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Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived on the Royal Yacht, Gothic, in early 1954 for an extensive national tour to all States and territories of Australia. The first royal visit was from Prince Alfred in 1867, this tour was the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II spent a total of nine days in Brisbane from the 9-18 March, where she was warmly welcomed by loyal supporters. The tour involved a heavy schedule of formal occasions, the hosting of which was described in a letter by Lady Brooks of Victoria, as “a rather terrifying responsibility”.
A legacy of royal visits to Queensland can be found in the Queensland State badge. The current design was officially changed in 1954 following Queen Elizabeth II’s choice of the St Edward’s Crown for her coronation in 1952.
Since her initial visit, Queen Elizabeth has returned to Australia 14 times including: the opening of the Opera House in 1973; in 1988 when she opened the new Parliament House in Canberra, Darling Harbour in Sydney and World Expo ‘88 in Brisbane; and lastly, in 2006 when she visited Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne for the opening of the Commonwealth Games.
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 | Letter from David Lawton of Coorparoo to the State Director of the Royal Visit Office, suggesting wood chopping would be a novel and entertaining exhibition for Her Majesty, 21 January 1954
Queensland State Archives Item ID 1139501, Digital Image ID 2914 Premier and Chief Secretary’s Department
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 | 1955 Rosa Parks sparks the end of segregation in America | |
1955 Einstein and James Dean died | |
1956 Elvis Presley had a string of hit songs | |
1957 Pacemaker invented | |
1958 European Economic Community started |
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