[The Royal Tour of Australia]

This film is a documentary of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia in 1954. A highlight is an event at the MCG in Melbourne in which 17,000 children participated. At one point, the excited children break rank and surround the royals jeep to get a closer view so that Prince Philip starts to shoo them out of the way of the vehicle.

Another Prince Philip moment is at the Davis Cup tennis tournament in Melbourne where he is seen speaking at length to the coach and the players who assume they should pass by quickly.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:02:00 titles ‘The Royal Tour of Australia’ and ‘The Queen visits Hobart’
00:00:14:00 view of a ship on the water followed by the Queen and Prince Phillip looking through binoculars from the ship’s deck
00:00:30:00 waving to the crowd, sailing into harbour and looking out over the waving crowds and military assembly
00:01:04:00 the Queen and Prince Philip stand in the back of a military jeep, waving to huge cheering crowd as they pass by
00:01:10:00 title ‘The Queen in Melbourne’
00:01:17:00 the Queen descending the steps at Parliament House, Melbourne accompanied by be-wigged members of the judiciary and other officials
00:01:40:00 greeting the crowds at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) including veterans in wheelchairs
00:02:11:00 an young girl and boy present flowers to the Queen and Prince Philip
00:02:18:00 the Queen and Prince Philip keenly watching horse racing at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne
00:03:29:00 at the Davis Cup match in Melbourne, the Queen presents a trophy to coach Harry Hopman, and players Ken Rosewall and Lou Hoad
00:04:04:00 a visit to Melbourne war memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance where the Queen delivers a dedication speech, after which the Queen presses a button which lights the eternal flame in the forecourt
00:05:35:00 military aircraft fly overhead in the shape of a capital E as Prince Philip attends the Flinders Naval base in Victoria, and watches a parade of naval personnel, including women (an unusual element according to the narration)
00:06:19:00 the royals watch a parade at Point Cook airforce base
00:06:40:00 the Queen and Prince Philip are shown the operations of the open cut coal mine at Yallourn in Victoria by the Chairman of the State Board for Electricity, Mr Hunt
00:07:18:00 children participate in an exhibition of maypole dancing at the MCG for the Queen and Prince Philip
00:08:05:00 the Queen and Prince Philip in an open jeep, with Prince Philip ‘directing traffic’ as children surround the vehicle
00:08:14:00 title ‘The end’

Note - 08/09/2022 Ann Jones (née Vernon) wrote to ACMI to say she was 10 years old and was from West Coburg Primary School. When the word ‘Welcome’ was formed she was at the top corner of the ‘C’. I remember Her Majesty driving past us and waving.