This story was first published in April 29, 2019.
WITH the 151st Royal Bathurst Show to be held from this Friday to Sunday, May 3 to 5, my photo this week shows Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh standing under a small marquee in front of the main grandstand at Bathurst Showgrounds during their visit in 1954.
The photo features the 'Address of Welcome' given on behalf of the children of Bathurst and district, delivered by Miss Jill Forrest, daughter of the Bathurst town clerk.
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The visit took place on Friday, February 12, 1954, after Bathurst residents had spent months looking forward to welcoming the royal couple.
It was initially thought the royal visit may take place close to show day in 1954, but there must have been some relief when plans arrived with the earlier date.
Carol Churches still vividly recalls the day she lined up as a local school pupil to welcome the Queen in the showground. Gloria Constable was living on River Road when the Queen visited Bathurst and she looked forward to seeing her.
However, the Queen passed too quickly, allowing only a brief glimpse of the monarch.
Gloria did go up into Bathurst, where she saw the Queen again. I still have the three microphones used on the dais on the day in my collection.
"The Queen won't see another flower display like it anywhere," Bathurst mayor Alderman Alan Morse said, referring to all the floral decorations.
The royal flight to Bathurst, comprising eight aircraft, arrived at Raglan Aerodrome. The Queen and the Duke were in a gleaming R.A.A.F. Dakota, their first flight in an R.A.A.F. plane on the tour.
The "Royal Dakota" had a ground air-conditioning plant that had arrived on an earlier Dakota.
On arrival, the cooling air was blown into the royal aircraft.
The royal couple had made previous flights on a T.A.A. Convair.
Three press planes arrived from Sydney on earlier flights. Other planes carried tour officials and R.A.A.F. maintenance men and mechanics.
Bathurst gave the royal couple one of the most enthusiastic welcomes, with the schoolchildren cheering the most. The royal LandRover travelled at eight miles an hour through crowds and slowed to two miles an hour when passing groups of children along the way.
More than 25,000 people crowded into the delightful garden setting of Bathurst's King's Parade to welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the western plains.
King's Parade was a solid mass of people milling around the welcome dais in front of the Civic Centre. Here, they were welcomed by the chief secretary, Mr. C. A. Kelly, and Mrs Kelly.
The royal couple walked along a 200-yard pathway through the park to the welcoming dais.
Schoolchildren in uniform were lined up 10 deep on either side of the pathway, and the brilliant array of flowers added lustre to the colourful occasion.
Children cheered and waved red, white and blue flags excitedly as the royal couple made their way to the dais. During the ceremony, the Queen had to continually brush flies from her face.
The official dais was also gaily decorated with dozens of varieties of flowers. The floral decorations were a credit to a group of Bathurst volunteers.
Scores of people in the big crowd watched the welcome with periscopes and as the Queen and the Duke stood together on the dais, the crowd sang God Save The Queen.
The crowd applauded Elizabeth Chifley, widow of the late prime minister J. B. Chifley, as she stepped onto the dais. The Duke spoke to her for a few moments.
The royal couple inspected a tableau of flowers set in the War Memorial. The tableau represented a miniature organ, with two dolls playing it.
