[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 12]

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.

A highlight of Reel 12 is the footage of a garden party held at Government House; this Reel also includes further footage of Flinders Naval Depot (now HMAS Cerberus).

Detailed Description Reel 12:

Begins with continuation of Flinders Naval Depot visit by Duke (seen in Reel 11), with various parades and marches of naval personnel past dais where the Duke stands. 00:01:22:00 formation flyover. 00:01:30:00 Duke driven to another area and reviews what appear to be naval officers in training. More footage of naval personnel, marching, saluting, and presenting arms. 00:04:08:00 Duke re-boards train which moves off. 00:04:40:00 Title “Combined Women’s Organisations Luncheon”, followed by close-ups of women attendees dressed in their best. 00:05:05:00 crowd of flag-waving children holding banner “Melbourne Orphanage greets The Queen”. It is clearly a hot day - members of the crowd are holding sun-shades and covering their heads. 00:05:40:00 the Queen arrives. 00:06:02:00 to 00:06:06:00 a couple of children in the crowd can be seen holding “box brownie” cameras, keenly waiting to photograph the Queen. 00:06:27:00 Title “Garden Party at Government House”, followed by shots of guests arriving for the garden party. Wonderful shots of fashions and hats. Footage of guests strolling in gardens, with Government House building behind. Queen and Duke exit the building at 00:07:17:00 and walk towards crowd on grass. Footage of the crowd of guests in the garden is shot from a vantage point high in the building. Queen greets and talks with some of the guests, then enters a garden marquee. The Reel finishes with shot of Royal Standard flying over Government House.