They then returned to Lyttelton via the same route before embarking for Tasmania on 27 June 1901 on HMS Ophir, a purposely converted ocean liner of the Orient Line.
[2] George V's eldest son Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David (Edward VIII), Prince of Wales used the same train to travel from Auckland to Rotorua on 27 April 1920.
He stayed there on HMS Renown, Britain's newest and largest battleship at the time, until he finally travelled in the Royal train to Wellington on 5 May 1920.
[3] George VI and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, travelled by train and car to Rotorua on 24 February 1927, where a World War I memorial was unveiled.
The Duke travelled alone by train and car to Christchurch on the west coast, where he received the Freedom of the City.