PRINCE OF WALES’ TOUR

Hokitika Guardian, 10 May 1920, Page 3

PRINCE OF WALES’ TOUR

OTAGO CHILDREN S CII<T. DUNEDIN, May t

A sum of nearly £SO has been raised bv penny offerings from tlio children of Otago for a presentation to the Venice of Wales. It will take the form of an inkwell, flanked iby two solid silver kiwis on a greenstone base, together with a copy of the Peace booklet specially prepared in suede and beautifully ornamented and the municipal coat-of-nrms on the cover. The inkwell will be presented' in a casket- of New Zealand woods. VISIT TO TRENTHAM CAMP. PAGEANT 'AT PtKTONE. . WELLINGTON, May "• This afternoon the Prince visited Petone and was favoured with beautiful weather. Denso. crowds lined the foreshore to see the Prince land on the. (beach , where tile early settlers first stopped ashore to found the colony of New Zealand. A large fleet, of yachts and motor boats lay close inshore, and as the Government steamer .Tnnie Seddon passed through their lines with the Prince on hoard, all saluted him. Then lie entered a cutter from the training ship Amokura. manned by boys, and escorted by a Maori war canoe paddled l,y dusky warriors in full war kit, was rmved to a temporary stage upon which ho was received by the Mayor of Potone and Sir William Fraser and local officials Thence lie walked to a model Maori village, depicting a. pa a« it existed in 1840. Tlie Prince was keenly interested in a number of the surviving members of tlie early settlement contingents speaking a few words to each in turn. Addresses of welcome were presented from tlie Pbtone, Hutt, ' and 1 , other local bodies, and the Maoris made further. gifts of valuable mats, and a fine | greenstone mere. Beautifully-woven rugs from the Potone woollen mills, with the Prince of Watts’s plumes woven on them, were also presented to the visitor. The Royal ear had an exciting fine getting through the crowd as it moved toward the station, whence the Prince travelled to Trentham, where he was welcomed by a largo number of civilians and men in “blueys,” who gave him rousing cheers. He held a reception in the old Wairaraptv ward, and Gen visited other wards in which, there were cot cases. One incident caused much laughter throughout the ward first entered. A man, usually known as a “hard case,” had. been “dared” ' y his comrades to put a request to • lie Prince and lie took up the challenge. When his Royal Highness stopped by his bed and asked how the patient was, tho latter replied that he was well, hut would like to know if he could prefer a rekjire.st. “What is it?” said the Prince. “Well, sir, I get a bottle of stout daily; couldn't you make it two?” The Prince turned to the principal medical officer saying “We’ll see wnat the doctor says.” The doctor said ho thought it might be done with saf-tv, and the incident closed with laughter and cheers.

The car in which tho Prince -ode from the Trentlinm station to the camp and back is well known as the ‘b'uc boys’ car.” It- was driven by fiss G. Ewen, who has devoted herself for a. long time to driving invalided sol'l'trs out for airings. Miss Ewen is the only woman who has acted as chauffeur to the Prince in New Zealand, and only two other women (both Canadians) have acted in a. similar capacity. This evening tlie Prince attended lie citizens’- ball in the Town Hall. Tomorrow he is free, and on Sunday evening lie prepared to leave for the South Island,

'THE R.S.A. GOLD BADGE. WELLINGTON, May 7. After the children’s demonstration in Parliament grounds, the .Prince went to the Legislative Council Chamber, where lie was presented by the N Z. Returned Soldiers’ Association. Dr. E-. Boxer, tho president, road an address, and made the presentation amid cheers and erics of “Good "Id Digger” and “A prince of Diggers.”

The Prince responded, thanking all tile 'AssoX'iation’s Ibranolios for f ile wn.y in which the men had tinned out to see him.