[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 4]

The 1954 visit to Australia of newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II with her husband and consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was a cause of much celebration - and an occasion for much pageantry - in Victoria. Elizabeth was our first reigning monarch to visit Australia, and the young and popular royal couple attracted intense interest wherever they visited on their extensive Australian tour.

This collection of silent, pre-release footage - much of which eventually comprised sections of the official Victorian film release - follows the visiting couple on their journey throughout the state; including numerous regional centres as well as major sites and events in Melbourne. It shows not only the “official” portrait of this historic royal visit, but also dwells on the reactions of the Victorian people; crowds of whom waited by roadsides and railways, on city streets and in small country towns, for a glimpse of the monarch.

As well as focusing on the history of the 1954 royal visit, the footage thus also gives us a unique and invaluable look back in time at some of the buildings, streetscapes, vehicles, cameras, fashions and crowd behaviours of the mid-1950s in Victoria.

Reel 4 shows the arrival and reception of the royal couple at Essendon Airport and their first progress through Melbourne.

Detailed Description Reel 4:

Opens with footage of arrival and reception at Melbourne Airport (Essendon). Official reception party greets the couple at exit from plane. 00:00:15:00 Party and crowd stand at attention for National Anthem. 00:00:32:00 Military salutes and review of troops. 00:01:10:00 Queen greets airplane crew, then full reception party. 00:02:35:00 Motorcade begins leaving Airport. 00:03:41:00 exterior shot of Essendon Town Hall with decorations and crowd followed by motorcade moving through streets. 00:04:01:0 - 00:04:41:00 reception at Essendon Town Hall entrance. 00:04:42:00 motorcade drives on, with shots of cheering crowds lining streets, shot from moving car. 00:05:35:00 arrival at Victorian State Parliament and shots of cheering crowds. 00:06:33:00 Queen and Duke pause halfway up Parliament House steps, flanked by Victorian Parliamentary Mace and Black Rod, who then precede them into the Parliament building. The camera then pans up the building to show the royal coat-of-arms and Royal Standard adorning the top. 00:06:59:00 artillery salute fired in Domain. 00:07:18:00 Queen and Duke exit building. 00:07:40:00 on return to their car the Queen and Duke are again flanked by the Victorian Parliamentary Mace and Black Rod. 00:08:00:00 car moves off, and is then filmed driving through Melbourne CBD through streets lined with cheering and flag-waving crowds. 00:08:35:00 exterior shot of Melbourne Town Hall.