Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in Victoria Ave, Whanganui.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in Victoria Ave, Whanganui.
Friday, January 8, 1954. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were well into their 1953/54 New Zealand tour: a whirlwind trip of civic receptions, brass and pipe bands, marching girls, military processions, bunting, displays, excited crowds, decorated towns and cities and a host of royal engagements kept the royals and thecitizens of New Zealand busy.
In Whanganui, Victoria Ave was strung with banners welcoming the royal couple and the streets were lined with well-wishers and, of course, photographers. John Souter was there, and so was his best friend, Ian Jolley, with his wife, Thelma, and daughter Carol.
Carol was not yet 3 but she remembers being told to get out of the gutter and stop throwing stones.
"Get up! The Queen's coming!" said her mother. "I was told to go and sit on the concrete nib at the back of the footpath," says Carol, now Carol Couper.
Ian had brought his Pentax camera and the photos on this page are taken by him. As the Queen and Prince Philip went past in the open-backed car, he took a photograph, little knowing his daughter's image would be caught reflected in the black paint of the vehicle.
A news report says about 40,000 people welcomed the royal couple during their brief visit to Whanganui.
The weather was warm and sunny and the sky mostly blue. A perfect summer's day.
The royal train arrived from Marton at Aramoho Junction at 12.20pm and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were driven by car to Cook's Gardens for a civic reception and formalities.
The mayor, Bill Rogers, would have been feeling particularly patriotic as he had been awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours a few days before. As well as a multi-term mayor (1927-1931 and 1935-1953), he had been appointed a member of the Legislative Council by the first Labour Government.
The Queen's car later drove down Victoria Ave to the railway station in Taupo Quay to rejoin the royal train. Crowds lined the footpaths, cheering and waving, although not all were thrilled.
One Whanganui resident refused to leave a shop to watch the royals pass by, saying, "I'm not getting up for those Pommie buggers!" — according to the NZ History website.
Ian Jolley's photos capture a day that those present would never forget. Now, that young queen has become the longest reigning monarch in British history.
