what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

16 visits over 57 years: reflecting on Queen Elizabeth II’s long relationship with Australia

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

Associate Professor of English, Flinders University

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Giselle Bastin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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“Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth” has died. Given her advanced years, this has long been expected, yet it still seems incredible this woman who has been Australia’s queen for the duration of most Australians’ lives is no longer with us.

While the focus of the formalities and ceremony of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II will centre on London and the UK, there is no doubt it will be keenly observed by many Australians.

The queen liked Australia and Australians. She came here 16 times throughout her reign and was, famously, on her way to our shores in 1952 when she learned her father had passed on and she was now queen.

Her visits to Australia – from her first in 1954 through to her last in 2011 – offer a snapshot of the changing relationship Australians have had with their sovereign and with the monarchy.

An enthusiastic nation

The queen’s 1954 tour took place during a time described by historian Ben Pimlott as the age of “ British Shintoism ”. Deference to the Crown was paramount in Britain and the Commonwealth, and many Australians were madly enthusiastic about their queen.

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

After her arrival at Farm Cove in Sydney on February 3 1954, Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to set foot on Australian soil. The royal tour lasted nearly two months and consisted of a gruelling schedule taking in visits to every state and territory apart from the Northern Territory.

During the tour, the queen greeted over 70,000 ex-service men and women; drove in cavalcades that took in massive crowds; attended numerous civic receptions; and opened the Australian Parliament in Canberra. The tour saw Elizabeth travel 10,000 miles by air and 2,000 miles by road – including 207 trips by car and by appointed royal trains.

It is estimated as much as 75% of the population saw the queen and Prince Philip during this tour.

No Australian prime minister has ever had a reception on this scale or exposure to so many of the country’s citizens.

The Queen in a car driving past a crowd.

A “new” and prosperous country

During her first two tours in 1954 and 1963, the Australia laid-out for display for the queen was depicted as having gone from being a small colonial settlement to a thriving economy that had ridden to prosperity “ on the sheep’s back ”.

The queen was treated to endless displays of sheep shearing, surf carnivals, wood chopping, whip cracking, and mass displays of dancing and singing by school children. Federal and state dignitaries, mayors and civic leaders from across the political divide jostled to meet and be seen with her; the country’s florists were emptied of flowers for the hundreds of bouquets presented to her by dozens of shy, nervous school children nudged gently forward by awe-struck parents.

The Queen talks to young children.

During the early tours, Aboriginal Australians were kept at a discreet distance. Apart from a demonstration of boomerang and spear throwing, the closest the queen came to experiencing anything of Indigenous Australian culture was a ballet performed by the Arts Council Ballet titled Corroboree, with no Aboriginal dancers but dancers with blackened faces.

During the 1970 visit, the queen witnessed the re-enactment of Captain James Cook’s arrival at Botany Bay, with Cook and his crew meeting “the resistance of the Aborigines with a volley of musket fire”.

By 1973, Indigenous Australians were given a more significant role in the royal tours. Aboriginal actor Ben Blakeney, one of Bennelong’s descendants, gave the official welcome during the opening of the Sydney Opera House, and the then unknown actor David Gulpilil was among those performing a ceremonial dance.

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

Invited guest, not ruler of the land

As early as the 1963 tour, the nation-wide royal fervour had dimmed a little. The 1963 visit witnessed smaller crowds and fewer mass public events. When Prime Minister Robert Menzies courted the queen with the now-famous line, “I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die”, the ensuing blushes – including the queen’s own – reflected many Australians’ growing sense of embarrassment at public displays and unquestioning expressions of deference.

Despite this, Menzies’ displays of public ardour saw him being granted The Order of the Thistle shortly after, a bestowal which must surely remain the envy of some subsequent prime ministers.

AAP Image/Supplied by the National Archives of Australia

The 1977 Silver Jubilee and 1988 Australian bicentenary visits perhaps marked the end of a period of royal tours as overt celebrations of Australia’s ties to Britain. This new flavour of tours positioned the sovereign as an invited guest to an independent, modern and multi-cultural nation.

On her 10th tour in 1986, the queen returned to sign the Australia Act , which brought to an end the ability of the UK to create laws for Australia.

Her role as our sovereign subtly transformed from cutting ribbons and opening Parliament to signing the documents that slowly, by degrees, contributed to the cutting of Australia’s ties to the UK and the Crown.

A question of the republic

By the 12th tour in 1992, the cost of the queen’s visits to Australia were increasingly scrutinised by a public feeling largely indifferent about the royal family. The prime minister of the day, Paul Keating, was seen not so much as an entranced liege lord revelling in the opportunity to see his sovereign “passing by” as one who instead – unthinkingly – committed an act of lèse majesté by placing his bare hand on the royal back and waist as he guided her through the crowd.

The gloves, it seemed, were coming off.

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

The queen made it clear in her last visits to our shores that whether or not Australia should become a republic was a decision for its own citizens to make. Her official announcement after she learned of the result of the 1999 Republic Referendum confirmed this:

I have always made it clear that the future of the Monarchy in Australia is an issue for the Australian people and them alone to decide, by democratic and constitutional means. … My family and I would, of course, have retained our deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere, whatever the outcome.

In the last decades of her life, the queen retained the affection of many. Her popularity seemed to grow in line with Australians’ increased disenchantment with their home-grown political leaders: the former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Julia Gillard are right to have sensed that any discussion about an Australian republic would have to wait until after Elizabeth II’s death.

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

Queen Elizabeth II reigned across seven decades and her tours to Australia served as a marker of Australia’s changing relationship with the Crown as well as with its own colonial past and national identity.

Almost certainly, Elizabeth II’s reign as the stalwart, loyal, dutiful, and most cherished and admired of “Glorianas” is one we are unlikely ever to see again.

Correction: the article previously stated the queen was on her way to Australia in 1953 when she learned of her father’s death. This has been corrected to 1952.

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Six decades of royal visits: Queen Elizabeth II in Australia – in pictures

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The Queen first visited Australia in 1954 – when she became the first reigning monarch to set foot on Australian soil – and the last in 2011. The visits included motorcades, tram rides, two Commonwealth Games and plenty of horse racing

  • This article was amended on 14 September 2022 to correct the locations in two captions

Fri 9 Sep 2022 01.33 BST First published on Fri 9 Sep 2022 01.31 BST

Photograph: Alamy

Queen Elizabeth II inspecting merino sheep at the Wagga Wagga agricultural show in 1954.

Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images

The Queen and Prince Philip at the King George V memorial in Canberra in 1954.

Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images

The Queen at a garden party in Sydney, February 1954.

Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images

Parliament House welcomes the Queen in Hobart, Tasmania, 1954.

Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images

Mount Gambier Lakes in South Australia, January 1954.

Photograph: Reginald Davis/REX/Shutterstock

Driving through Adelaide, June 1963.

Photograph: Reginald Davis / Rex Features

Arriving in Sydney in 1970 for the bicentenary of Captain Cook’s first landing in Australia.

Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Launceston, Tasmania, 1970.

Photograph: Getty Images

Awarding swimmer Tracey Wickham a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, 1982.

Photograph: Fairfax Media/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

At the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, 1982.

Photograph: Rex/Shutterstock

With Paul Keating, the Australian prime minister, in 1992. Keating was criticised for breaching royal protocol by putting his arm round the Queen.

Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

Watching a Tjapukai ceremonial fire-lighting during a cultural performance near Cairns, Queensland, March 2002.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

After the Commonwealth Day service in Sydney, March 2006.

Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

On the royal tram down St Kilda Road in Melbourne, October 2011.

Photograph: Pool/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visiting Brisbane, 2011.

Photograph: Handout/Getty Images

With Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM in Perth, October 2011.

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The Queen's tours of Australia

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The 1954 royal tour

A royal visitor.

On 3 February 1954, the steamship Gothic arrived in Sydney Harbour, carrying the first reigning monarch to visit Australia – Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. In just under 2 months, the royal couple would travel around Australia by train, car, and plane. They would visit almost every capital city except Darwin, and 40 country towns. Among the revellers, children turned up en masse to view the royal couple, and some even participated in official events. 

A tremendous task

In Sydney, an estimated 120,000 children and their teachers gathered in Centennial Park, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and the Sydney Showgrounds. The Herald reported transporting the students took 80 trains, 209 trams and 214 busses. At the SCG, students were organised into concentric circles so that the royal couple’s Land Rover could pass within 24 feet (7.3 metres) of most of the children. The children were issued coloured streamers attached to short sticks called ‘wavers,’ which came to life at 11:40 am when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh entered the cricket grounds. An enthusiastic roar accompanied the rush of excitement. 

Similar gatherings took place in other large cities. For example, a children’s pageant was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pageant included children from 6 to 18 years of age, marching, performing callisthenics, and maypole dancing while wearing colourful costumes. As the grand finale, the children formed the word ‘WELCOME’, and the Queen and Duke boarded a Land Rover so that they could drive among the performers. At this point, some exuberant children broke free of their ranks, swamping the royal car and briefly stalling its progress. Finally, the amused Duke ordered them to clear the way.

'OUR QUEEN'

The formation of words by children in tableaux performances occurred across Australia. In Brisbane and outside of Parliament House, they formed the phrase ‘OUR QUEEN.’ At the Wayville Showgrounds in Adelaide, they formed the word ‘LOYALTY’ and at Manuka Oval in Canberra, ‘WELCOME.’  Throngs of people, keen to catch a glimpse of the nation’s sovereign, greeted the royal couple everywhere they travelled. Their journey and activities were meticulously recorded and compiled by film director Colin Dean and his team. The footage formed the first colour full-length feature film made in Australia. Included is a section devoted to the children’s contribution to the celebrations, capturing the young audience's enthusiasm. 

The Queen in Australia (feature film)

The aftermath

While the effort to put on these displays was enormous, time spent with the children was extremely short. Although the royal couple were only in Canberra for 4 full days, the Queen's schedule was unrelenting. It included opening Parliament, unveiling the Australian-American Memorial, opening Union House at the Australian National University, and laying a wreath and planting a tree at the Australian War Memorial. They also attended Manuka Oval for the children’s welcome, only to depart 30 minutes later. 

Records held by the National Archives include detailed communications, maps, and diagrams used in the organisation of royal events. The day was likely exhausting for the young participants, with many students arriving at the events hours before they were due to commence. A photo from our collection shows exhausted muddy revellers, slightly dishevelled yet still clutching and waving their commemorative flags.   

Children forming the words ‘OUR QUEEN’ and an Australian flag outside Parliament House in Canberra.

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SNAPSHOT: The 1954 Royal Tour

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

Princess Elizabeth was en route to Australia, via Kenya, when she received news in February 1952 of the premature death of her father, 56-year-old King George VI. She hastily abandoned her trip but visited Australia two years later as the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II, the first and only reigning British monarch ever to do so. That 1954 visit was the first of 16 royal tours by the Queen to Australia but was, by every measure, the most successful – and resoundingly so. Royal fever gripped the postwar nation, which seemed to fall, en masse, under the spell of the young queen. During the two-month sojourn it’s estimated that more than 7 million Australians – 70 per cent of the population – attempted to see Elizabeth and her consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

In Sydney, 1 million residents reportedly thronged the harbour foreshore and lined the city streets, waiting for hours just to glimpse the royal couple following their arrival on 3 February 1954 at Farm Cove aboard the royal barge.

During the following 58 days, the pair visited 57 towns and cities across the country on an exhausting program of public engagements and community and sporting events. They saw natural wonders such as the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef, and watched surf carnivals and gymnastics displays. They met Indigenous leaders, war veterans, farmers and factory workers and hordes of schoolchildren. Australia presented itself as a confident and vigorous young nation with seemingly boundless resources. It was forward-looking while still valuing its strong bonds with the motherland.

It wasn’t until the Queen’s next tour, in 1963, that Prime Minister Menzies famously quoted the poetic phrase “I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die”. But he was already feeling effusive in 1954, and avowed his most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion to the throne in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald .

Formal celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne – the first British monarch to reach such a milestone, will take place in the UK across the long weekend 2–5 June 2022. Among the events and celebrations here in Australia, the Queen’s Jubilee Program is providing up to $15.1 million in grants to eligible groups and organisations for community-based tree-planting programs.

For more information, see The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022 .

what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

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In pictures: A look back at Queen Elizabeth II's visits to Australia during her 70-year reign - as nation mourns her death

Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia 16 times during her long reign, including to open the Sydney Opera House in 1973, Parliament House in 1988 and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.  

Bryant Hevesi

Queen Elizabeth II's "deep affection" for Australia is being remembered as the nation mourns her death aged 96.

Her Majesty died "peacefully" at her Balmoral home in Scotland on Thursday afternoon (local time) surrounded by close family members. 

She was the first reigning sovereign to visit Australia, making a total of 16 trips Down Under during her 70-year reign, the longest in British history.

The Queen's visits included opening the Sydney Opera House in 1973, Darling Harbour in 1988 and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.  

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The Queen walks with then NSW premier Robert Askin in front of a large crowd to open the Sydney Opera House on October 20, 1973. Picture: News Ltd

She first visited in 1954, two years after ascending to the throne following the death of her father King George VI, and made her last visit in 2011.

More than seven million Australians, or 70 per cent of the country's population at the time, turned out to catch a glimpse of the young Queen during her first visit. 

"From her famous first trip to Australia, the only reigning sovereign to ever visit, it was clear Her Majesty held a special place in her heart for Australia," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

"Fifteen more tour before cheering crowds in every part of our country confirmed the special place she held in ours."

On a visit in 1988, the Queen opened the new Parliament House in Canberra, with the parliament's website on Friday stating: "She had a deep affection for Australia and its people, visiting on many occasions to perform official functions".  

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh after arriving at Canberra Airport on October 17, 1973. Picture: Staff photographer

"The Parliament of Australia sends its deepest condolences to her family and will commemorate her life in coming days."

Her majesty's 12 visits to New South Wales featured trips to country towns including Tamworth and Wagga Wagga. 

"As the first reigning monarch to visit our nation, Queen Elizabeth set foot for the first time on Australian soil in 1954 at Farm Cove in Sydney Harbour where an unprecedented crowd of more than one million people greeted her," NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said. 

"The public's overwhelming jubilation and enthusiasm at seeing the young monarch was the beginning of the state's long-held joy in her frequent visits.

The Queen is pictured on May 28, 1980 during a visit to Australia. Picture: News Corp Australia

"Her Late Majesty will forever be connected to pivotal moments in our State's history. She officially opened the Parliament of New South Wales in 1954, Sydney Opera House in 1973, Parramatta Stadium in 1986, and Darling Harbour in 1988.

"She also visited NSW regional areas including Newcastle, Lismore, Orange, Dubbo, Armidale, Tamworth and Wagga Wagga, drawing huge crowds of well-wishers."

The Queen visited Victoria 11 times, with Premier Daniel Andrews saying "during those trips, she left her mark on the state we know today".

"She talked with patients and families at the Royal Children's – and opened our Commonwealth Games," Mr Andrews said. 

The Queen at the opening of the new Parliament House in Canberra in 1988. Picture: News Ltd

"She rode a tram around the Hoddle grid, watched Richmond win at the MCG, and caught a show at the Princess Theatre.

"She travelled across the state – visiting Tatura, Echuca, Rochester, Castlemaine, Maryborough, Ballarat and Geelong - touching so much of what makes Victoria special.

"Her historic reign and long life has come to an end, but Victorians’ deep affection and respect for Her Majesty lives on."

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noted Her Majesty visited the state "often and displayed her care and concern for the people of this state, especially during times of natural disasters".

The Queen, standing next to Ron Walker, meets Ian Thorpe and Kylie Palmer on Day 1 of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Picture: Nathan Richter/News Corp Australia

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said the Queen will forever be an inspiration to the state's residents. 

"Most Western Australians have never known another monarch, with Queen Elizabeth II becoming the longest reigning British monarch," Mr McGowan said. 

"She led the Commonwealth through some of the darkest days and will forever be an inspiration to the world and Western Australia, a State she visited seven times."

South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said: "Her Majesty's great fondness and interest in the welfare of South Australians was evident through her seven visits to our state during her reign". 

The Queen and then prime minister Julia Gillard make their way to a reception at Parliament House in Canberra in 2011. Picture: Kym Smith

"Her Majesty's first visit to South Australia was with the late Duke of Edinburgh in March 1954," Mr Malinauskas said.  

"Some 200,000 people lined the route from the Parafield Airport, where they were met by the Premier, Tom Playford at Government House. Her last visit to South Australia was in February 2002."

Commonwealth countries will observe 10 days of mourning and remembrance in the period between the Queen's death and her funeral. However, in Australia there will not be a limit placed on mourning of the Queen.

The Prime Minister will declare a day of National Memorial Service and a National Day of mourning as he suspended parliament for at least a fortnight.

Mr Albanese and the Governor-General will travel to London in the coming days to meet with King Charles III, as they offer condolences on behalf of Australia.

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what years did queen elizabeth visit australia

The Queen's tours of Australia

In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch to open an Australian parliament, in NSW. (AP PHOTO)

THE QUEEN'S TOURS OF AUSTRALIA:

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THE QUEEN MEETS AUSTRALIA

1954, February 3-April 1: A newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II toured Australia with The Duke of Edinburgh. The couple visited 57 cities and towns in every state and territory except the Northern Territory. Highlights of the tour included the opening of the federal parliament and a meet-and-greet with 70,000 ex-service men and women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Three-quarters of the population were estimated to have seen the royals at least once. Novel greetings included thousands of school children spelling out the word "loyalty" on an Adelaide oval and Sydneysiders risking their lives on railway tracks as the Royal Train steamed into the city.

CANBERRA'S JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

1963, February 18-March 27: The Queen marked Canberra's Jubilee celebrations with a tour of every state and territory. She made headlines after visiting the Red Centre and addressing remote communities via the Royal Flying Doctor Service radio network. The Queen also knighted Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visited the Australian War Memorial and the town of Elizabeth, north of Adelaide, named in her honour.

BICENTENARY OF YEARS SINCE COOK'S LANDING

1970, March 30-May 3: The royals returned to celebrate the bicentenary of Captain Cook's landing in Australia. The Queen unveiled a memorial in Cooktown before heading bush to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base at Mt Isa. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The "royal walkabout" was introduced during this tour, allowing the couple to depart from protocol and mingle with ordinary people.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE OPENING

1973, October 17-22: Queen Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House on October 20 with Aboriginal man Ben Blakeney, a direct descendant of Bennelong. The ceremony included fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The Queen also attended a parliamentary luncheon in Canberra.

NEW PARLIAMENT HOUSE OPENING

1974, February 27-28: The royals were back to open Parliament House in Canberra. But the Queen was forced to return to Britain after a snap general election was called, leaving Prince Philip to finish the tour. It was the only time the Queen abandoned an overseas trip.

QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE

1977, March 7-23; 26-30: Queen Elizabeth II marked her Silver Jubilee with a tour of every Australian state and territory. Things didn't go to plan when she was confronted with anti-royalist demonstrations in Adelaide. But it wasn't all heckles, with Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee requesting an autograph when the Queen visited the MCG. She declined but later mailed him one.

HIGH COURT OPENING

1980, May 24-28: The Queen opened the new High Court of Australia in Canberra. She also met entertainers, including comedian Paul Hogan and singer Olivia Newton-John, after they performed in a Royal Charity Concert at the Sydney Opera House.

CHOGM IN MELBOURNE

1981, September 26-October 12: The Queen travelled to Melbourne for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. She also toured Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.

BRISBANE COMMONWEALTH GAMES OPENING

1982, October 5-13: Queen Elizabeth II opened the Brisbane Commonwealth Games on September 3. She and Prince Philip also travelled to NSW as well as Canberra for the launch of the National Gallery of Australia.

THE AUSTRALIA ACT

1986, March 2-13: Queen Elizabeth II signed the 1986 Australia Act in Canberra on February 7. This made Australian law independent of British parliament and courts. The Queen also opened Parramatta Stadium during her tour of NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

AUSTRALIA'S BICENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

1988, April 19-May 10: Queen Elizabeth II marked Australia's Bicentenary with a tour of every state and territory except Victoria and the Northern Territory. Along the way, she opened Brisbane's World Expo 88 and the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach. She also opened Canberra's new Parliament House, where Aboriginals were protesting. But one little girl stole the show after breaking away from the crowd to give the Queen flowers.

`THE LIZARD OF OZ' TOUR

1992, February 18-25: British tabloids were furious when the Queen made global headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her Majesty was here to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sydney. But then-Prime Minister Paul Keating took the country's famously laid-back attitude to new heights when he put his arm around the Queen, earning the nickname "the Lizard of Oz". And then his gloveless and hatless wife Annita declined to curtsy.

AFTER THE REPUBLICAN REFERENDUM

2000, March 17-April 1: Queen Elizabeth II delayed this tour until the debate around Australia's 1999 referendum had subsided. She visited every state and territory except South Australia, paying particular attention to regional areas including Wagga Wagga, Bourke, Ballarat, Alice Springs and Busselton. But her visit was marred by an armed man who posed as a royal security officer ahead of her arrival at Darling Harbour. He was arrested and the Queen was unharmed.

CHOGM SUNSHINE COAST

2002, February 27-March 3: The Queen had been on the throne for 50 years when she attended a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on the Sunshine Coast. But the corgi-loving monarch also made time to meet fellow dog owners at Adelaide's Government House.

MELBOURNE COMMONWEALTH GAMES OPENING

2006, March 11-16: The Queen opened Melbourne's Commonwealth Games on March 15. She also opened a new section of the Sydney Opera House, planted a gum tree at Canberra's Government House, met Aboriginal leaders and honoured firefighters who fought the January 2003 Canberra bushfires that destroyed more than 500 homes.

THE SWAN SONG TOUR

2011, October 19-29: Queen Elizabeth II's swansong tour revealed just how much Australia's relationship with the monarchy had changed. Prime Minister Julia Gillard bowed, rather than curtsied, to the 85-year-old monarch. And Prince Philip got behind the grill at Perth's "Big Aussie Barbecue". The royals also visited Brisbane, meeting victims of the previous summer's disastrous floods. In Melbourne, the Queen opened the new Royal Children's Hospital and rode in a custom-designed Royal Tram. She finished her tour at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, before being farewelled by a crowd of nearly 100,000.

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Royal Romance

The Royal Romance exhibition examined Australia's passionate response to Queen Elizabeth II's first visit in 1954. The tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It was one of the nation’s last great pre-television events.

Royal Romance was previously on show at the National Museum of Australia from February to October 2004.

In our collection

1954 Royal Tour of Australia

On 3 February 1954 the royal barge pulled into Farm Cove, Sydney. The newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II stepped ashore, becoming the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia. Australians responded passionately to the young Queen, turning out in their millions to catch a brief glimpse of their sovereign.

For the next 2 months, until her departure from Fremantle, the Queen's visit provided Australians with a chance to celebrate and demonstrate their loyalty. Almost three-quarters of the Australian population took advantage of the opportunity, seeing the Queen at least once during the visit.

Royal Romance takes a look back on this, the most celebrated of royal tours. Decades later the passionate response of Australians to the Queen's 1954 visit requires some explanation.

Changing role of the monarchy

The royal tour by the Queen in 2000 attracted considerable interest, but not the mass excitement of her first visit. In 1954 Australians overwhelmingly supported remaining a constitutional monarchy.

By the 1990s the mood had shifted to the point where becoming a republic was the focus of major public debate. While Australians rejected the 1999 referendum proposal for Australia to become a republic, the proposal revealed a fundamental shift in Australia's attitude to the monarchy.

In developing Royal Romance , the National Museum explored the response of Australians to the Queen, why some people were so infatuated with her 50 years ago and whether we have fallen out of love since. The exhibition also examined the role of the monarchy as the living embodiment of Australia's British heritage. It explored the link between the Crown and the people and the way in which the Queen can become part of our daily lives even though she lives half a world away.

Australia on show

The 1954 Royal Tour of Australia provided Australians with a chance to celebrate their country’s achievements and potential. What the Queen was shown, and the mass display of loyalty by the Australian people who turned out in such numbers to see her, has even greater significance when viewed in the social, political and economic context of the times.

Australia on parade

During their 2-month stay in Australia the Queen and Prince Philip were shown a bewildering variety of people, places and products.

Australia was displayed as a youthful and vigorous place, a land of endless resources and possibilities. There were displays of youngsters en masse in most major cities. Children danced, sang, performed gymnastics and presented flowers to the Queen.

The royal couple met servicemen, Indigenous people, civic dignitaries and sportsmen; attended garden parties, horse races at Randwick and Flemington, a cricket match in Adelaide; and a surf lifesaving carnival in Sydney. They visited rural Australia, metropolitan Australia, sailed the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and visited the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.

Industry and resources

The postwar shift from production to consumption was only just beginning in Australia. Increasing numbers of women were returning to the workforce and adding to households’ disposable income. The public imagination was still dominated by images of Australia as a land of resources and Australia was still an economy based heavily on primary industry.

In Newcastle the royal party visited the steel foundry and met with workers. At Dubbo, the itinerary included a pastoral review with woodchopping demonstrations and sheep shearing contests. In Victoria the Queen and Duke met workers at the brown coal mine at Yallourn.

The Duke visited the rocket range at Woomera to see the latest in Anglo-Australian rocket technology. Although signs of Britain’s decline as a world power were already evident, most people were happy to ignore them. The explosion of the Anglo-Australian atomic bomb at Maralinga was not only seen to have put Australia on the modern technology map, but also confirmed Britain’s role as one of the few nuclear powers on the globe.

Commemorative ceremonies

The Queen also visited war memorials. In 1954 veterans from the First and Second World Wars were joined by veterans from the Boer War and Sudan Campaign. In Melbourne the Queen opened the forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance, while the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the scene of a display by massed ex-servicemen.

Queen Elizabeth also opened the third session of Parliament in Canberra.

Queen on show

During the 1954 royal tour, Australia was on show, but so too was the Queen. In political terms, the particular relevance of the Queen’s first visit was set by the Statute of Westminster, issued in 1931.

Prompted by the governments of Canada and South Africa, the Statute gave the Dominions of the British Empire the chance to establish themselves as independent nations of equal status to Britain. This formal independence changed the role of the Crown, which now became the foremost symbol of unity among the independent peoples of the British Commonwealth.

However, successive Australian governments did not see fit to ratify the Statute until 1942, when British power east of Suez had collapsed at Singapore and the fear of Japanese invasion gripped the Australian nation.

Official war artist Ivor Hele was commissioned to paint the Queen opening the third session of the 20th parliament on 15 February 1954. An artist with a strong sense of history and a talent for portraiture, was ideally suited for the commission.

Show of loyalty at a time of conflict

The 1954 visit gave Australians the chance to reaffirm their connections with Britain and for Britain to witness scenes of loyalty from Australia. These fulsome expressions of loyalty must have provided great comfort for some in London who feared that Australia was being lost to the Americans and may have given some illusory hope that the British Empire was still a force in world politics.

Two years later the Suez crisis underlined the loss of British power and highlighted American ascendency. From that point on, Britain and Australia were clearly subordinate allies of the United States in the Cold War confrontation between communism and capitalism.

That conflict was something that the Queen didn’t see during her tour, but it was widely present in Australian society. Chifley’s Labor government had crushed the striking miners of New South Wales in 1949 and Menzies tried, unsuccessfully, to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia in 1951.

Although this attempt failed in the short-term, the communist issue split the labour movement, ensuring that the 1950s are popularly remembered as a period of Menzies-inspired conservatism.

The 1954 tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It was one of the nation’s last great pre-television events.

Despite the continuing relevance of the constitutional monarchy in Australia’s political system, the royal tour in 2000 generated far less enthusiasm. It is difficult to imagine a visit of the scale, excitement and fervour seen in 1954, occurring in today’s Australia.

Exhausting itinerary

The Queen’s tour was comprehensive and she visited every state and territory, except the Northern Territory, from her arrival on 3 February to her departure on 1 April. The royal party was based in major cities for most of their stay, but made numerous side trips to other locations.

New South Wales Sydney: 3–18 February, Newcastle: 9 February, Lismore: 9–10 February, Casino: 10 February, Dubbo: 10 February, Wollongong: 11 February, Bathurst: 12 February, Katoomba: 12 February, Lithgow: 12 February, Wagga Wagga: 13 February.

Australia Capital Territory Canberra: 13–18 February.

Tasmania Hobart: 20–23 February, Wynyard: 23 February, Burnie: 23 February, Ulverstone: 23 February, Devonport: 23 February, Cressy: 23–24 February, Launceston: 24 February.

Victoria Melbourne: 24 February – 9 March.

South Australia Mount Gambier: 26 February.

Victoria Hamilton: 26 February, Flinders: 2 March, Sale: 3 March, Traralgon: 3 March, Yallourn:3 March, Warragul: 3 March, Benalla: 5 March, Shepparton: 5 March, Echuca: 5 March, Rochester: 5 March, Bendigo: 5 March, Castlemaine: 5 March, Maryborough: 5 March, Ballarat: 6 March, Geelong: 6 March, Warburton: 6 March.

Queensland Brisbane: 9–18 March, Bundaberg: 11 March, Toowoomba: 11 March, Cairns: 12 March, Townsville: 13 March, Mackay: 15 March, Rockhampton: 15 March.

New South Wales Broken Hill: 18 March.

South Australia Adelaide: 18–26 March, Whyalla: 20 March, Port Lincoln: 20 March, Woomera: 22 March, Renmark: 23 March, Mildura: 25 March.

Western Australia Kalgoorlie: 26 March, Perth: 26 March, Busselton: 30 March, Albany: 30 March, Northam: 31 March, York: 31 March, Fremantle: 1 April.

Facts and figures

The 1954 tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It is difficult to imagine a visit of such scale occurring in today’s Australia. Here are some interesting facts and figures from the 1954 Royal Tour:

  • 510,000 pounds sterling approximately in total contributed by the federal government
  • 500,000 miles travelled by the cars of the Royal Visit Car Company
  • 200,000 pounds sterling contributed by the federal government for the use of the yacht  Gothic
  • 200,000 people filled the streets in the city of Sydney when decorations for the royal tour were illuminated for the first time
  • 20,000 cars trapped in the gridlock that choked the city of Sydney when decorations for the royal tour were illuminated for the first time
  • 10,000 miles travelled by the Queen
  • 57 hours spent by the Queen in aeroplanes
  • 35 flights by the Duke
  • 33 flights by the Queen

Road travel

  • 2,000 road miles travelled by the Queen
  • 207 car journeys made by the Queen
  • 130 hours spent by the Queen in motor cars

Food usage aboard Gothic

  • 10,000 cartons of canned fruit from Shepparton
  • 5,000 cartons of tomato juice
  • 3,237 bags of milk powder
  • 1,500 cases of canned meat

Public engagements

  • 100 speeches made by the Queen in towns and cities she visited
  • 5 engagements per day

13 Feb 2011

Collectorfest: a right royal celebration.

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The National Museum of Australia acknowledges First Australians and recognises their continuous connection to Country, community and culture.

This website contains names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

King Charles could visit Australia later this year, and the federal government is wondering where to take him

Prince Charles greets a crowd of people waving Australian flags and holding up mobile phones

Preparations are beginning for a potential royal visit to Australia later this year, despite King Charles's recent cancer diagnosis. 

The federal government is beginning talks with the states and territories about when and where King Charles and Queen Camilla might visit.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the king was planning a visit to Australia.

There had been speculation it might fall alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October.

But the king's cancer diagnosis and treatment had appeared to throw that into question, given he has stepped back from some public duties.

The trip is not a certainty, but the government is launching at least some early preparations including taking suggestions on a possible itinerary.

Mr Albanese said talks were underway on what a visit might look like.

"Australia is preparing for a possible visit from His Majesty The King to Australia later this year," he said.

"The king has shown his compassion for Australians affected by recent natural disasters, just as Australians have shown compassion and support for the king following his cancer diagnosis.

The Queen accepts flowers in Federation Square

"The king, queen and members of the royal family are always welcome in Australia.

"My government is engaging with states and territories on options for a possible royal visit."

It would be the first visit by a reigning monarch in more than a decade, since Queen Elizabeth II visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in 2011 .

And it would be one of a long list of visits to Australia by Charles, who has travelled to the country 15 times in an official capacity.

His most recent visit was to open the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018, and also visit the Northern Territory.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia 16 times as reigning monarch.

The queen's trips would often last a week or two and take in at least a few states and territories — and often some regional centres.

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Planning begins for visit by King Charles III to Australia this year

Planning is underway for a possible visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Australia this year.

The federal government is starting talks with the states and territories about when and where the royal couple might visit.

There has been speculation since December that a tour of Australia by the monarch was on the cards. It was believed to have been scheduled for October, around the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

READ MORE: Qantas plane clips wing on stationary aircraft at Perth Airport 

But it was thrown into doubt last month when King Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis and withdrew from some royal duties.

Now the federal government has confirmed preliminary preparations are starting.

Prime Minister Anthony says talks will focus on a potential itinerary for the royal couple.

"Australia is preparing for a possible visit from His Majesty The King to Australia later this year," he said.

"The king has shown his compassion for Australians affected by recent natural disasters, just as Australians have shown compassion and support for the king following his cancer diagnosis.

"The king, queen and members of the royal family are always welcome in Australia.

"My government is engaging with states and territories on options for a possible royal visit."

The last visit to Australia by a reigning monarch was in October 2011 when Queen Elizabeth made the journey Down Under.

King Charles, 75, ascended to the throne after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, and was crowned in May last year.

The Australian government has begun planning for a possible visit by King Charles to the country this year.

IMAGES

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  2. Queen Elizabeth II's first visit to Queensland

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  3. Remembering Queen Elizabeth II's visits to Queensland

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  4. A royal visit: Queen Elizabeth in Australia

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  5. Prince Philip visited Australia in 1954 when he was 32

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  6. Queen Elizabeth II visiting Australia

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