Royal visits to Australia

Since 1867, there have been over fifty visits by a member of the Royal Family to Australia, though only six of those came before 1954.

Early Visits

The first visit was by Prince Alfred, son of Queen Victoria, in 1867, during his 'round-the-world voyage. Stops were made at Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Prince Alfred was shot by Henry James O'Farrell in an assassination attempt while picnicking on the beach in the Sydney suburb of Clontarf, on March 12, 1868. The prince recovered fully and continued on to New Zealand seven months later.

Visits by Monarchs and Heirs Apparent

Prince George, aged 15, visited Australia with his older brother Prince Albert - age 17, in 1881, as midshipmen in training on the HMS Bacchante. They arrived at Albany, Western Australia, in May, crossed to South Australia in a passenger vessel, travelled overland to Melbourne, and from there sailed on a naval vessel to Sydney.

In 1901, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and his wife, Alexandra, were planning an Empire tour. However, the death of Queen Victoria on January 22, 1901, meant the couple had to prepare for a coronation in 1902. Consequently, Edward's son Prince George, and his wife, Mary, were consigned to undertake the voyage instead. Arriving at Albany, Western Australia, on the 'Ophir', they sailed to Melbourne and later travelled by train to Sydney. After arriving at the Domain, Sydney (where some 100,000 people were in attendance), one of the Prince's main tasks in Australia was to open the newly formed federal parliament, stating at the conclusion of his speech: "Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, it affords me much pleasure to convey to you this message from His Majesty. I now, in his name and on his behalf, declare Parliament open."

Prince Edward arrived in Victoria on April 2, 1920, representing his father, King George V (previously Prince George), to thank Australians for their participation in the First World War. During his tour, his railway carriage overturned at Bridgetown, Western Australia. ["Royal Train Derailment in Western Australia" From the Diary of Lord Louis Mountbatten Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 1998 pp479-482] However, the Prince remained unharmed, and later made light of the situation, (emerging from the wreck with some important papers and a cocktail shaker), an act which endeared him to Australians, and causing them to give him the nickname the "Digger Prince."

In 1927 Prince Albert, and wife Elizabeth, sailed into Sydney harbour on HMS 'Renown', attracting Australia's first gathering of more than one million people. The principal duty of the Prince on this visit was to open the provisional Parliament House in Canberra, on May 9, 1927. They spent twelve days in New South Wales, seven in Queensland, four in Tasmania, eleven in Victoria, six in South Australia, six in Western Australia, and three in the Australian Capital Territory, with the remaining ten for travelling and recreation. According to a report by the Director-General of the royal visit, Cyril Brudenell White, "the Royal Visitors had expressed the wish that when travelling through the States they might have opportunities of seeing and of being seen by, the greatest number of the general public. They especially desired to meet returned soldiers, new settlers and school children." On May 9, Prince Albert reviewed over 2,000 Australian troops with various air squadrons flying overhead. One aircraft, that of Flying Officer Charles Ewan, crashed, Ewan dying that evening in hospital. ref|GEOVI

Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester the third son of George V, visited for an extensive 67-day tour in 1932, (4th October - December), the main purpose being to open the centenary celebrations of Victoria on 18 October. He arrived on HMS 'Sussex' at Fremantle, then travelled by train to Adelaide and ship to Melbourne. He also visited the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. While in Melbourne, the Duke dedicated the Shrine of Remembrance on 11 November. He sailed to England from Brisbane to return to Australia in 1945 as Governor-General. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester served as Governor-General for over two years, from 20 January 1945 - 10 March 1947, the first and only royal governor-general.

Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, coming ashore at Farm Cove, Sydney, on February 3, 1954.ref|FarmCove She had two years earlier been on route to Australia when her father died while she was on a private visit to Kenya, forcing her to return to the United Kingdom. Once finally in Australia, with her husband Prince Philip, she undertook a journey through the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, including greeting 70,000 ex-servicemen and women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and opening the Australian Parliament in Canberra. In all, the Queen travelled 10,000 miles by air, making approximately 33 flights, 2,000 miles by road (130 hours in cars in 207 trips), visiting all capitals except Darwin, and 70 country towns, many by special Royal Trains ["The Last Hurrah" Bull, Tony Australian Railway History, May, 2008 pp151-158] . This extensive travel allowed some 75 per cent of the Australian population to see the Queen at least once during the tour.

Later visits

At the conclusion of the tour, Prime Minister Robert Menzies stated in an article published in the "Sydney Morning Herald":

:"It is a basic truth that for our Queen we have within us, sometimes unrealised until the moment of expression, the most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion. It does not require much imagination to realise that when eight million people spontaneously pour out this feeling they are engaging in a great act of common allegiance and common joy which brings them closer together and is one of the most powerful elements converting them from a mass of individuals to a great cohesive nation. In brief, the common devotion to the Throne is a part of the very cement of the whole social structure." ref|1954

In 1956, Prince Philip opened the Olympic Games in Melbourne, and opened the Empire Games in Perth in 1962, while on a tour through Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. In 1965 he opened the Royal Australian Mint, and in 1968 went to Australia to open the Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother visited in 1958 to attend the British Empire Service League Conference in Canberra. She travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and perth, as well as many provincial and country areas during the time of her visit 14 February - 7 March.

Princess Alexandra of Kent visited in 1959 for Queensland's centenary celebrations. She arrived at Canberra and travelled to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Planned as a less formal tour than the one in 1954, the Queen returned in 1963, touring all the states and territories, with the primary purpose being to lead the Canberra jubilee celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the naming of the capital. During this trip she also toured the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia base in Alice Springs. In preparation for this tour, Sir Roy Dowling, the Queen's Australian Secretary for the visit, was warned about Northern Territory mosquitoes. Dowling was warned, "You could be placed in an extremely embarrassing situation if the Queen's skin was marked and if the press published pictures and stories about those marks." ref|1963

Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, who died in 1968, visited between 26 September - 8 October, 1964 for the British Exhibition in Sydney and to open the new Gladesville Bridge. She travelled in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory before leaving, with a brief stop in Brisbane on the return flight.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester visited the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland between 20 March - 26 April 1965. The new Tasman Bridge was opened by the Duke in Hobart. He also opened the Royal Easter Show in Sydney and a hydro-electric power station in the Snowy Mountains.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother attended the Adelaide Festival of Arts as its patron, and opened Flinders University, also travelling to Western Australia, the Snowy Mountains and the Australian Capital Territory between 22 March - 7 April, 1966.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh helped in 1967 to organise the third Commonwealth Study Conference to be held in May, 1968. He travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, where he helped volunteer fire fighters to fight a local fire.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent made a 25-day tour between 9 August - 3 September, of the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland as well as Papua New Guinea. The Duke opened the South Pacific Games in Port Moresby on 13 August.

The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles (for part of the tour only) and Princess Anne made an extensive tour of Australia in 1970 in connection with the bi-centenary of Captain James Cook sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1970. This was a very popular tour. Large crowds turned out to see The Queen. Once such event occurred when the royal yacht Britannia sailed up the Brisbane River before mooring just below the historic Newstead House in Brisbane.

The Queen returned to Australia again in 1973 to open the Sydney Opera House and also in 1974 to open the Australian Parliament in Canberra.

An extended royal tour of Australia was made in 1977 as part of the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign. In the early 1980s The Queen made short tours to among other things open the new High Court of Australia building and also the new National Gallery of Australia, both in Canberra. The Queen and Prince Philip also made a popular visit in 1988 as part of the bi-centenary celebrations.

Prince Charles attended the Geelong Grammar School for one year in 1966. This was not an official trip as the Prince was there primarily for schooling. A January 10, 1966, press release made this clear, stating that he should be left alone by journalists: "The Prince of Wales will be engaged in full time study in Australia and will not undertake any official engagements. The Queen and the Commonwealth Government have requested that the Prince’s visit should be treated as a private one and that he should be allowed the same freedom from public attention as any other school boy." ref|POW During this time The Queen Mother paid a visit to Australia.

He returned in 1967 as the Queen's representative at the memorial service for Prime Minister Harold Holt, and again in 1970. On March 20, 1983, The Prince of Wales, this time with the Princess of Wales, and their son Prince William, landed in Alice Springs. ref|Rvisits ref|RAS The Prince and Princess of Wales also made a most popular visit during the bi-centenary celebrations in 1988. After her divorce in 1996, Diana, Princess of Wales made one subsequent visit prior to her tragic death in 1997. She was deeply mourned in Australia.

Recent visits

On 11th November 2003, Armistice Day, The Queen, in her role as Queen of Australia jointly opened with the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard a new Australian War Memorial at Hyde Park corner in London. In her speech she said Australians had stood side-by-side with the British in two of the ugliest wars in history. She stated, "The forces of aggression were defeated but the cost in human lives and misery was enormous."

On March 11, 2006, Prince Edward visited Australia to announce the winners of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, lunch with Prime Minister John Howard, visit a neo-natal unit in Heidelberg, visit with victims of bush fires in Victoria, and attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. ref|Yahoo

One day later the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Melbourne where the Queen opened the Commonwealth Games. As well, the Royal couple opened a new section of the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day ceremony also in Sydney, had official meetings with the Prime Minister, Governor-General and Leader of the Opposition at Government House in Canberra, lunched with former Governors-General, met with firefighters in Canberra, attended and made a formal speech at an official dinner at Parliament House in Canberra to commemorate her 80th birthday , and watched some of the events at the games. ref|ABC

ee also

* List of official openings by Elizabeth II in Australia
* Victorian Railways Royal Train

References

External links

* [http://www.um.com.au/1954 Where Were You in '54?] Website containing stories and impressions of the 1954 Royal Tour by ordinary Australians.