Queen Elizabeth leaving Moose Lodge to continue her 1954 tour. Photo / Supplied
"The Queen has stayed there."
This is what Bevin Cavey's grandmother told him when he was first given a job at Lake Rotoiti's Moose Lodge.
Since coming to work at Moose Lodge, Cavey has learned much more about Queen Elizabeth's five-day stay there during her tour of New Zealand in 1954.
"Her time at Moose Lodge was just R&R (rest and recreation)," Cavey told the Rotorua Daily Post.
"It was a break between the formal engagements she had."
While staying at Moose Lodge, the Queen made several trips out onto Lake Rotoiti in the lodge's boat called the Moose which was owned by Sir Noel Cole.
"The Queen would take the Moose out onto Lake Rotoiti," Cavey said.
"I was told by people who were present that there were a large number of other boaties on the lake who tried to get a glimpse of the young queen."
In the two decades that Cavey has been working at Moose Lodge, Cavey has been told story after story by the lodge's guests who could remember the Queen's stay.
"I've had many guests visit the lodge during my life here and many of them were present when the Queen arrived," Cavey said.
"For example, the honourable Paul East, a former MP of the area, said he remembered as a small boy waving a flag when the Queen arrived at the gate."
Cavey has also met a man who played in a string quartet during the Queen's stay at the lodge.
"The quartet were requested to play for the queen by Noel Cole while she stayed here, Cavey said.
"They had to borrow the friend's hearse to transport all of the musical equipment.
"But there were concerns about worrying the Queen so they were asked to park at the back of the lodge where she wouldn't be able to see the hearse."
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Construction on what is now known as Moose Lodge began in 1898.
The Lodge now has three suites named for its royal visitors. The Queen Suite was named after Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1954.
The Prince and Princess suites got their name from a subsequent visit from Princess Anne and then Prince Charles.
"A lot of people remember the Queen out on the lake in the evenings," Cavey said.
"Some say she'd be sipping a gin and tonic but I'm not so sure about the accuracy of that."
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