The Queen Mother Visits New Zealand

Te Ao Hou, September 1966, Page 26

National Publicity Studios With the Queen Mother as she inspects the Royal Guard of Honour on her arrival at Bluff is Guard Commander Major A. T. A. Mataira, M.B.E., R.N.Z.I.R. The Queen Mother Visits New Zealand This year were again privileged to welcome Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to our country. In the 19 days from her arrival at Bluff to her departure from Auckland on 4 May, the smiling Queen brought joy to the hearts of After an Anzac Day service at the National War Memorial in Wellington, Her Majesty talks to Captain P. Tahiwi, a Gallipoli veteran. With them is Mr A. A. Gerrie, president of the Wellington R.S.A. Evening Post Photo

Mrs Ringa Kapo Mariu, on behalf of the Tuwharetoa people, presents the Queen Mother with a Kiwi cloak, a greenstone tiki and a huia feather, as reaffirmation of Her Majesty's institution as a princess of the Ngati-Tuwharetoa during her first visit to New Zealand in 1927. old and young, with the genuine personal interest she took in everyone she met. She had a friendly word for all; for the veterans she met on Anzac Day; for the children all over the country who shouted their welcome; for the old, the sick and the blind, to whom she went with a special greeting; for those who entertained her; for people in all walks of life whose duties brought them into contact with her. In reply to the welcome given by the people of Rotorua, the Queen Mother said. ‘All of us, European and Maori alike, are one people linked by similar ideals and interests and by a common loyalty to the Crown. I rejoice in the phrase “tatau, tatau,” a sentiment in which I believe with all my heart.’ May the gifts given in glad acknowledgement of our love and loyalty ever remind her of this visit to our shores. Her Majesty meets singers and members of the orchestra after the Wellington Youth Concert. In Maori costume are Donna Awatere and Laurette Gibb, the soloists in Ashley Heenan's Maori Suite. National Publicity Studios

N.Z. Herald photo Throughout the sunny weekend hundreds came to pay homage to the dead chief of the Tainui people, Kingi Koroki. They came to be greeted with a chant of welcome and lament from black-dressed women, their heads wreathed in green. They came from every major tribe, Te Arawa, Te Taitokerau, Ngati Porou, Tuwharetoa, Ngati Kahungunu, from Wanganui and Taranaki, bringing with them their gifts and songs of grief. They came, Maori and pakeha, noble and humble, old and young, in large groups and small, from every part of the country. They came representing churches, governments, universities, schools, cities, boroughs, and other organisations. They came bearing messages of sympathy from many races, notable among them being Prince John Ulu valu, son of the Premier of Tonga, Prince Tui'pelehaka, with his party of men and women dressed in black with plaited mats about their waists — their own traditional sign of mourning. N.Z. Herald photo Among the first mourners to arrive were these two Ngapuhi women. Mrs S. Maiota and Mrs Hoki Hui, M.B.E., both of Russell. Before leaving the marae, members of the Tongan royal party bow low in their final tribute to King Koroki.