The Life of King Edward VII
legislating, planning decorating and preparing for the visit of the Heir
to the British Throne and his wife; the dormant loyalty of years,
aroused and developed by the events of the war and the despatch of
thousands of troops to the front, had grown to a white-heat of interest
and excitement; the completion of confederation and the union of the
Colonies in one great Commonwealth, which was now to be marked by the
opening of the first Federal Parliament and stamped through this visit
with Royal approval and British sympathy, enhanced the public interest.
There was a great and stately setting at Melbourne for the functions
which graced the occasion and, as the _Ophir_ rested in the waters of
the bay, surrounded by British and foreign warships, with roaring
salutes and a myriad of fluttering flags, there were excellent scenic
preliminaries to the impressive landing ceremonies. From the St. Kilda
Pier, through miles of beautiful, decorated streets, great arches and
hundreds of thousands of cheering people, the Royal couple passed to
Government House, welcomed also on the way by a gathering of thirty-five
thousand school children singing "God Save the King."
The whole spectacle was an extraordinary one. Mr. E. F. Knight,
correspondent of the London _Morning Post_ said that "it was a day of
splendid pageants, stirring and impressive, and the extraordinary
enthusiasm of the ovation given to the Duke and Duchess by the hundreds
of thousands of Australians who packed the streets along the entire
eight miles of route must ever stand out vivid in the memory of all who
witnessed it." Mr. W. Maxwell, the correspondent of the _Standard_,
declared that: "I have seen many Royal progresses but never have I seen
one more hearty and spontaneous than that of the multitude of
well-dressed men, women and children who thronged the streets daily for
nearly two weeks." The scheme of decorations was splendid, the triumphal
arches were authoritatively stated to be better and more numerous than
anything yet seen in London itself, the gathering of Australian troops
lining the streets was representative and effective, the spectators were
almost everywhere dressed in black or dark clothing as a tribute to the
late Queen, the evening illuminations were on a magnificent
scale--buildings and arches and decorations being a flashing, gleaming
mass of light and fire and varied brightness. A state dinner was given
at Government House by Lord Hopetoun in the evening and, on the
succeeding day, a great Levee was held and addresses received. All the
leaders of Australian life and society were presented and every form or
phase of loyalty was embodied in the addresses presented from public
institutions. Another state dinner followed at Government House and on
May 8th the University of Melbourne was visited and an honorary degree
conferred upon His Royal Highness. A great procession of various trade
and labour associations was then witnessed and the third day of the
visit concluded with a well-managed and stately Royal reception at
Government House.
OPENING OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT
On May 9th the central ceremony of the tour was performed and a new
British Commonwealth started upon its national course. The streets
through which the Royal progress was made were packed with enthusiastic
masses of people; the great Exhibition Building in which the Parliament
of Australia was to be formally inaugurated was filled with twelve
thousand persons, representative of every form of Australian life and
character and achievement; the scheme of decoration--blue and golden
yellow and chocolate--was effective and bright, the black and white and
purple of the universal mourning was brightened here and there amongst
the people by scattering bits of uniform in blue and scarlet and gold.
At noon, the distant sound of cheers and the blare of trumpets announced
the approach of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Amidst the
strains of the National Anthem, and accompanied by the Governor-General
and Countess of Hopetoun, they took their places upon the dais. Around
the King's son and his wife were all the leaders of Australia; in front
of them, the Parliament, the classes and a substantial section of the
masses. The Earl of Hopetoun read some formal prayers and then gave
place to His Royal Highness who, in clear and distinct tones read his
speech to Parliament and the people. In it he spoke of himself as
fulfilling the wish of the late Queen Victoria and his father, the King,
and as representing their deep interest in Australia and warm
appreciation of Australian help in the war and loyalty to the Crown. Of
the future, His Majesty felt assured.
"The King is satisfied that the wisdom and patriotism which have
characterized the exercise of the wide powers of self-government
hitherto enjoyed by the Colonies will continue to be displayed in
the exercise of the still wider powers with which the United
Commonwealth has been endowed. His Majesty feels assured that the
enjoyment of these powers will, if possible, enhance that loyalty
and devotion to his Throne and Empire of which the people of
Australia have already given such signal proofs. It is His
Majesty's earnest prayer that this union, so happily achieved, may,
under God's blessing, prove an instrument for still further
promoting the welfare and advancement of his subjects in Australia,
and for the strengthening and consolidation of his Empire."
The Duke then declared the Parliament open in the name and on behalf of
his Majesty. He also read a cablegram just received from the King: "My
thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Most
fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and happiness." The members of
Parliament then took the oath of allegiance administered by Lord
Hopetoun. Meanwhile, as His Royal Highness declared the Houses of
Parliament open, and while the immense standing audience was making the
building echo with a mighty cheer, the Duchess touched an electric
button, and from every school-house in the Commonwealth there waved the
Union Jack as a sign that the great function was completed. Amidst
cheering multitudes the Royal couple then drove back to Government
House. In the evening a brilliant concert was given under the auspices
of the Commonwealth Government. On the following day fifteen thousand
Australian troops were reviewed in the presence of one hundred and forty
thousand people--infantry, mounted men, engineers, army service corps,
army medical corps, ambulance corps and cadets--representative of all
the States and of all branches of the system together with blue-jackets
and marines from the Royal Navy.
Then came a state dinner at Government House. On May 11th an afternoon
reception was given by the Victorian Government and Parliament at the
same place, and on Monday May 13th, His Royal Highness and the Duchess
visited the famous golden city of Ballarat, inspected one of its great
mines and laid the foundation-stone of a monument to Australian soldiers
who had fallen in South Africa. Tuesday saw an interesting
school-children's fete and a reception by the Mayor and Corporation of
Melbourne. On May 14th, Their Royal Highnesses presented prizes to the
scholars of the united Grammar Schools of Victoria, and the Prince spoke
to the boys of the stately and historical events of the past few days.
"Keep up your traditions and think with pride of those educated in your
schools who have become distinguished public servants of the state, or
who have fought, or are still fighting, for the Empire in South Africa."
To another great gathering of twenty thousand children the Duke was both
eloquent and impressive. "May your lives be happy and prosperous, but
do not forget that the youngest of us have responsibilities which
increase as time goes on. If I may offer you advice I should say: Be
thorough, do your level best in whatever work you may be called upon to
perform. Remember that we are all fellow-subjects of the British Crown.
Be loyal, yes, to your parents, your country, your King and your God."
After a rousing farewell from the people of Melbourne, a special train
was taken on May 18th by the Royal couple for the capital of Queensland.
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 Levee, 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 Levee 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