Australia -- Description and travel; New Zealand -- Description and travel; Windsor, Edward, Duke of, 1894-1972
The Royal party left Auckland in three railway trains, a pilot, a main,
and an emergency, the Prince and staff travelling in the middle one. The
New Zealand Government was represented by Sir William Fraser, Minister
of the Interior, a Highland Scotchman from the South Island. Official
appointments to accompany the tour were happily made throughout, but
never more than in this instance, where the extraordinary kindliness and
charm of the Minister of the Interior enhanced the great volume of his
experience, to the pleasure and profit of every member of the party.
Another of those present was General Sir Edward Chaytor, commanding the
forces in New Zealand, a soldier whose world reputation has not in any
way interfered with the simplest manner and the most delighted
directness of mind. It was his function to present to the Prince the
military side of New Zealand life, a side which was represented at every
centre visited, alike by surprisingly large numbers of returned soldiers
from the forces which gave such splendid account of themselves in the
great war, and by considerable bodies of smartly turned-out territorials
and cadets. Accompanying General Chaytor was Colonel Sleeman, also a
remarkable personality, to whose initiative is largely due the system of
cadet-training now in force in New Zealand, a system which is doing
wonders in the matter of infusing the best public-school spirit into
previously unkempt national schoolboys and larrikins, teaching them to
play the game, giving them a pride in themselves, and interesting them
in physical culture, and in the duties of citizenship, so that their
parents have become as keen as themselves that they should go through
the courses. Another of the party was Mr. James Hislop, Permanent
Under-Secretary of the Interior, one of the ablest members of that fine
body, the New Zealand civil service, who organized the arrangements of
the tour, and whose irrepressible humour, good fellowship, and infinity
of resource, in disposing of what seemed to most of us an utterly
overwhelming burden of work, were a continual wonder to everybody upon
the train. No less important amongst those outstanding figures of the
New Zealand party, was Mr. R. W. McVilly, General Manager of the
railways of the country, a man who with his predecessor, Mr. E. H.
Hiley, has succeeded in doing in New Zealand what proved impossible, in
England and in the United States. Under their direction the railway
system of the Dominion was carried on throughout the war without break
in management and without making any loss. It did not take travellers
long to discover the affection and respect in which the Director-General
was held, not only by his colleagues, but by all who came in contact
with him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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