[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 19]

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.

Reel 19 shows a pageant held in Melbourne in the Queen’s honour, and preparations for the royal couple’s departure.

Detailed Description Reel 19:

Opens with Title “Floral Pageant Monday, March 8th. 1954” followed by close-ups of pageant participants and floats - some people in “ethnic” and historical costumes to 00:01:08:00 (at 00:00:50:00 close-up of musicians in blackface). 00:01:09:00 floats and performers parade along Melbourne street (probably St Kilda Road, with the camera probably located at the now Domain Road / St Kilda Road intersection). Some of the named floats shown are: “City of Caulfield”, “Department of Supply”, “Victorian Banjo Club”, “Save the Children Fund”, and “Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works”. 00:03:45:00 aerial shot of the parade moving along Swanston Street. 00:03:52:00 Title “Official Departure Tuesday, 9th. March, 1954” followed by footage of the preparations for departure - including uniformed personnel parading, luggage being unloaded from car, staff boarding plane (labelled “Qantas Empire Airways”), officials arriving and the waiting crowd.