TWO ROYAL STATUES UNVEILED
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Two statues of Royalty one of King Edward and the other of the Prince of Wales (now King George)—were unveiled on the same day, February 6, 1907, by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, when he visited Hongkong for the second time. The following is extracted from the S.G.M. Post of the following day:
At 10.30 o'clock the Queen's Square was lined with soldiers who kept back the eager crowds. The big stands on either side of the square were filled with onlookers, and the bright costumes of the ladies seemed to harmonise with the brilliance of the military and naval full-dress. The white-sheeted statues were the objects of curiosity, and many glances were directed at the gaily-decked enclosures reserved for Royalty. As the ceremony did not take place until 11.30, in accordance with the official programme, the hundreds of spectators whiled away the time by watching the clustering Chinese on the skeleton of the new Law Courts, and listened to the music provided by the 3rd Middlesex Regimental Band. Occasionally a patch of colour heralded the arrival of some new dignitary.
Soon after the appointed hour the small mounts of the Volunteer troop entered the square in neat array. The command "Slope arms!" ran along the lines of waiting soldiery, and then the strains of the National Anthem and the braying of the band announced the arrival of the Royal Party. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess and Princess Patricia, were accompanied by General Maxwell, the Governor (Sir Matthew Nathan) General Broadwood, Sir Paul Chater, Hon. Mr. W.J. Gresson, Hon. Mr. G. Chater, Captain Ponsonby (A.D.C. to H.R.H.), Captains Ogle, Armstrong, and Coleman, and Mr. T.F. Hough.
The statue nearest to the Praya was the first unveiled. The Duke pulled the cord leading from the enclosure to the white coverings, and a splendid figure of His Majesty the King stood revealed. H.R.H. raised his hand to the salute, the troops presented arms, the band played "God Save the King," and the crowded galleries stood, bareheaded. Then three hearty cheers, led by Mr. Hough, resounded. The city was the richer by a fine work of art which must prove a stimulus to patriotism.
Sir Paul Chater read the following address, to which the Royal Party listened with marked attention and appreciation:—"Your Royal Highness,—In 1887 Hongkong as well as all other parts of the British Empire celebrated the jubilee of your illustrious Mother, our beloved late Queen Victoria. It was then decided that one of the most fitting ways by which we could commemorate the event was by the erection by public subscription of a statue of Her Majesty to be placed in some suitable position in the Colony. In due time it became my honour, as Chairman of the Jubilee Committee, to ask Sir William Robinson, the Governor of the Colony at the time, to perform the ceremony of unveiling the statue which now stands in the centre of this Square. On that occasion the idea occurred to me of endeavouring to further embellish the Square by statues of our reigning sovereign whom may God long preserve, our beloved Queen Alexandra and Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. The statues of His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales you are asked to unveil to-day. The statue of Her Majesty Queen Alexandra has been subscribed for by the Community of the Colony as a fitting memorial of the Coronation of Their Majesties in 1902, and we hope shortly to see it erected and in place. Happy to be now in a position to state that my friend and partner, Mr. H.N. Mody, has offered to present to this Colony the statue of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales and the permission of His Majesty the King for its erection is being sought.
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