[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 9]

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 the 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 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 9 we see the Royal tour in the Victorian regional town of Hamilton, then attending a special race meeting at Flemington Racecourse.

Detailed Description Reel 9:

Starts with Title “Visit to Hamilton: Departure from Melbourne Airport (Overseas Terminal) Friday, February, 26th. 1954.” Tarmac and crowd scenes at Essendon (Melbourne) Airport. 00:01:06:00 Queen and Duke board plane. 00:01:36:00 plane taking off. 00:01:55:00 various officials boarding another plane. 00:02:53:00 plane landing. 00:03:02:00 arrival at Hamilton, Queen and Duke exit plane, followed by crowd scenes and presentation on dais. 00:03:43:00 motorcade through Hamilton (local streets and buildings) followed by greetings and crowd scenes at an official reception (at what appears to be a local sports ground). 00:04:56:00 Title “Flemington Race Meeting Saturday, February, 27th. 1954.” followed by shot of betting windows at Flemington, crowd scenes, people placing bets, close-ups of fashions and millinery styles. 00:05:35:00 Queen and Duke in open car, with mounted police. 00:05:59:00 greetings from VRC officials 00:07:15:00 mounting yard. 00:07:26:00 Title “Newmarket Handicap”, followed by interspersed scenes of crowd and horse-race. 00:08:01:00 Queen leaves stand and crowds begin to disperse.