From Kandy back to Colombo went the Royal visitors, and at the capital they found "the white streets and blood-red earth were rivers of light and colour," as one picturesque correspondent described the scene. The British flag was there, and British merchants and the British Governor in the person of Sir J. West Ridgeway were there; but all else was a wild sea of Eastern colour; a myriad-voiced tribute of the torrid and brilliant tropics to the power of Western civilization. After a night on board the Ophir, with the war-ships in the harbour a blaze of colour and festooned with fire, the visitors left for Singapore on April 16th and arrived there five days later. Through the Straits of Malacca an experience was had of the most intense heat and keen tropical discomfort. The Duke and Duchess were received at Singapore in a pavilion hung with flags and flowers, by the Governor, Sir Frank Swettenham, and by the Sultans of Pahang, Perak and Selangor. This interesting trading centre, with its four hundred and fifty million dollars' worth of commerce and its population of mingled Chinese, Dutch and Germans, was ablaze with decorations and filled with holiday-makers. A Royal reception was held in the Town-Hall on April 22nd attended by Chinese, Arabs, Malays, Tamils and representatives of all the medley of blood which makes up the East. There were a dozen deputations bringing addresses and adding to the steadily accumulating caskets of gold and silver and ivory and precious stones which the Duke was destined to possess in a measure only excelled by his Royal father's collection in the past.
The Malays contributed an elephant's tusk set in gold, the men of Penang a great bamboo set in gold, and the Chinese of Malaya a fire-screen worked with Oriental skill and beauty. After this ceremony, and including dinner, the Duke and Duchess drove through the Chinese quarters and in the evening witnessed the strange procession of figured reptiles and demons, dragons and monsters of distorted fancy, which marked Chinese pleasure and indicated the loyalty of the coolies as their costly decorations and caskets and the presence at functions of richly-dressed men and women had already illustrated the loyalty of the merchant class. An incident of the afternoon was the singing by five thousand school-children of mixed Eastern races and the presentation of a bouquet to the Duchess. The effect of "God Save the King" in their quaint, native accents was described as being strangely pathetic. On the following morning the Ophir steamed out of the harbour bound for Australia and left eastern civilization behind for the forms and customs of England transplanted upon Australian soil. The shores of Sumatra were coasted, the Straits of Banka, the Sea of Java and the beautiful Straits of Sunda were traversed; the Equator was crossed and His Royal Highness willingly subjected to the quaint and immemorial usages of the occasion; the Indian Ocean traversed and two thousand five hundred miles of this part of the journey experienced before the shores of the island-continent were sighted on May 1st.
The formal landing at Melbourne, for which all Australia was looking, took place on May 6th and the splendour of the reception far exceeded all expectations. For many weeks the people of the Commonwealth had been legislating, planning decorating and preparing for the visit of the Heir to the British Throne and his wife; the dormant loyalty of years, aroused and developed by the events of the war and the despatch of thousands of troops to the front, had grown to a white-heat of interest and excitement; the completion of confederation and the union of the Colonies in one great Commonwealth, which was now to be marked by the opening of the first Federal Parliament and stamped through this visit with Royal approval and British sympathy, enhanced the public interest. There was a great and stately setting at Melbourne for the functions which graced the occasion and, as the Ophir rested in the waters of the bay, surrounded by British and foreign warships, with roaring salutes and a myriad of fluttering flags, there were excellent scenic preliminaries to the impressive landing ceremonies. From the St. Kilda Pier, through miles of beautiful, decorated streets, great arches and hundreds of thousands of cheering people, the Royal couple passed to Government House, welcomed also on the way by a gathering of thirty-five thousand school children singing "God Save the King."
The whole spectacle was an extraordinary one. Mr. E. F. Knight, correspondent of the London Morning Post said that "it was a day of splendid pageants, stirring and impressive, and the extraordinary enthusiasm of the ovation given to the Duke and Duchess by the hundreds of thousands of Australians who packed the streets along the entire eight miles of route must ever stand out vivid in the memory of all who witnessed it." Mr. W. Maxwell, the correspondent of the Standard, declared that: "I have seen many Royal progresses but never have I seen one more hearty and spontaneous than that of the multitude of well-dressed men, women and children who thronged the streets daily for nearly two weeks." The scheme of decorations was splendid, the triumphal arches were authoritatively stated to be better and more numerous than anything yet seen in London itself, the gathering of Australian troops lining the streets was representative and effective, the spectators were almost everywhere dressed in black or dark clothing as a tribute to the late Queen, the evening illuminations were on a magnificent scale—buildings and arches and decorations being a flashing, gleaming mass of light and fire and varied brightness. A state dinner was given at Government House by Lord Hopetoun in the evening and, on the succeeding day, a great Levée was held and addresses received. All the leaders of Australian life and society were presented and every form or phase of loyalty was embodied in the addresses presented from public institutions. Another state dinner followed at Government House and on May 8th the University of Melbourne was visited and an honorary degree conferred upon His Royal Highness. A great procession of various trade and labour associations was then witnessed and the third day of the visit concluded with a well-managed and stately Royal reception at Government House.
OPENING OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT
On May 9th the central ceremony of the tour was performed and a new British Commonwealth started upon its national course. The streets through which the Royal progress was made were packed with enthusiastic masses of people; the great Exhibition Building in which the Parliament of Australia was to be formally inaugurated was filled with twelve thousand persons, representative of every form of Australian life and character and achievement; the scheme of decoration—blue and golden yellow and chocolate—was effective and bright, the black and white and purple of the universal mourning was brightened here and there amongst the people by scattering bits of uniform in blue and scarlet and gold. At noon, the distant sound of cheers and the blare of trumpets announced the approach of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Amidst the strains of the National Anthem, and accompanied by the Governor-General and Countess of Hopetoun, they took their places upon the dais. Around the King's son and his wife were all the leaders of Australia; in front of them, the Parliament, the classes and a substantial section of the masses. The Earl of Hopetoun read some formal prayers and then gave place to His Royal Highness who, in clear and distinct tones read his speech to Parliament and the people. In it he spoke of himself as fulfilling the wish of the late Queen Victoria and his father, the King, and as representing their deep interest in Australia and warm appreciation of Australian help in the war and loyalty to the Crown. Of the future, His Majesty felt assured.
"The King is satisfied that the wisdom and patriotism which have characterized the exercise of the wide powers of self-government hitherto enjoyed by the Colonies will continue to be displayed in the exercise of the still wider powers with which the United Commonwealth has been endowed. His Majesty feels assured that the enjoyment of these powers will, if possible, enhance that loyalty and devotion to his Throne and Empire of which the people of Australia have already given such signal proofs. It is His Majesty's earnest prayer that this union, so happily achieved, may, under God's blessing, prove an instrument for still further promoting the welfare and advancement of his subjects in Australia, and for the strengthening and consolidation of his Empire."
The Duke then declared the Parliament open in the name and on behalf of his Majesty. He also read a cablegram just received from the King: "My thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Most fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and happiness." The members of Parliament then took the oath of allegiance administered by Lord Hopetoun. Meanwhile, as His Royal Highness declared the Houses of Parliament open, and while the immense standing audience was making the building echo with a mighty cheer, the Duchess touched an electric button, and from every school-house in the Commonwealth there waved the Union Jack as a sign that the great function was completed. Amidst cheering multitudes the Royal couple then drove back to Government House. In the evening a brilliant concert was given under the auspices of the Commonwealth Government. On the following day fifteen thousand Australian troops were reviewed in the presence of one hundred and forty thousand people—infantry, mounted men, engineers, army service corps, army medical corps, ambulance corps and cadets—representative of all the States and of all branches of the system together with blue-jackets and marines from the Royal Navy.
Then came a state dinner at Government House. On May 11th an afternoon reception was given by the Victorian Government and Parliament at the same place, and on Monday May 13th, His Royal Highness and the Duchess visited the famous golden city of Ballarat, inspected one of its great mines and laid the foundation-stone of a monument to Australian soldiers who had fallen in South Africa. Tuesday saw an interesting school-children's fête and a reception by the Mayor and Corporation of Melbourne. On May 14th, Their Royal Highnesses presented prizes to the scholars of the united Grammar Schools of Victoria, and the Prince spoke to the boys of the stately and historical events of the past few days. "Keep up your traditions and think with pride of those educated in your schools who have become distinguished public servants of the state, or who have fought, or are still fighting, for the Empire in South Africa." To another great gathering of twenty thousand children the Duke was both eloquent and impressive. "May your lives be happy and prosperous, but do not forget that the youngest of us have responsibilities which increase as time goes on. If I may offer you advice I should say: Be thorough, do your level best in whatever work you may be called upon to perform. Remember that we are all fellow-subjects of the British Crown. Be loyal, yes, to your parents, your country, your King and your God."
After a rousing farewell from the people of Melbourne, a special train was taken on May 18th by the Royal couple for the capital of Queensland.