Plaque to be laid to remember Queen's visit to Te Awamutu

Te Awamutu mayor Cliff Jacobs introduces Kihikihi Town Board chairman Gus Maunder, and his wife Nina, to the Queen and Prince Phillip in 1954. Photo / Archive

For more than a century Te Awamutu residents have shared a unique bond with our royal family and next year there are plans to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee with a plaque.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch to visit Te Awamutu, but the relationship began in 1850 when our sovereign Queen Victoria set a precedent in responding to the gifts of two Waikato chiefs with gifts of her own (two lithographs - one of which is in the Te Awamutu Museum collection).

About five years later she is believed to have gifted the stained glass windows to St John's Anglican Church.

From the 1901 tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall (later George V and Queen Mary) to the present day, the people of our town have had a role to play in royal tours of New Zealand, be it as spectators, royal chauffeurs, or police protection.

The first royal known to pass through Te Awamutu was Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) when his train passed through our station in 1920, en route to New Plymouth. A waiting crowd of locals were cheerily waving flags and hoping to catch a glimpse of their future King as his train sped by.

Edward's niece, Elizabeth II, actually stopped in Te Awamutu as part of her royal tour of 1953/54 - visiting on New Year's Day 1954 to a huge reception.

At the moment there is a crowd-funding campaign under way to erect a plaque (which has been approved by the Queen herself) on the old Te Awamutu Post Office building to preserve the memory of her historic visit and to celebrate her 2022 Platinum Jubilee.

The fundraising sits at about $2000, with $1000 left to raise.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, is accompanied to Te Awamutu's St John's Church on May 1, 1966 by Waitomo MP and Minister of Internal Affairs David Seath and Reverend Ron Bambury. Photo / Archive

Just over a decade after the Queen's visit to Te Awamutu her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, also visited Te Awamutu.

She and her husband, King George VI, had planned to visit Cambridge in 1949 with their younger daughter, Princess Margaret, but the King's ill-health prevented the visit.

Over the years Te Awamutu residents have travelled far and wide to be part of subsequent royal visits, including to Cambridge in 2014 where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and future King and Queen, were given a Civic Reception.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, laying Loving Memory roses from Te Awamutu Rose Gardens on the Cambridge War Memorial in 2014. Photo / Michael Craig

To help preserve this particular piece of history, donations can be made at the Te Awamutu RSA or givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-to-preserve-a-piece-of-te-awamutu-history