Have You Been to Canberra to see the Queen? Be part of an upcoming exhibition
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This year, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 70 years as monarch of Australia. 70 years and no retirement in sight.
She became our Queen before Australia had TV. Most people owned 78rpm records (which were superseded by 33s and 45s, and cassettes, then CDs and iPods and streaming, oh my). The only option for cars was full lead petrol and manual gears.
Everyone smoked, women wore corsets (or ‘foundation garments’) and were only paid 2/3—¾ of a man’s wage for the same job. But at least the hats were stylish.
The Queen really does have the staying power of an Energiser™ Bunny—she has outlasted presidents, prime ministers and the British Empire. Australia was the outpost of that empire when she visited in 1954 and the excitement was set to ‘superfan’. The crowds went crazy.
No other reigning monarch had visited AND she wore her coronation gown so all her people could see it in full colour. Historical note—it was embroidered with all the floral emblems of all the countries in the empire.
Since then, Her Majesty has visited Canberra 13 more times, the last being in 2011. She has opened Parliament, dedicated the Jet, the High Court and Bonython Primary school. She has met the great and good, the famous and infamous—but what we’d love to know is has she met you?
To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the National Capital Authority is putting together a special display, within the National Capital Exhibition, and we would like you to be part of it.
October 26, 2011: Melbourne, VIC. Crowds gather to see Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and His Royal Highness Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh, during a visit to Federation Square in Melbourne, Victoria, as part of their 10 day visit to Australia. Photographer Alex Coppel. Credit Newspix.
Were you, or someone in your family, one of the school children ushered down to line Northbourne Avenue, handed flags to wave as the motorcade went past? Were you a Scout or Guide chosen to open the door of her car?
Have you given her flowers or simply received a wave as she went by? Did your family collect souvenirs of royal visits to Canberra, save an invite to an official dinner or keep the gloves that shook her hand?
If so, we would love to be able to share that story with everyone. The planned exhibition, titled ‘The Queen and Me’ is to showcase the people’s memory of Her Majesty’s visits to Canberra. The NCA has two options for submitting your stories and photos:
- Fill in a simple form here: www.nca.gov.au/education/whats-on/queen-and-me-exhibition
- or send your story by email to exhibitions@nca.gov.au
The Queen and Me will be on show from 2 June 2022 at the National Capital Exhibition, Regatta Point, Canberra.
Feature image: AUSPIC
