Maldon Museum and Archives, Tarrangower Times
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s tour of Australia in 1954 was long anticipated. They had been due to visit in 1952, but their plans were cut short by the death of King George VI.
Following Elizabeth’s coronation, they finally arrived in Sydney aboard the liner Gothic on Wednesday, 3 February 1954. The couple would tour every State, visiting each capital city and many regional towns. At most stops, local councils organised receptions for the couple.
In Victoria, the royal couple toured regional centres by train. The Royal Train was scheduled to stop at Castlemaine at 5.55pm on Friday, 5 March 1954, as it travelled between Bendigo and Maryborough.
The Castlemaine Council proposed that the Queen would leave the train, walk past cheering school children and be welcomed by Castlemaine councillors and their wives in front of the Midland Hotel. All Maldon’s school children were invited to attend the event.
Hearing of the arrangements, the Maldon and Metcalfe Shire Councils protested that the presidents of all Shires in the district should be presented to the Queen. Their protests fell on deaf ears, and the Castlemaine Council proceeded with their arrangements.
However, all their plans were cancelled when a number of polio cases were reported in Castlemaine and Maryborough. The cancellation was not due to a fear that the Queen might contract polio but that large gatherings of children might result in the spread of the disease.
A similar reception in Maryborough was also cancelled. While the cancellations might have been well-intentioned, they were not welcomed and did not prevent large crowds from gathering.
The Royal Train only stopped briefly at the Castlemaine Railway Station before it travelled on to Maryborough. The Queen received local councillors and their wives on the train and later appeared on the observation platform to wave to a crowd of about 6,000.
Rather than come to Castlemaine, Maldon’s school children were bussed to the Newstead Racecourse, where they joined a local crowd of more than 2,000. The local State Member, Clive Stoneham, who was on the Royal Train, arranged for the train to slow down as it passed through Newstead so that the crowd could cheer the Queen.
Maldon’s own contribution to the Royal Tour celebrations was the illumination of the Mount Tarrengower Tower. Reportedly the Royal party saw the Tower as their train travelled between Newstead and Carisbrook. The Maldon branch of the CWA also planted several flowering gums on the Castlemaine Road to commemorate their visit.
The next day more than 200,000 people lined the streets of Ballarat to welcome the Queen. It was reported that the crowd included many who had travelled from Castlemaine and Maryborough.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 16 September 2022.
