THE ROYAL PROGRESS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 181, 27 April 1920, Page 7

THE ROYAL PROGRESS

PRINCE AT AUCKLAND

CHILDREN'S DEMONSTRATION

A MAGNIFICENT SIGHT

CITY AFIRE WITH ENTHUSIASM

i ■ i - "' i j By Telegraph—Press Association.

. ■ Auckland 1 , April 26. I Auckland has trtily taken tho Princo ! cf Wales' ta its heart To-day—on the j third day of his stay—tho people turned , .out once more in their thousands to • catch a glimpse of "him as he passed j by to fulfil engagements. Everywhere 1 ' his appearance evoked outbursts of ac- ■ clamation, such as probably have never been heard in the city before. j ' The pioce-de-resistanco of tho morning was the ohildren's display in the Domain. In fact, tho children dominated everything during the forenoon. From an ' early hour, all roads in tho city led to the Domain. Every thoroughfare was packed with a moving' tide from the tiniest toddlers to grandparents, all with one aim in life—to get aigoqii view or, • in the case of school children, to reach : 'appointed placcs in the ranks of tho demonstrators. Scsne in'ths Domain. . ■ By 10 o'clock the picture presented in the park was wonderfully striking. Eight thousand children were, drawn up on the greon sward, the girls (who> com- . posed rather more than half of the asEemblage) being in ".sections,' dressed in ; red, white, and blue, occupying the central portion in the form of a square. The boys were drawn up in tho rear. The grandstand and the sloping banks round the level portion, jfere. packed with expectant crowds. It was estimated that over 50,000 persons witnessed the pageant, and many more thousands lined the ! streets on tho Prince's iroute to the . large numbers being content to 1 g6t a view of him thus, rather than 1 struggle for a place .in the grounds.. The • nrrival of a detachment from the warship. Kenown, comprising seamen and Marines, with tho band of the Royal Marine light Infantry, .belonging to the Portsmouth Depot, aroused the people, nnd tho blueiackots wero given a right hearty .Teception. : . t At 10 o'clock His Royal Highness drove Into the grounds, and' onco more the Aueklnnders, let loos? a flood of acclamation' ■ as the Prince ( was seen for tho first time in mufti. He came slowly along - to appoint opposite the centre of the''front'rank of expectant littlo faces. Here he was received by the Mayor, who presented tho chairman of the Education Board (Mr. E. C. Batiks) and members of tho. board. The Princo took a very keen interest in all that concerned tho children, asking for details, about numbers,. ages, and tho schools from which they came. The. Prince was accompanied by-Admiral "Halsey. and members of his staff, all of . whom had discarded uniform _fbr the occasion. On the Prince' 6 arrival the . band played.,the. National Anthem, and as His Royal Highness took his seat there was a.movement among tho groups of girls standing in advance of the main body. ; These, groups resolved themselves into the letters of tho word "Welcome." All the girls curtsied Jow, and a mighty outburst of cheering greeted the evolution. Fifteen hundred girls in red, white, nnd blue made up the little ,tableau inst doteiWd.■ The qualification 'little" •' must be ma de, for. there was something' grander to follow. An instructor mount* " ed ji stand, and ly little girl. -mounted ; another stiynd beside him. Then,:to tho shrill of the instructor's whistle, and led ; by" the little solitary mite, the whole assemblage went .through various-mover -. ments of flag drill.' r ' ' ' A Living Union Jack. . Then the girls fell back on. either side, and tho boys, 2500 strong, marched into the centre of the, picture. Their display, though brief,'afforded afjne«xample of what boys are capable of doing in the hands of enthusiastic instructors. - On a signal, various groups of red, white, and blue-cjad girls, moved in towards the contro of the ■ground, and' when they, were all assembled what a moment before had, appeared just a medley of colour stood revealed as a. living Union Jack. The people remained silent for a moment in amazement at tho change.'.' Then aroso such cheering and applause as : • surely,the Domain, has rarely heard. At' ft further signal, every child:of the MOO , In the flag waved a banneret matching the colour; she wore, and the effe:t was , heightened a thousandfold. ' ■ When tho fluttering . folds of : the Union Jack had' been stilled, the • tfn- ' Btructore went before the Prince, who shcok hands with them and congratulated them warmly upon the result of . their work. The little girl and the ' littla , boy who had' acted as leaders were also present. Prince Besieged by Children, Then, came an unrehearsed incident.The Prince entered his car and before leaving the ground proceeded on a slow circuit of the living flag. For a few moments the. ranks stood still j then they, broke in the neighbourhood of the car, which became the centre of a crowd of excited,. cheering juveniles struggling to get close and trying to get a handshake or throw a Banneret upiyi the Prince as he stood smiling and bowing . his acknowledgments. ' The children had taken the Prince to their hearts. He was not only Prince of Wales to them—he wa9 their prince, and they meant to let him know it. So the bcouo went on till at least, the ( circuit of the ground had been made, and the • Royal party , left. ~ . " ■ At Ellerslie, The people did not hurry away. They had brought lunch with them, and had it al fresco. Then they,-waited ■ ai various vantage points to gain another glimpso of tho Prince as he went to the races at Ellerslie. There, in the afternoon, he was the guest of the Auckland Racing Club. The Ellerslie course was looking its best. The rich, golden tints of autumn mellowed the former brilliancy of the trees, ini the ground, making a foil to set off the vivid green of the lawns and the bright : hues of the ornamental flower beds and borders. Tho stands and lawns were filled with .visitors. The Prince's arrival on the course was' the signal for a great autburst of oheering whioh continued almost all. the time while ho was received by tho president and the stewards of 'tho club and conducted to the space reserved for tho Royal party in the stand. '.Che, Princedid not remain there, however,, but after ! watching a race inspected tho paddock, the stables and the appointments gencr- ■ ally. Returning from the races to the cit 7, the Royal car was still a magnet - that drew all eyes till it turned into * Government House gates, to issue again after dinner as tho Princo wont oft' to the civic reception at the Town Hall. HOW THE EVENING WAS SPENT • AN HOURfS HANDSHAKING IMPROMPTU CALL AT NORTHERN " CLUB. By Telegraph-Press Association. Auckland, April 26. Fully four thousand people were present at the Teception tendered the Prince . this evening in the Town Hall. There, was a brilliant gathering, despite tho fact that heavy rain had come- on at dusk making conditions outside unpleasant. ,Tho Prince arrived at tho ' hall shortly after nine o'clock, with Admirni Halsey and officors of the Renown. Ho was received, by the Mayor. (Mr. Gunson) and.escorted through the. writing throng to-tho foot of tho stair where the Prime Ministor and othor Ministers, with local and civio dignitaries wove. Siv Joseph Ward and Lady Ward,-and the Hon. W. D. Macdonald were also present. The Princo of Wales stood and shook hands with people as they passed by, this task proving a Horoulean ono, and , lasting pvcT an hour. ' Early this evening tho Prince paid a

short visit to the Northern Club, where ho was toasted enthusiastically. The call was an impromptu one. His ltoyal Highness having remembered that the club had placed its building at the dis.posal of his father's staff in 1001, he felt that ho should express his personal appreciation of the fact. The . Prince leaves at 10 to-morrow morning for Rotorua.

'PRESS ARRANGEMENTS ON RENOWN EXPRESSIONS OP DISSATISFACTION. (Rec, April 2G, 11.20 p.m.) London, April 20. Private adviiies from correspondents on board . the Renown expressing' dissatisfaction at the. Press arrangements have reached London. "The Times," commenting on the splendid welcome given the Prince, while expressing the nope that tho Prince's visit to the 'Dominions would result in far-reaching benefit 'to Imperial relations, warns those responsible for tho tour that publicity is the essence of success. Every facility must be given (o correspondents to carry out these duties. Anj; failures in this Tespect. any inclination to think lightly of their work, would be n foolish and fatal mistake.—United Service. •••

ENTERTAINING THE MEN OF H.M.S. R_ENOWN A meeting of tho Sports Committee for the entertainment of the men of H.M.S.. Renown was held last' night, Mr. A. A." Marryatt presiding. Mr. Marryatt stated that the Renown would 'arrive' in Wellington on Monday morning, but the men would lie unable to obtain leave till the ovening. The commercial travellers were entertaining them that evening, and on Tuesday it would bo impossible to arrango any entertainment. The Renown would go out into the stream on Sunday, and leave for Picton that evening. The Wellington. Boxing Association wrote offering to hold a boxing tourney in the Town Hall on the Saturday. The men.of the Renown could compete, nnd tho visiting professionals, Uren and Holland. could give exhibitions with their sparing partners. FivQ gold medals had been donated as prizes for tho men. The sailors would be admitted free, but a email charge will be made for civilians. The surplus funds would he devoted to the Olympic Fund. It was decided,to accept the association's offer and give every help possible. The following programme of entertainments was decided on:—Wednesday, the 'football match between Poneke and the N.Z.E.F. team Thursday, the Hockey Association aiifll Football Association are to arrango matches.' and it has been decided to .approach the Rugby "Union for tho same purpose: , Fridav, asportsmeeting atf Newtown Park; Saturdav, .Association football,. and boxing In the evening. Tennis courts and, golf courses, it was stated, would no doubt be thrown open for the officers and men,, and the committee decided to mako no arrangements with regard to these rrnmos. There was also a possibility, said Mr. Marryatt, that the men would bo taken into tho country on the Tailwavs, but, nothing definite had been decided on. "| THE BIG RUGBY MATCH . >'• - KING'S' CUP TEAM. . Following is, the text of a communication received by the Mayor from the "Under-Secretary for Internal Affairs:— "Regarding the proposed football malch between the winners of the King's Array Service Cup and, the winners of the'Ranfurly Shield, 1919,' which was tentatively approved, I have now pleasure in inform, ing you that the acceptance is confirmed for 2.10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, aud arrangements may be made accordingly." The following will represent tho King's Cup winners (N.Z.E.F.)O'Brien (Auckland); Storey (South Canterbury); D. Roberts (Taranaki), Ford (Canterbury), Bellis (Taihape), J. Ryan (Petone), 13. 'Ryan (Petone), D. Sandman (Canterbury), C. Brown (Taranaki), Singe (Auckland), H'aselL- .(Canterbury), Cain (Taranaki), Mofiott (Wellington), West (Taranaki), Rangi Wilson (Wellington), A. Bruce (Wellington), Fogarty (Otago). The members.from tho south' will assemble on Sunday morning, and those from the north on Monday morning,' and will commence trainingrmmediately,- The more enthusiastic 1 members have been training pri'vately, and it is anticipated that a very fit team will take the field. Tho gate ! money i 3 to be allotted to the Salisbury |- Terrace Reserve Fund, which ground on completion will be designated tho Prirleo of AVales's Park. ■

THE JOURNEY TO INDIA

(Rec, April 27, 0.40 a.m.)

London, April 211. The "Daily Express" states that the Prince of Wales wi| .make the journey to India in the battleship Malaya, which will leave England in tho iniddio of November.—United Service.-