The Royal Tour
p. 10 · Read in the full issue
A massed choir will sing, the traditional Maori challenge will be issued and special platforms, reserved for high chiefs, will be used as a mode of royal transport when Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips arrive in Rarotonga on January 28 next year.
The Queen will open the new international airport at Rarotonga the following day then fly with her party to New Zealand, where she will close the Commonwealth Games at Christchurch.
The royal tour will also take in Norfolk Island, the Solomons and Papua New Guinea, all reached in the Royal Yacht Britannia, but Princess Anne and husband Mark Phillips will not be with the Queen.
They fly back to England from Auckland on February 8. The preli minary itinerary is: Rarotonga, Jan 28; Christchurch, Jan 30; Close Commonwealth Games, Feb 2; Norfolk Island, Feb 11; BSIP, Feb 19; Bougainville, Feb 22; New Britain, Feb 23; fly to Goroka, Feb 24; fly to Port Moresby, Feb 25; fly from Port Moresby to Canberra, Feb 27.