Duchess recognised for service to families affected by violence

Kaikōura has used the visit of Prince Charles today as an opportunity to showcase what the town is all about.

The prince has spent four hours in the seaside settlement on the last day of his six day tour of New Zealand.

The Duchess of Cornwall, who has accompanied him throughout his trip, stayed in Christchurch today.

After a walkabout through the main street where he met some of the 600 locals out to grab a glimpse of the royal visitor, Prince Charles was taken through a series of displays at the Memorial Hall, entitled 'The Future is Bright'.

"We designed it from the past, to the present and the future," organiser Joanna York said.

"The past starts with the earthquake and moves on through and goes to the innovation that came out of the earthquake, local artists and then in to where the future's going."

Part of that future involved the re-opening of the quake damaged Mayfair theatre.

The president of Kaikōura community theatre, John Wyatt, had a display complete with a plan for what the new theatre would look like once the $3.6 million project was completed in 12 months time.

He said the final hurdle was raising another $350,000 to complete the job.

"The basic services are in, which is really very exciting, we hope the roof is going to be on in about March and then we just go for gold from there."

One of the artists displaying their works, Susie Baker, who created images using an old form of photography, said art played an important part in helping children take their minds off the quakes.

"It was that coming together and bringing parts of the community that don't normally come together, with no stress ... it was just about coming together and making some art."

The women from the Kaikōura Bowling Club did their bit, baking cakes and whipping up sandwiches in case the prince had time for a cup of tea and a bight to eat.

The club's president, Carol Reardon, said they had been busy all morning making a feast fit for a king in waiting.

"We've got sandwiches, egg, and ham and mustard, cheese and pineapple, and then we've got the world famous in Kaikōura cinnamon oysters made by Viv Butcher."

While Prince Charles was running late and didn't have time for afternoon tea at the hall, RNZ can report the cinnamon oysters, a cinnamon sponge with a cream centre, were delicious.

Joanna York said the visit was good for the town.

"I think it's excellent we get to be seen in a positive light now as opposed to being a bit traumatised," she said.

Earlier in the day, Prince Charles was greeted with a traditional Māori welcome at Takahanga Marae in Kaikōura.

He met members of the marae who were involved in helping house and feed the hundreds of tourists trapped in Kaikōura in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

It's the final day of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall's week-long trip to New Zealand.

This morning the Duchess visited the Battered Women's Trust in Christchurch.

She met with staff and shared a heartfelt moment with two survivors of severe domestic violence.

Trust chief executive Lois Herbert said the way Camilla supported the two women was impressive.

"She was very understanding and supportive of their journey and was able to share that the things they were saying to her, she was hearing all over the world."

The Duchess commended the bravery of all domestic violence victims who come forward and said family violence needed to be talked about more.

"You're doing a wonderful job here. I can see there are so few of you [staff], I don't know how you do it," Camilla said.

Ms Herbert said she and the rest of the staff were "honoured" to have the Duchess visit.

"It felt really empowering for us and I think it was a real privilege that we got to meet with her. It'll give a boost to our staff and it recognises we're doing a great job," Ms Herbert said.

The women from the trust presented the Duchess with a women's refuge diamond pin, before singing a waiata as she left the grounds.

The pin recognises services to families who have experienced violence. It is usually presented from the refuge movement to women in New Zealand who have worked in the movement for a long time, so not many people have one.

The Battered Women's Trust is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting families to live violence free. The charity set up the second refuge in New Zealand and was one of the founding members of the Women's Refuge partnership in New Zealand.

The trust's two safe houses accommodate up to 40 women and children seeking safety and shelter every month.

The Duchess' last event in Christchurch was a visit to the Botanic Gardens, while Prince Charles attends events in Kaikōura, which was rocked by a massive earthquake just over three years ago.

The Duchess impressed staff at the gardens with her knowledge of botany.

Camilla was greeted by Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel and Botanic Gardens director Wolfgang Bopp, before taking a short tour of the scenic site.

The curator of the New Zealand plant collection, Luke Martin, said the Duchess was very interested in the plants.

"She seemed to really enjoy it and asked lots of questions," he said.

"I think she could have happily stayed there all day."

As they neared Cunningham House, the Duchess stopped and watered a recently planted native cabbage tree.

Mr Bopp said Camilla loves gardens.

"She has real knowledge and a real interest in learning more."

The Duchess shook hands and said goodbye to well-wishers, but one person who was less than impressed by all the excitement was 12-week-old Henry Smith who burst into tears as mum Rebekah Smith spoke to Camilla.

The prince briefly met with 10 members of North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery, known as Nctir, including a representative from Kiwirail and engineers.

The agency brings together a range of organisations tasked with repairing the road north and south of the town following the 2016 earthquake.

The couple's first engagement of the day was an informal visit to the Lincoln Farmers' Market near Christchurch.

The royals were greeted by Selwyn mayor Sam Broughton and his wife and daughter.

Mr Broughton said it was great for the whole area that the royal couple found time in their six-day tour of New Zealand to visit the Canterbury town.

Hundreds of people, young and old, came to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.

None were more excited than stallholder Nataliya Ivashchenko, who is a huge fan of the royal family and follows Camilla on Facebook.

"It was amazing to meet her. I visited the UK in 1998 and fell in love with the royals," she said.

"Charles asked about our sauerkraut and I had my photo with Camilla. It was very exciting."

Winegrower Scott Grant said the couple visited his stall and seemed interested in winemaking.

"We talked about the wines I produce and I told them it's a labour of love," he said.

Stallholder and grower Isaac Green chatted to the future king about organic produce.

"He asked about what we grow and the organic process," he said.

"I was told he's interested in organic produce and that's why he came over to me."