Residents share royal memories
Queen’s ‘unselfish service’ praised
Pa¯pa¯moa’s Donna Lloyd has paid tribute to the Queen’s service to the Commonwealth and shared her special memories of meeting her during her Bay of Plenty visits.
Donna, 55, said she was 10 when she met the Queen during a royal walkabout at the Government Gardens in Rotorua.
She said that in 1976, she, then 8-year-old sister Petrina, and their mother travelled by special coach from Tokoroa to Rotorua just to meet the Queen.
“It was awesome. She was only a little lady, but there was something very special about her, and she made me feel special just being in her presence.”
Donna said at the Queen’s walkabout at the Government Gardens they were in the front row and as she approached them, her younger sister yelled “Hello Queen”.
“The Queen broke out into laughter and my mother managed to take a photograph of her doing so and someone passed her a rose, and I still have those photographs.”
Donna said the Queen’s legacy would be one of “unwavering faith and unselfish service to the Commonwealth”.
“Not many people in the world can say they dedicated their whole life to serving other people and our Queen was still doing that right to the end, which is incredible.”
Two residents of Te Puke’s CHT Glynavon rest home and hospital also have special memories from the Queen’s visits to New Zealand.
Noella recalls being at a bach at Waitangi when the Queen came to visit.
“We jumped in the row boat and rowed down the Waitangi River and stopped by the bridge and got out of the boat,” she said.
“We stood on the bridge and the Queen’s car stopped right beside me — I remember being very amazed at her beautiful smooth skin.”
Catherine was in her mid teens at the time of her encounter with the Queen.
“I was about 15 or 16, it was January 1954 and I worked at CM Ross in Palmerston North in the upholstery section,” she said. “We were all running around making the place look spick and span. We were in our work clothes but we polished up for the day. We were allowed to go and look when she was arriving, then the Queen walked past us to go to the tea room on the second floor.”
■ There is a book of condolence available for people to sign at Te Puke Library and Service Centre, or online at the royal family website — www. royal.co.uk