[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 6]

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.

In Reel 6 we see some marvellous footage of since-vanished Melbourne vistas.

Detailed Description Reel 6:

Begins with flag raising outside Melbourne Town Hall. 00:01:05:00 aerial shots of Swanston Street, Flinders Street Station & St. Kilda Road. 00:01:19:00 a shot back across river to Flinders Street showing frontage of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Ball and Welch store. 00:02:01:00 aerial shot of Government House. 00:02:04:00 arrival at Government House, with crowd scenes including Girl Guides and Brownies in uniforms. 00:03:12:00 reviewing troops including mounted police. 00:04:09:00 Queen mounts steps and enters Government House. 00:04:19 Royal Standard flying over Government House (only flown when monarch in residence). 00:04:22:00 night scenes of Melbourne CBD with illuminated decorations. 00:05:50:00 fireworks shots (to end).