CITY OF TENTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1007, 25 June 1930, Page 11

CITY OF TENTS

ICELAND OVERCROWDED FOR CELEBRATION

PARLIAMENT ANNIVERSARY British Official Wireless RUGBY', Monday. Members of both British Houses of I s arliament embarked on the battleship Rodney at Rothesay on Saturday and sailed for Reykjavik, Iceland, where they expect to arrive tomorrow for the I,oooth anniversary of the Icelandic Parliament. Five other warships and a number of steamers carrying tourists will be present. The King and Queen of Denmark and the Crown Prince of Sweden intend to take part in the celebrations. Two Black burn-iris flying-boacs of the latest type in the Royal Air Force also will make the trip to Iceland for the occasion. Each flying-boat weighs 20 tons. Besides carrying large stores of food, water and 1,000 gallons of petrol, each machine has a wireless installation, and there is a stove in the galley. During tlio three days which are to mark the culmination of the millennium celebrations of the Icelandic Alting (Parliament), one King, two Crown Princes, 40 representatives of 25 independent States, 2,000 Icelanders living in the United States, 20,000 Icelandic farmers, and at least the same number of tourists from all parts of the world are to form the population of the improvised towns of Thingvellir and Lake Reykjavik.

Many of the tourists will live on board ship during their stay, but even a small influx would cause a shortage of houses and hotels, a fact readily understood when it is remembered that. Iceland’s total population is 9 8,000, of whom 48,000 are farmers scattered over the island. Only a few hostelries are necessary to meet the ordinary demands of travellers. For this occasion there have been erected 27,000 tents, arranged in row's, with streets, market places, post and telegraph offices, shops, and other public facilities. King Christian of Denmark is also the King of Iceland.