The Life of King Edward VII / with a sketch of the career of King George V

by J. Castell Hopkins

AT BRISBANE AND SYDNEY

Every town, or settlement, or mining camp on the way contributed its cheers and shouts from crowds of sturdy Australians, and on May 20th, Brisbane was reached and an enthusiastic welcome received in the drive through crowded and beautifully decorated streets. At Government House, where the Royal guests were received by Lord Lamington, Lieutenant-Governor of the State, twenty-two deputations attended to present addresses—as compared with forty-eight at Melbourne. In the evening, a brilliant illumination of the city marked the event. On the following day a review of troops took place, and the Duke and Duchess enjoyed the patriotic singing and happy sports of some five thousand children. The evening saw an aboriginal Corrobberee performed for their benefit, and on the 23rd of May, the foundation-stone of a new Anglican Cathedral, which was being erected as a memorial to the late Queen Victoria, was laid by His Royal Highness amid appropriate and dignified ceremonial. In the afternoon the Agricultural Exhibition was visited and a splendid demonstration of welcome received from over thirty thousand people. The following and last day at Brisbane included a Levée, an afternoon reception and a concert. Each evening had seen a formal state banquet.

On May 24th the route was taken for Sydney, and a stop was made near Combooya for a picnic in the bush, or "billy tea." Newcastle gave the Royal couple a rousing reception, and at Haukesbury the Ophir was boarded and the trip up the splendid harbour of Sydney commenced—escorted by warships and welcomed by the roar of cannon from ships and shore. As the Duke and Duchess landed amid cheering sailors, pealing bells and the shouts of a massed concourse of people stretching far back from the landing-place, they were received at a sort of graceful portal, decked with flags, flowers and semi-tropical foliage, by the Governor-General, the Federal and State Governors and Premiers, the Mayor and others. The procession then passed along a three-mile route to Government House with bands at intervals playing the ever-present National Anthem, with beautiful decorations and arches, and with cheering crowds, fluttering handkerchiefs and waving flags in every direction. In the evening there was the usual state dinner and more than usually striking illuminations. Of this reception the Sydney Morning Herald said the next day: "The acquisition of territory is a triumph of national achievement; but it is a small thing beside this re-creation of a new Britain in another hemisphere. The demonstration in Sydney yesterday embodied the message to this effect which our people desire to transmit by favour of the Duke and Duchess to the centre of Empire."

The ensuing event was a Royal review of nine thousand troops with the presence of one hundred and fifty thousand people as observers. Then came a brilliant Reception at Government House, and on the morning of May 29th a Levée attended by two thousand citizens and at which twenty-four addresses were received—including the various denominations, the Masons, and the Orangemen. That of the city was in a beautiful gold and jewelled casket. To these His Royal Highness replied in eloquent language, and then knighted the Mayor of Sydney, Dr. James Graham, as he had already done the Mayor of Melbourne. A state dinner followed with continued evening illuminations. The naval depot at Garden Island was visited in the morning, and in the afternoon a naval review witnessed. A second Reception followed at Government House, and on the succeeding day the commemoration-stone of a Queen Victoria Memorial addition to the Prince Alfred Hospital was laid by the Duke. In his speech he expressed a doubt "whether anymore fitting memorial to that great life could have been chosen, for sympathy with the suffering was an all-pervading element in the noble and beautiful character of her who was your first Patron and with whose name the Hospital will now be associated for all time." At the University of Sydney the Royal visitor was given an honorary degree amid the amusing chaff of a reception which was as hearty and enthusiastic as it was hilarious. A Citizen's Concert followed in the evening, and on the next day His Royal Highness conferred fourteen hundred medals upon volunteers who had returned from the war. In the afternoon there was a brilliant garden party at Government House. On Sunday a sermon was listened to at St. Andrew's Cathedral, preached by Archbishop Saumarez Smith, and Monday being the Duke's birthday was observed as a public holiday. In the afternoon a visit was paid to the Young People's Industrial Exhibition where five thousand school children sang a special Ode for the occasion. In the afternoon the Duke departed for a couple of days shooting, and the Duchess visited the neighbouring Blue Mountains.

On June 6th, after a very cordial "send-off" from the people, the Royal party boarded the Ophir and started for Auckland, New Zealand. Five days later they found that loyal city alive with enthusiasm, crowded with people and decorated to the extreme limit. They were welcomed by the Governor, Lord Ranfurly and the Premier, Mr. R. J. Seddon. The latter presented an address in a superb casket made of New Zealand wood and gold, silver, and enamel, in the shape of a Maori war canoe. The ceremony of presentation and the reply occurred on board ship. Immediately upon landing the Duchess touched the key of a telegraph instrument, and flags waved and guns roared a welcome in every city and town of New Zealand. The popular welcome in the streets was tumultuous and the arches particularly impressive, while one of the incidents of the Royal progress to Government House was a living Union Jack composed of two thousand children dressed to fit the design. In the afternoon eleven addresses were received, and during his reply the Duke said: "I look forward to making known to His Majesty how strong I have found the feeling of common brotherhood and readiness to share in the responsibilities of the Empire, and earnestly trust that the results of the journey maybe to stimulate the interest of the different countries in each other, and so draw even closer the bonds which now unite them."

ROYAL WELCOME IN NEW ZEALAND

A state dinner followed this event and an evening Reception. The succeeding day a Royal review of forty-three hundred troops occurred, with twelve thousand spectators, and was followed by a luncheon to four hundred veterans of the South African and Maori wars, at which the Duke of Cornwall and York made one of the several impromptu speeches delivered during his tour. Speaking of the combination of old veterans and young soldiers he said: "There is nothing like a chip of the old block"—to which some one responded with "You're one yourself"—"when one knows that the old block was hard, of good grain and sound to the core, and if, in the future, whenever and wherever the Mother-hand is stretched across the sea, it can reckon on a grasp such as New Zealand has given in the present." This speech evoked tremendous cheering. Later, the foundation-stone of the Queen Victoria School for Maori Girls was laid, and in the evening, after a state dinner at Government House, the Royal visitors attended a Reception given by the Mayor, and drove through splendidly illuminated streets. The next few days were spent amongst that most picturesque, gallant and chivalrous of native peoples—the Maoris. Expressions of the most intense and unaffected loyalty and contentment with British rule were universal. Most interesting sights were witnessed and Maori customs studied—including war and other dances, songs of welcome and of challenge to enemies, and mimic battles fought with native skill and zest.

Wellington was reached on Waterloo Day (June 18th) and the route to Government House was spanned by a dozen handsome arches—two of which had been erected by the enthusiastic Maoris. After the conferring of some knighthood honours the Royal visitors in the afternoon watched a procession of Friendly Societies and laid the foundation-stone of a new Town Hall. In the evening there were the usual state dinner, Reception and illuminations. On the following day three hundred medals were presented to South African veterans and seventeen deputations received. A state Reception was attended at the Parliament Buildings in the evening and the next day was devoted to visiting certain great industries and charitable institutions. On June 20th the foundation-stone of new Government Railway offices was laid amid torrents of rain and then the departure was made for Christchurch which was reached in a few hours amid the welcome of pealing bells, cheering people and roaring guns. Here the foundation-stone of a statue of Queen Victoria was laid in the presence of a great throng of people. The Sunday sermon of next day was preached by the Bishop of Christchurch and, on Monday, June 24th, a review of eleven thousand troops was held (including three thousand cadets) in the presence of sixty thousand spectators. A feature of the drive to the review ground was a welcome sung by eight thousand school children. A luncheon to the war veterans was also given here and militant New Zealand was well represented in the speeches.

Dunedin was reached by train on the following evening and in the Royal saloon the Hon. John Mackenzie—whose health had prevented him attending the formal ceremony at Wellington—was knighted by the Duke and personally invested with his Order. The city was found to be spanned everywhere with arches. Several functions were combined here and His Royal Highness received addresses in a special pavilion, presented medals and inspected the veterans. The Corporation address was in a box modelled after a Maori meeting-house and made of gold, silver and bronze. Another military luncheon followed and in the afternoon a children's demonstration was attended and the Pastoral and Horticultural Shows visited. At Lyttleton, on the following day, another foundation-stone of a Queen Victoria statue was laid and then the Royal couple left for Tasmania after the Duke had issued a farewell address speaking of the enthusiasm of his reception, the loyal and military spirit of the people, the splendid qualities of the Maoris and the exquisite beauty of New Zealand scenery.