By Kate Shilling — 23rd September 2022
This momentous week marking the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II feels like an appropriate time to climb a few branches of our own family tree and hear from relatives who hold special memories of the 1954 royal tour of Australia.
27 year-old Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visited 57 towns and cities during their 58-day journey, traversing the country by plane, train, ship and car from Cairns in the north, Broken Hill in the west to Hobart in the south.
78-year-old Wagga Wagga resident, Deirdre, will never forget Saturday, February 13th 1954, when Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived into town as part of the tour, flying into the Forest Hill Airport.
The royal procession headed down Baylis Street, the main street of Wagga, before heading to the Wagga Showground, where Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were given an authentic taste of country life, with demonstrations of sheep shearing, wool rolling, wood chopping and even boomerang throwing.
“My school class was part of the presentation at Bolton Park,” says Deirdre. “We arrived early and waited eagerly for the Queen to arrive. The thing I remember most was the heat and how my little bunch of flowers was starting to wilt.”
Despite the blazing February sun, Her Majesty wore her elbow length white gloves and a decorative hat and preferred to make eye contact with her subjects rather than wear sunglasses. Her only protection from the sun was a small umbrella that she held over her head in the Crown car.
“I was so excited as the Queen was driven slowly through the crowd, coming closer and closer to where I was standing,” says Deirdre. “I was right up the front of my group and I screamed as loudly as I could as she drove by.”
“She looked down, locked eyes with me and gave me a kindly smile – it was a wonderful moment that I’ll never forget.”
Deirdre still holds a weathered copy of the Riverina Royal Visit Souvenir Booklet. Her grandchildren enjoy reading it and hearing all about the special day when the rural town of Wagga Wagga was touched by royalty.
Photograph credit: Alamy
