History, Significance

Facts and figures from the 1954 Royal Tour

by Heidi Bock on 31 May, 2012

As I have just joined the Museum, I have been exploring and discovering the interesting facts about the 1954 Royal Tour and this majestic Daimler.

In 2004, we held an exhibition called Royal Romance that examined Australia’s passionate response to Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit in 1954, and whether the nation has fallen out of love since.

It is incredible to see the effort that went into the 1954 Royal Tour.

510,000 pounds approximately in total contributed by the federal government
500,000 miles registered by the cars of Royal Visit Car Company

 

200,000 pounds contributed by the federal government for the use of the yacht Gothic
200,000 people filled the streets in the city Sydney when decorations for the Royal Tour were illuminated for the first time
96,475 pounds spent by the federal government on decorations and illuminations for Australian towns and cities visited by the Queen
20,000 cars participated in the gridlock that choked the city of Sydney when decorations for the Royal Tour were illuminated for the first time
10,000 air miles travelled by the Queen
10,000 cartons of canned fruit from Shepparton taken aboard Gothic
5000 cartons of tomato juice taken aboard Gothic
3237 bags of milk powder taken aboard Gothic
3200 passengers travelled by air during the Royal Tour
2000 road miles travelled by the Queen
1500 cases of canned meat taken aboard Gothic
600 hours flown by the RAAF
363 flights made by the RAAF
257 civil air flights
207 car journeys made by the Queen
130 hours spent by the Queen in motor cars
100 speeches made by the Queen in towns and cities she visited
57 hours spent by the Queen in aeroplanes
35 air flights by the Duke
33 air flights by the Queen
20 tons of freight in total for civil air passengers
5 engagements per day

See more on the Royal Romance exhibition.

I’m looking forward to visiting the workshop next week and seeing the Royal Daimler for the first time.