ROYAL ODE CONTEST

New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 510, 1 April 1949, Page 9

ROYAL ODE CONTEST

URING the last three or four months many New Zealanders whose inclina‘tions lead them to the composition of ‘serious verse have been busy on the "Royal Ode Contest" sponsored by the ‘NZBS. Originally the title was to be "The Royal Visit to New Zealand, 1949," but when the tour was postponed indefinitely, the subject was changed to allow for ah expression of New Zealand’s homage to the Crown. The judges are now reading through the 325 entries received by the NZBS from many parts of the Dominion, and the result will be announced shortly. The winning verses will be published and then a competition for a musical setting for them will be held. In each contest the prize will be £50, Entry in the competition was restricted to people living in New Zealand who were born in the Dominion, or who arrived in New Zealand before they were 10 years old; and to people born outside New Zealand, but who have lived here for 20 years. At first the entries arrived slowly, but towards the closing date the numbers increased with every mail. Among the competitors are people from all walks of life-ex-service-men, hospital patients, Maoris, several children and even blind people who, in some cases, supplied the information that they had dictated their verses, for somebody else to write or type. The majority came from men and women born in England, but who had lived in New Zealand for at least the required number of years. Most of the poems offered a Royal welcome. Others expressed keen disappointment at the postponement of the visit; a few extended their homage to include a salute to the young | Prince Charles; and others set themselyes out to describe New Zealand’s scenic attractions at length. Two of the entries show that the originators were at some pains to present their work attractively; they had bound their verses between stiff decorated covers, after the style of sheet-music.