Day the Queen dropped in
A look back at significant moments in the North’s history
TOWNSVILLE is buzzing with royal excitement following Queen Elizabeth’s inaugural visit to the city this afternoon.
The Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh received a warm North Queensland welcome as their plane descended over the city just after 2pm.
The Lockheed Constellation aircraft flew over the Townsville Sports Reserve to view the massive royalthemed tableau made by thousands of local schoolchildren in honour of the Queen’s momentous visit, which has captivated residents of all ages.
A huge crowd of onlookers held their breath as the royal plane landed at Garbutt Airport, and the 27-yearold Queen looked immaculate and colourful as she descended out of the aircraft to screams of joy and excitement.
“Here she comes!” yelled one little girl as she got her first glimpse of the Queen, who was wearing a blue summer frock and a small white hat and gloves.
A motorcycle escort, which was flown from Brisbane for today’s visit, travelled with the Queen and Duke in the Royal Progress as hundreds of locals lined the road to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty as she made her way towards Flinders St.
Hundreds of people spent hours waiting to get a prime vantage point, with many spectators setting up folding or wooden chairs, boxes and small stools, and two southern visitors even slept on a Flinders St flower bed overnight.
One of the best viewing points was the upper end of Denham St, where people also spent hours “squatting” to get the best possible view of the royal couple. The royal couple – travelling in a black open topped car – entered Flinders St to rapturous applause, and while officials were impressed with the behaviour of onlookers there was a moment of cheeky behaviour from one local.
As the Royal Progress swung from Flinders St West into the lower end of Flinders St, a spectator began enthusiastically waving a small Australian flag and at the same time his bright tartan tie.
The Duke looked across to the spectator, Mr J.H. Jackson, and said with a laugh: “Hey, where did you come from?”
It was the only hiccup in an otherwise incredible spectacle in Townsville’s CBD, and the Royal Progress then made its way to the Sports Reserve where more than 14,000 people – including 4000 schoolchildren – waited for the royal couple to be officially presented to the city.
A group of young children presented the Queen with a bouquet and the mayor spoke of how proud the city was to welcome Her Majesty for the first time.
“Your beautiful city … stands on the threshold of an era of rapid progress in both the primary and secondary industries and we will see before long how this will bring a growing measure of prosperity to your people,” Her Majesty told the crowd.
The Queen then farewelled the Sports Reserve and made her way with the Royal Progress along the Strand before she boarded HMAS Anzac from Townsville harbour and then on to the SS Gothic.