A LETTER to be presented to W A Lee, president of the NZ Counties Association, to help him get beyond the police line to farewell Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh from their stay at Waitomo Caves Hotel. SUPPLIED BY WAITOMO MUSEUM OF CAVES
THE visit of Queen Elizabeth II during her worldwide tour of all of the nations of the Commonwealth during her coronation year of 1953 is still remembered by those who were there. There was no part of the King Country that wasn’t touched by this, and future visits she made. And for some, a lifelong connection that only ceased with the participants passing. From the buildings and structures that were hastily erected along the route she and her entourage took, to the special features and people that she took the time to explore and/or appreciate, we look at how proud the King Country was to host Her Majesty. Thanks to the museums of the district, to those with personal photo collections and to those who provided printed magazines and papers for us to use. TO prepare for Queen Elizabeth II’s first tour of New Zealand, Waitomo Caves Hotel was renovated, redecorated and underwent extensive security checks. The hotel’s manager Frank Swift put into words his memories of the royal visit in 1953, provided to King Country News by Waitomo Museum of Caves. Her Majesty arrived on New Year’s Eve to a stairway decorated with flowers and trout on the menu for dinner. Police inspected every room of the hotel prior to her arrival and were stationed at each door which led to the royal suite right throughout her stay. Frank wrote that as the Queen was accompanied to her quarters she commented about the aroma from the magnolia tree outside. After lunch she visited the “top cave.”
TANGIWAI DISASTER While she was there, the Duke of Edinburgh was travelling from the funeral of the victims of the Tangiwai disaster, which he had attended that day. Both the Queen and the Duke visited the glow worm cave, Frank wrote. At dinner they were served by the hotel’s head waitress Mona Fiori, who had so impressed Her Majesty’s butler at lunch that she was asked to return for the dinner service. “The Queen and Duke did not appear after dinner, much to the disappointment of all,” Frank wrote. The following morning they had breakfast in their own quarters but the Queen requested all staff be allowed to line up outside for her departure. “We were told not to speak first and to my [horror] the chef started to tell the Queen that he worked for the Queen Mother when she stayed in Nelson as Duchess of York,” Frank wrote. “Her reponse: ‘Really?’” FAUX PAS Frank told of a faux pas where the chef passed behind the line in hopes of getting a photo of the Queen and stationed himself behind a curtseying woman. “The chef’s camera strap which was long, caught [the woman’s] shoe heel and she struggled to regain upright position. Nearly fell. Naturally she was furious. “I don’t know whether the photo was taken.” The whole visit very nearly didn’t happen, as just a month prior to Her Majesty’s arrival Frank was away on a manager’s conference. His mother, who stayed at the hotel while he was gone, woke one night to smoke coming out of the staff bar. The fire started in beer crate boxes and was contained by the doorway to the bar. “It was a lucky escape as the old building could have been demolished, being built entirely of wood,” Frank wrote.
Anecdotes I WAS 15-years-old at the time, and I worked at Peter Pan bakery. In my lunchbreak, I walked over and stood by the former Plunket Rooms (now the i-Site) and saw her drive past. She was just beautiful, her complexion peaches and cream.’ – Fay Pascoe.
‘SHE came in 1954, at Christmas and I remember that because it was only a couple of months after [my wife and I] got married. We came into the reception at Te Kūiti – it was a big crowd – very big. The town was fair buzzing that day, I can tell you. There were lots of things you could buy in those days, and the mattress we bought back then had the Queen’s emblem on it – it lasted right through until about 10 years ago! It was all done down in front of the railway station, they built temporary grandstands and all that sort of thing. She was in town overnight, but stayed at Waitomo Hotel, because there wasn’t one in town at the time. She was young and beautiful, that’s what everyone remembers.’ – Russell Aldridge
‘I REMEMBER this side of the 8 Mile, there were cars backed right up. Coming in, mum had to make an emergency stop, and ended up running into the back of the car in front of her. She had to get the radiator filled up and had to go home! But she still managed to get to see her. So did I – I was only six years old.’ – Trevor Jones.
‘It is with sadness we have received the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth ll. As the Monarch of the British Commonwealth, in a time faced with so many challenges and change she has remained steadfast in her duty as the Queen and retained her grace and dignity throughout her tenure. She will be remembered fondly, as her legacy will remain a large part of British history.” – Max Baxter mayor of Ōtorohanga.
Ngati Rora kaumatua Puni Bell was nine years old when Queen Elizabeth arrived in 1954. “I think I can remember being down the primary school waiting for the Queen to drive by. We were all given a flag and told to wave it as she went past.”
“After 70 years of service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, our council joins other councils to pay our respects to a monarch who reigned with such devotion and dignity, upholding her constitutional duties as Head of State. I was privileged to meet Queen Elizabeth at Parliament in 1995, when she visited our country to convene the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. On that visit she opened the refurbished Parliament buildings, and met with the Māori Queen, Te Arikinui, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, personally delivering an apology from the British Crown to the Tainui people. She leaves a legacy of service with humility, an example to us all. May she rest in peace.” – John Robertson, mayor of Waitomo
“She appreciates someone who just is natural. She’s just like you and I. When we’d have an audience at Windsor we’d just talk generally about things and the corgis were pushing on your legs.” – June Ferguson
BELOW: Street scenes in Te Kūiti during her coronation tour of 1952.
