The Queen Sees Her Islands

By a staff writer

Back in cold old Britain in March, in the centre of a political crisis and a fuel shortage, Queen Elizabeth was warming herself no doubt on the memories of her royal tour of the South Pacific.

She was forced unexpectedly to return to London because of the political crisis, and as a result had to cancel the major part of her Australian tour, and a tour of Indo nesia. But she did complete the month-long Islands sector, which was satisfying for her and the peo ple she visited.

It was something more than a routine royal progress—this visit she made to the Cook Islands, Norfolk Island, the New Hebrides, the Brit ish Solomons and Papua New Guinea. Prince Philip had been urg ing her to do it for years. He himself has travelled widely and mostly well off the beaten track since he and the Queen first visited Tonga and Fiji . together 20 years ago. He’s very well-informed on the Islands, As the Queen said in Port Moresby, “Although this is my first visit to Papua New Guinea, I have been well prepared by my husband, who has been here twice already, and my son, who came here while he was at school in Australia, and I’m delighted to have been able to confirm their glowing accounts for myself”.

Most times on her tour the Queen was accompanied by Philip, Princess Anne and her husband, Captain Mark Phillips, and Lord Louis Mountbatten.

In the Cooks the Queen was greeted by 10,000 warriors, including 100 high ranking chiefs, then borne aloft by burly warriors on an ata, a portable throne reserved for high chiefs and royalty. There was a two seater version for Princess Anne and

Captain Phillips. After welcoming

speeches by High Commissioner, Mr G. Brocklehurst, and Premier, Sir Albert Henry, the Queen knighted Sir Albert in a quick, private cere mony in the old terminal building, attended by only 27 members of the

Henry family.

The next day, she officially opened Rarotonga’s new $l4 million jetport, cautioning the Cook Islanders to guard their traditions against the in fluences of the jet-age world, before flying to the Commonwealth Games at Christchurch—leaving Sir Albert

wondering how to foot the bill for the 28-hour royal visit . . . $40,000.

Perhaps NZ would help?

On Norfolk Island, which has no wharf, the sea was in an exception ally bad temper thanks to the pass ing of cyclone Pam, but skilled boat men descended from the Bounty mutineers got the Queen and her party ashore in 20ft government launches without so much as a wet foot, and ahead of schedule.

Said senior boatman, Richard Douran: “The Queen was a better sailor than half the others we took from the yacht during the day!”

The Royal party picnicked inform ally in the grounds of Government House with about half the island’s population but cancelled dinner and returned early to the Britannia through rising seas, leaving the Ad ministrator, Air Commodore Pickerd, with enough roast lamb to last a month.

A short shipboard spell, then on to Vila where three New Hebrideans, not affiliated with any political party, quietly raised a banner to the Queen reading: “You are not our Queen. We are stateless. We are un protected. We are fed up”—a pretty accurate criticism of the condo minium which didn’t appear to up set anyone. There was concern among the royal party later, how ever, when they witnessed the remarkable Pentecost land divers and saw one man crash head first into the ground when the vines about his ankles broke. He died two days later.

A French writer in a local news paper wrote this about the Queen’s visit to the New Hebrides: “The Empire has crumbled. Indeed the Empire is dead. But the Royal Family remains—for the British, a factor in their stability. But what did the royal family’s visit mean?

For the great majority of New Heb rideans, a warm curiosity”.

And for a select few, an honour bestowed by the Queen. French Resident Commissioner, Mr Robert Langlois, was made an honorary Commander of the Royal Victorian Order; Mr Michael Townsend, As sistant British Resident Commiss ioner, and Mr Anthony Worner, Royal Visit Co-ordinator, were named Members of the order, and Messrs Silas Manggu and Andre Djamouth, both British Residency

staff members, received the Royal Victorian Medal.

Further north in the Solomons there wasn’t just warm curiosity— there was great excitement, large crowds, spirited dancing (mostly in teeming rain) and enthusiastic ex pressions of loyalty.

But the crowds could never equal in size those of Papua New Guinea, where the Queen was clearly wel come, even by those politicians so fervently nationalistic as to be anti white. The royal visit began in Bou gainville where hundreds of spear carrying warriors greeted “Mrs Queen”. The Royal party was greeted by Chief Minister Michael Somare and Australian High Com missioner Les Johnson and intro duced to local leaders and MPs, among them Paul Lapun and Don natus Mola. Absent were Father John Momis, Bougainville’s Regional member and outspoken critic of the Bougainville Copper company, who said, “Sorry, too busy”, and Raphael Bele, the Bougainville Central mem ber who said nothing from his village three miles away!

Unofficially greeting the Queen were a Buka Islander who presented a secessionist petition to intervening hands and a colourful local eccen tric who changed his mind and gave his homemade flag to Mr Somare instead.

On to Rabaul, where a crowd of thousands gave the royal family a subdued welcome—they were dis appointed that the Queen was wear ing street clothes and not a crown and robes!

Then Goroka, where about 8,000 tribesmen who had come from as far as 200 miles away put on the biggest display of finery and war dances seen in the Highlands. Royal cameras clicked away as Asaro mud men, moss men in green fuzz and Tufa men in towering headgear per formed their art. Lord Snowdon will be jealous.

In Port Moresby an estimated

50,000 shouting and waving people

lined the route from the airport to the town. There was no support for the lone voice of Miss Josephine Abaijah, who wanted to make a political issue out of this tour, des cribing it as an affront to the Papuan and nothing but a colonial stunt.

(Pictures over page)