The Crown in New Zealand

Television (Full Length) – 1970

There have been many royal visits since Prince Alfred first came to NZ in 1867 for pig hunting and picnicking. Made for TV (it screened in March 1970), this NFU title surveys tours from George V in 1901 to Queen Elizabeth II in 1963, via archive footage and photos. It also looks at NZ’s changing relationship to the “distant mother country”. Tours include the Prince of Wales in 1920 (he is said to have shaken 20,000 hands), the Duke and Duchess of York in 1927 (the footage is silent so there’s no speech from the future King George VI), and Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953-54 Coronation Tour.

He found New Zealanders calm, law-abiding and industrious, and heard no trace of a local accent in their speech. In short he thought New Zealanders very British, describing them as 'enthusiastic but restrained'.
– From the narration, on Prince Edward's 1920 tour