Joyce Stubbing, 100 years old, signs the condolence book at Whangārei Central Library accompanied by her daughter Patricia Stubbing. Photo / Tania Whyte
Joyce Stubbing, 100 years old, signs the condolence book at Whangārei Central Library accompanied by her daughter Patricia Stubbing. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northlanders leaving messages of condolence for the Royal Family include a woman who received a card from the Queen for her 100th birthday and another who watched her arrive in the Bay of Islands in 1963.
Joyce Stubbing, 100, of Whangārei, insisted on going to the city's central library yesterday so she could pen a message of sympathy following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Daughter Patricia Stubbing said her mother had been around for all Queen Elizabeth's life, and a bit more, so she thought it was "pretty special" to be acknowledged with a card from the Queen when she turned 100 in December.
The family sometimes jokingly called her Queen Joyce because of her resemblance to the British monarch.
"She has a great deal of respect for the Queen. She was an amazing person really."
Ōhaeawai's Matireamakura Allen - who was born the same year Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne - signs the condolence book at Procter Library in Kerikeri. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Meanwhile, Matireamakura Allen, of Ōhaeawai, travelled to Kerikeri to sign the condolence book at Procter Library.
"I'm a royalist. I think she was a real people person. She went out of her way to talk to everyone, young and old, it didn't matter. When I heard of her passing I was sad and all the memories came back."
Allen was born in 1952, the same year Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne and a year before her coronation.
Her first and most vivid memory of the Queen was in 1963 when her whole family went to Te Haumi, near Paihia, to have a picnic on the beach and watch the royal yacht Britannia sail past on its way to Ōpua.
"My mum and dad loved the Queen and the Duke, and so did my grandparents. I think a lot of Māori families did back then," she said.
Her collection of royal memorabilia included a King George VI coronation book from 1937, a Queen Elizabeth II cup and saucer, Lady Diana mementoes and "all sorts of taonga".
After signing the condolence book she planned to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and leave some putiputi (flowers) under a pōhutukawa planted by the Queen in 1953.
Another royal fan, who was eight years old at the time, wrote in the Kerikeri condolence book about "a lovely memory" of being just three feet away from the Queen during a walkabout in 1953; another wrote simply "Moe Mai i Roto i Te Ariki" (Rest in Peace with The Lord).
The condolence book at Kerikeri's Procter Library. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Condolence books are available at various locations around Northland including the foyer of Whangārei Central Library on Rust Ave; Procter Library on Cobham Ave, Kerikeri; Te Ahu Centre, at the corner of SH1 and Matthews Ave, Kaitaia; the Far North District Council offices on Memorial Ave, Kaikohe; and Kaipara District Council offices on Hokianga Rd, Dargaville, and Molesworth Drive, Mangawhai.
Most will be available until the public holiday on September 26 known as Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day.
Advice is being sought from the Governor-General's office about getting the condolence books to the Royal Family.
