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| W-class tram for the royal garage |
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By Dan Silkstone
JUST what do you give a recently wed royal couple who have good looks, charm, the odd castle and a collection of wedding gifts ranging from the lavish to the bizarre? When it set about finding a goodwill gift for Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, the Victorian Government's choice was simple: say it with a tram. Next month, Transport Minister Peter Batchelor will present one of the city's iconic W-class trams to Australia's favourite Scandinavian royals. Danish Consul-General Jorgen Mollegaard Kristensen will accept on behalf of Prince Frederik and Princess Mary. The Government had hoped to present the gift during the royal visit in March but could not get it restored in time. The fully functioning green and yellow tram - restored at a cost of $25,000 - will now be shipped to Denmark by the end of the year. The royal couple will garage their new set of wheels at the Danish Tramways Museum - described by Mr Bachelor as "one of the finest museums of its type in the world". The museum is based in one of Denmark's grandest castles, 40 kilometres from Copenhagen. "As a former Melbourne resident, the princess is very familiar with our trams and we hope the gift brings back fond memories for her," said Mr Batchelor - predicting that the presence of a Melbourne transport icon in the Danish capital would "further cement the growing relationship between our two cities". The princess grew up in Tasmania but worked briefly in Melbourne as an advertising executive in the 1990s. All W-class trams were removed from service in 2000 amid concerns about their brakes following several accidents. About 50 were modified and later returned to service but most of the remaining 180 trams, including the new royal gift, have languished in storage at the Newport Tram Depot. Mr Kristensen said the royal couple were "quite impressed" by the present. "It's a very big gift," he said. "This is a piece of history from Victoria and we have a nice collection of trams from around the world. We needed one from Australia and now we have got it." The largesse does not stop at the Australian border. Danish shipping line Maersk has agreed to transport the tram to Denmark free of charge, waiving the estimated bill of $40,000. While trams are no longer in active service in Copenhagen, some stretches of track remain and the Consul-General said the W-class would return to the rails to give rides on special occasions, such as festivals and holidays. Perhaps it will simply be used for the ultimate Sunday drive. "It belongs to the royal couple and they can use it whenever they wish," Mr Kristensen said. "They are looking forward to trying it in the near future." Mary and Frederik are no strangers to unorthodox gifts. At their May 2004 wedding the royal couple received thousands of presents from wellwishers around the world and besotted Danish subjects. Among them were five automobiles, a lawnmower emblazoned with the royal insignia and (a problem familiar to many newlyweds) multiple dinner settings. Other gifts included a gold-covered shrine, valued at nearly $400,000 and a kinky board game called "Erotic 4 Real". Amid such a rich variety of offerings, perhaps receiving a tram from the other side of the world might not seem so strange after all. Tilbage til Pressemeddelelse |
