Looking Back - 1939 to 2011 - the Autobiography of Robert V. J. Padula, OAM

1954 - Royal Visit to Melbourne

Home
1941 - Bikes and Cars
1943 - Hiking - Hills and Coasts
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 1
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 2
1944 - Growing up in the War Years - Part 3
1945 - Auburn schooldays - Part One
1945 - Auburn Schooldays - Part Two
1945 - Auburn Schooldays - Part Three
1945 - Upwey and the Puffing Billy
1945 - Gramaphones and Record Players
1946 - Flinders St Station
1946 - Astronomy
1946 - Beach and Swimming Adventures
1946 - Going to the Pictures
1947 - Adventures at the Altona Bungalow
1947 -The Listener-In Magazine
1947 - Balwyn WIldlife Sanctuary
1948 - Fishermen's Bend Aerodrome
1948 - Radio Australia QSL cards
1948 - Excursions
1949 - Australian Rules Football
1949 - Radio Monitoring at Auburn
1950 -Trains and Ships
1950 - Radios for Communications
1950 - Radio Listening Clubs in Australia
1950 - World Radio TV Handbook
1950 - Shortwave Radio Propagation Research
1950 - Medium Wave Radio Propagation Research
1950 - Radio and Hobbies Magazines
1950 - Discovering shortwave radio at Auburn
1951 - Photography
1951 - Competitions on local radio stations
1952 - Camp Buxton - YMCA Shoreham
1952 Tennis and Ten Pin Bowling
1953 - Stamp Collectiong
1953 Camberwell High School
1954 - Royal Visit to Melbourne
1954 - Shortwave Radio reception at Auburn
1956 - Melbourne's Olympic Games
1956 - Trainee Telecommunications' Technician
1957 - Trainee Technician - field work
1957 - National Service Registration
1958 - Laverton Air Show
1958 - MOOMBA Parade
1958 - Trainee Technician - field work
1959 - The move to Mont Albert
1960 - Working at Deepdene Telephone Exchange
1963 - Trade Unions, Staff Associations, Industrial Relations
1964 - Senior Technician work in the Melbourne CBD
1964 - Project support for Radio Australia
1964 - Project support for Radio Australia
1964 - Amateur Radio
1964 - Media Writing
1964 -Travels
1964 - Engineering Support for International Broadcasters
1965 - Professional Employment with PMG/Telstra
1967 - Professional Qualifications - Institution of Engineers Australia
1967 - Australian Radio DX Club Photo Gallery (to 1979)
1972 - Wireless Institute of Australia
1972 - Natural disasters in Melbourne
1980 - Australian Radio DX Club Gallery (to 1995)
1981 - Award of the Medal of the Order of Australia
1995 - Padula Books
EPILOGUE
LINKS TO AUTHOR'S PERSONAL WEBSITES
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEPENDENT BIOGRAPHIES
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Oldtime Australian Radio Drama from the 1930s
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Radio Monitoring Clubs in Australia - 1920 to 1949
SPECIAL CHAPTER - Melbourne Picture Theatres - History - 1906 to 1970

In February 1954 Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to tour Australia.

  NAA: A1773, RV1403
At the State Banquet given in her honour. NAA: A1773, RV1403
The royal visit of 1954 was perhaps the most popular of all royal visits. Aside from being the first tour of a reigning monarch, it was also the first royal tour to Australia for twenty years and its scale was immense:

Her Majesty travelled approximately 10 000 miles by air, occupying a period of approximately 57 hours and made approximately 33 flights. (His Royal Highness made 35 flights.)

The civil air lift, which was the greatest civil air operation in history, comprised 257 separate flights covering 1,307,459 passenger miles and carried 3,200 passengers with 20 tons of freight representing more than 1,000,000 pieces. This does not include 363 flights made by the RAAF of more than 600 hours duration…

Her Majesty travelled approximately 2,000 miles by road, spent 130 hours in motor cars, made 207 separate trips, and the cars of the Royal Visit Car Company registered some 500,000 miles.

Her Majesty visited approximately 70 country towns [in addition to all capital cities except Darwin] and made approximately 100 speeches.

This remarkable transport movement was carried out without one accident in which a car of the Royal Visit Car Company was involved, and there was not one moment’s delay in the air through any mechanical fault, nor was one piece of baggage lost, and Her Majesty and His Royal Highness discharged the whole of the functions set out in the royal visit itinerary without the need to postpone or abandon any engagement.

On the day of her arrival, the motorcade travelled down Swanston St - I stood behind the barricades with the multitudes opposite the Leviathan store, from 8 am until HM drove past at around 4 pm, on her way to Governnent House.

On another day, the Royal Train travelled into Western Victoria, and my brother and I rode our bikes from Altona to Laverton, where the train stopped for photos.

Melbourne was decorated with banners, colored lights, signs, and bunting on city buildings, with firefworks displays at night at the showgrounds.

Here are some of my own photos which I took on my Box Brownie camera when Her Majesty came to Melbourne!

 

 

 

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1954 - Royal Visit

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1954 - Royal Visit

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1954 - Royal Visit - childrens' display at Melbourne Cricket Ground

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1954 - Royal Visit - Royal Train at Laverton

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1954 - Royal Visit - ships at Port Melbourne

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1954 - Royal Visit - fireworks display

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