Previous Find of the Month May 2021

May 2021

Royal Visits to Canberra

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Dedication of the Royal Australian Navy National Memorial, 3 March 19861

ArchivesACT’s Find of the Month for April 2011 covered records related to the first royal visit to Canberra of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh. The couple were to have toured Australia in 1952 but this was postponed following the death of her father King George VI. Their 1954 visit to Australia was the first made by a reigning monarch.i Following the passing of Prince Philip, we thought it would be timely to reflect on this previous article and to highlight other records documenting some of his subsequent visits to Canberra.

During their the first meeting of the Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council following the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth, chairman, Arthur Shakespeare, proposed an ‘Address of Loyalty’ to Queen Elizabeth II. After the motion was enthusiastically carried the message that expressed the ‘humble duty and loyalty to the throne and the person of your Majesty’ from the citizens of the Australian Capital city, was printed and forwarded to Buckingham Palace via the office of the Governor General. Signed on the 22 June 1953, the address also assured the Queen and His Royal Highness of a ‘most hearty welcome to Canberra’ during their anticipated visit the following year.ii

Address of Loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II2

The tour was rescheduled for early 1954, the Queen and Prince Philip flying into Sydney on 3 February. Their programme of events in Canberra began on 13 February. Following their arrival, they were given a ‘citizen’s reception’ that included a guard of honour at City Hill. They then left for Government House for a well-earned rest, and the following day was free of any public activities. The next three days however were full of engagements that included the official opening of Parliament, a visit to Manuka Oval to view a school children’s display and meeting with ex-servicemen and women on the lawns of Parliament House.III

The Parks and Gardens Section of the Department of Interior had an especially hard job making sure garden beds were colourful and lawns were in good condition at the end of a dry hot summer. Under the dutiful supervision of Lindsay Pryor nothing was left to chance, including investigating the possibility of controlling flies.

Fly Control - Royal Visit3

It was less than ten years later that Canberra was making plans for the royal couple’s second visit to Canberra in 1963 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the naming of the capital. In September 1963 the ACT Advisory Council received a report from the ACT Advisory Board on Tourism which was expecting an influx of tourists during the visit. The tourism board expressed its anxiety that;

  • Canberra should be suitably decorated and illuminated for the Royal Tour with particular attention being given to King’s Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue and City Hill. The Board also recommends that immediate steps be taken to provide the necessary facilities for setting up temporary camping and caravan parks for the duration of the tour.i

The Tourism Board’s report presented to Council in January 1963 provided an update advising that a temporary caravan park had been set up in Hackett for the Royal visit and that the Tourist Bureau would also have to call on private homes to help in accommodating all the visitors to Canberra. There was no doubt that the popularity of the Royal couple would draw a big audience from Canberra and further afield.ii It was hoped that one of the sights they would be able to take in on this visit to Canberra was a recently completed Lake Burley Griffin, full to the brim with water. As the visit drew closer it became obvious that the severe drought the region was experiencing would mean that the lake would remain empty for quite some time. Some quick thinking and construction came up with the alternative, a building at Regatta Point to house displays and a model that showed the Queen and Prince Philip what Canberra would look like once the lake was full. This was the earliest version of the National Capital Exhibition building.iii

Royal Visit to Regatta Point, Canberra - 19634

Prince Philip made several tours to Australia without the company of the Queen. He was the royal representative for the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 and visited again to open the Empire Games in Perth in 1962. He also returned in 1965, 1967 and 1968. A proposed tour in 1960 was cancelled. His first two visits, however, occurred while he served in the British Navy during World War II, previous to his 1947 wedding.i The main purpose of his 1965 visit to Canberra was to open the Royal Australian Mint, and perhaps it was fortunate that the Queen was not present on this occasion. Despite the best laid plans, the minutes of the ACT Advisory Council reveal that sometimes the correct protocol is not always carried out. During the meeting held in March 1965, Councillor Greenish asked the question as to why the ‘national anthem was not played at the ceremony in Canberra at which H.R.H. Prince Philip inaugurated the Mint?’ Apparently, Councillor Barrenger had come well prepared and advised the Council that the Prime Minister’s Department had sent him a copy of the detailed arrangements for the event and that provision had been made for the anthem to be played. Unfortunately, he reported, ‘the fact that it was not played was due solely to an unfortunate misunderstanding’.ii Sadly, the minutes do not record what this misunderstanding was, but perhaps we can assume that Prince Philip was amused by this breach of protocol.

Dedication of the Royal Australian Navy National Memorial, military parade5

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File References

  • ArchivesACT: A3392/933 - Loyal greetings to Her Majesty the Queen HRH Duke Glouster addresses of welcome etc.
  • ArchivesACT: 2012/10936 - Minutes of the 492nd Meeting of the ACT Advisory Council, Monday 15 October 1962.
  • ArchivesACT: 2012/10938 - Minutes of the 524th Meeting of the ACT Advisory Council (part 3), Monday 29 March 1965.

References

I Kate Cumming – Royalty and Australian society: Records relating to the British monarchy held in Canberra. National Archives of Australia 1998 p. 125.

ii ArchivesACT, A3392/933 - Loyal greetings to Her Majesty the Queen HRH Duke Glouster addresses of welcome etc.

iii Ibid.

iv ArchivesACT, 2012/10936 - Minutes of the 492nd Meeting of the ACT Advisory Council, Monday 15 October 1962.

v ArchivesACT, 2012/10936 - Minutes of the 497th Meeting of the ACT Advisory Council, Monday 21 January 1963.

vi Canberra Times - National Exhibition tells Canberra's story - 25 September 2014 - https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6078142/national-capital-exhibition-tells-canberras-story/

vii Kate Cumming - Royalty and Australian society: Records relating to the British monarchy held in Canberra. National Archives of Australia 1998 p. 155. 

viii ArchivesACT, 2012/10938 - Minutes of the 524th Meeting of the ACT Advisory Council (Part 3), Monday 29 March 1965

Images

  1. ArchivesACT, 2013/4748 - Canberra Tourism - Historical Photographic Record - In Album.
  2. ArchivesACT, A3392/933 - Loyal greetings to Her Majesty the Queen HRH Duke Glouster addresses of welcome etc.
  3. ArchivesACT, LF1081 - Royal Visit 1952 - [1/37].
  4. ArchivesACT, OSG7335 - Royal Visit to Regatta Point, Canberra 1963.
  5. ArchivesACT, 2013/4748 - Canberra Tourism - Historical Photographic Record - In Album.

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