his experiences simply and naturally, displaying at the same time a large assortment of menu and invitation cards received for the State functions he had attended. His were unique experiences, he said, because he had all the adventures of the military contingent and all the formal entertainment afforded the Parliamentarians. He saw the Coronation festivities from two entirely different perspectives. As a member of the Parliamentary Union, he received the many privileges enjoyed by the Dominion's official delegation and his time was so occupied that he had little left to himself Unfair Criticism of Uniform There had been criticism from some New Zealanders regarding the appearance of the Dominion’s contingent, said Mr Tirikatene. “That was not fair,” he added. “Certainly there were some gorgeous uniforms, but ours was more befitting a colony like New Zealand, and wherever we went the khaki brought us hundreds of friends. You had only to go into the street in uniform to have people come up and offer to escort you on sight-seeing excursions or take you to their homes. The uniform took people's attention at once and was sufficient to have the way cleared for the wearer wherever he

went. At the theatres people gave up their seats for us, and in public places were were always the recipients of the kindest hospitality. On one occasion live of us walked the length of six floors of a huge restaurant looking for a seat. Every table seemed to be booked and we were just about to leave when a head waiter hurried up and had a table specially prepared. “Truly it made me realise the splendid tradition that our men left behind in England after the years 1914-18, and made us proud to wear the uniform. The whole trip served to show us that as a distant part of the Empire we were far from being overlooked by the English people.” On Guard at the Palace With reference to the placing of the New Zealand contingent on guard at Buckingham Palace, this was the first occasion that a unit of the overseas forces had been given the privilege, said Mr Tirikatene. When the changing of the guard began he found himself at position number 5 on account of his height. Someone had “twitted” him about the possibility of his being on guard “at the back door” when, to his amazement, he heard the sergeant of the Guard order: “No. 5, fall out.” With those words Mr Tirikatene became actually the very first New Zealander tQ go on guard at Buckingham Palace. “While I remained there the Hon. Walter Nash passed by,” said the speaker. “He said to me: ‘You look the part, Tiri,’ and although I was extremely proud of his recognition of me and of being on guard, I did not blink an eyelash, and remained a statue for two hours and 20 minutes.”

Simplicity was the keynote of the King’s banquet, the menu for this being quite short. Mr Tirikatene said that he had found both the King and Queen very earnest and sincere, and indeed this applied to all members of the Royal Family. Mr Tirikatene concluded his address by relating his experiences in Scotland and while on a tour of the industrial centres of Britain. The Maori audience gave him their wrapt attention and at the close they asked him further questions for upwards of an hour.