Photographic colour transparencies recording events of the Royal Visit of 1954, in the mainland states other than Western Australia and in Tasmania.

Photographs taken during the 1954 Royal Tour. Subjects include: official functions in Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and elsewhere: processions, civic receptions, at the races etc.

Correspondence files of the Sydney Office of the Royal Visit Organisation, 1954.

Correspondence files of the Director-General of the Royal Visit Organisation, Lieutenant-General F H Berryman, relating to the organisation and administrative arrangements for the Royal Visit of 1954, in the ACT and States.

The filing system allocated single numbers for each state as follows: (2) New South Wales; (3) Australian Capital Territory; (4) Tasmania; (5) Victoria; (6) Queensland; (7) South Australia; (8) Western Australia.

The files were accumulated in the Sydney Office which was the Headquarters for the Royal Tour. The series is a companion series to A9708, Correspondence files, alphabetical series with 'RV' (Royal Visit) (General) prefix.

Correspondence files of the Public Relations Office of the Royal Visit Organisation, Sydney relating to the press arrangements for the Royal Visit. The Public Relations Officer was Mr Oliver Hogue, from the staff of Sydney’s Sun newspaper.

Correspondence files of the Commonwealth Transport Staff Officer of the Royal Visit Office, Sydney, relating to the arranging, controlling and financing of the hire of vehicles used for the Royal Visit.

Subject index cards for a portion of A462 (relating to primary heading 825 for the Royal Visit, 1954) within the Prime Minister’s Department general correspondence series in operation between 1950 and 1956.

Includes invitations to various functions arranged to celebrate the 1954 visit.

These records were created by the ABC and are held in the Sydney office of the National Archives.

In 1946, whilst I was in London for the exploitation of the Australian film The Overlanders, I had the honour to be presented to her Majesty, together with Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret… At that time, I was most impressed by the interest her Majesty displayed both in Australia and the Australian film industry and, as she will probably be attending a screening at some time during the tour, I feel that this – the only Australian film produced in Australia last year – would be a suitable choice.

The film is set against the backdrop of the pearling fleets of the Torres Straits, a location I do not think has been included in the tour itinerary and which would present an authentic visual of both the Torres Strait and the diving methods which, of course, are unique and are carried on against the background of one of the last remaining large fleets of sailing ships in the world…

Mr Rafferty’s request was forwarded to the Governor-General but ultimately it was decided to screen a British film for the couple instead. However, when the Queen and Duke were in Brisbane, the Queensland State tour officials screened King of the Coral Sea for the royal party.

In the initial drafting of the tour schedule and procedures, Sir Eric Harrison, the Minister in Charge of the visit stated in a letter covering the report to Menzies:

We were fortunate… in having created a Commonwealth staff of highly skilled officers in key sections of the tour administration, and evolved a procedure based upon A Guide for Planning, Royal Visit 1952 [located in A6688, Annexure 9], which provided a uniform and authoritative basis for planning, and incidentally, is the first such publication in the British Commonwealth. This was the basis for the needs and requirements of both Commonwealth and State tour officials…

Menzies later wrote to Frank Berryman:

Let me offer you my congratulations on the magnificent service you gave as Director-General Royal Visit… I am very conscious of the many difficulties that beset you… [But] as I said when the Tour commenced and repeated during the Tour, I did not think we in Australia with our limited experience could achieve such perfection of detailed organisation.

This file also discusses some of the financial costs of the tour. It states that the Commonwealth Government contributed £200 000 towards the cost of using the yacht Gothic for the royal visit. It also states that the Government decided that all Commonwealth buildings along royal progress routes should be decorated. The amount spent across Australia on such decorations and illuminations was £96 475. Excluding its contribution to the Gothic, the Federal Government estimated it spent £310 000 on the 1954 royal visit.

This file explains the duties of Commonwealth security officers in relation to the royal visit and details the security arrangements made in connection with the tour. Details of security procedures, such as those in connection with loading cargo onto the royal yacht Gothic and for flights involving the royal couple are also included.

According to this file, the following foods were loaded onto the Gothic in Australia:

10 000 cartons of canned fruit
3 237 bags of milk powder
1 500 cases of canned meat
5 000 cartons of tomato juice

It was decided that the royal couple should eat as much pre-packaged food as possible aboard the Gothic, particularly in the Western states, due to the polio scare.

The following extract from the official report on security arrangements found on this file, details the strict arrangements for the delivery of these goods to the yacht and is indicative of the strict security measures overall:

Typical of the security measures applied to cargo is the action taken in the case of a consignment of 10 000 cartons of tinned fruit from Shepparton Fruit Preserving Co. In this case, one officer from this Service and a police officer proceeded to Shepparton and there, in conjunction with the Company’s Manager, made satisfactory arrangements for the safe handling of the consignment. The goods were loaded into a louvered truck in the yard of the Company, were sealed and then transported to Port Melbourne, under the supervision of the Railway Department, by special arrangement made with that department. At the wharf the seals were checked and loading onto the Gothic made from within the barricaded area.

In addition to the above file, series A2880 contains manh other files relating to royal visits and royal protocol in Australia. A complete listing of all the material in this series is available in the Canberra office of the National Archives.

This file contains discussion of security issues associated with the royal visit. It holds details of security checks made on mail delivery staff and journalists who were to be associated with the royal party, and reports on communist activities in the period. It also contains details of the controversy that arose after reports circulated indicating that some Communist Party members would be invited to Sydney’s Royal Ball.

The file also contains a report on the mechanical failures that occurred with the Queen’s aircraft’s engines. Security staff investigated the incidents to determine whether neglect or sabotage was the cause of the failures.

Contains details of security checks conducted on employees of QANTAS and Trans Australia Airlines involved in the transportation of the royal party.

The file also contains details about the security vetting of journalists covering the tour. This vetting gave rise to great controversy in Victoria when, as a result of security checks, twelve journalists had their official accreditation revoked.

This file relates to the publication of a book which would commemorate the royal visit. Much of the file concerns aspects of the actual publication and design. It also contains copies of pages used in the publication. The finished book, compiled, written, photographed and designed by the Australian News and Information Bureau, was called Royal Visit to Australia of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

This file contains copies of advice provided to the royal party and officials about the clothes that should be worn to particular functions.

The report submitted by CSIRO recommended, amongst other precautions, spraying selected buildings and the surrounding vegetation with DDT.

This item contains an hour of Australian compositions composed in honour of the royal visit. It is held in the Sydney office of the National Archives.

• the Commonwealth Programme for the royal visit
• the ACT Programme for the royal visit
• seating plans for a State banquet held at Parliament House on 16 February 1954
• the commemorative menu for the above banquet. The meal consisted of paw paw cocktail, grilled Murray River cod with butter sauce, roast breast of chicken with asparagus tips and ice pudding ‘Royal Style’.

Held in the Brisbane office of the National Archives.

This item is held by the Sydney office of the National Archives.

The bulk of these cases were registered in February and March of 1954 and led to alterations to the tour plans for the state.

As with previous Directors of royal visits, Lieutenant-General Frank Berryman came into the position following an outstanding military career. Records relating to his period in the military and military command are primarily held by the Australian War Memorial. These records can be identified using the National Archives’ item database. In addition, the Australian War Memorial holds Berryman’s personal papers, identified as AWM92, PR 84/370. These personal papers include records relating to his periods as Director-General of the royal visits of 1952 and 1954.

The National Archives holds several records relating to the career of Lieutenant-General Berryman:

Prior to his appointment as Minister in Charge of the 1954 royal visit, Mr Harrison had been Minister for the Interior, Repatriation, Defence and Defence Production.

Mr Harrison’s personal papers are held by the National Archives and a portion of these relate to his work in 1954. A description of these records follows:

These records relate to some of the ministerial functions undertaken by the Rt Hon Sir Eric John Harrison. The papers can be divided into three broad groups: papers concerning the Royal Visit, 1954; papers relating to Papua New Guinea; and, miscellaneous newspapers and newspaper clippings, mainly referring to major Royal events (such as the death or coronation of a monarch) and other celebratory events (such as the end of World War I, and the opening of Parliament House in Canberra).

The majority of the material relates to Sir Eric’s duties as Minister in charge of the Royal Visit, 1954. This material includes: invitations issued to Sir Eric and his wife to attend events associated with the visit; the working programs of the Royal party; state guides issued for the information of the Royal party; seating arrangements at various functions; special passes (such as police passes) issued to Sir Eric; honorary memberships to clubs and societies given to the Harrisons for the duration of the tour. These items are mostly arranged according to state, thus there is a file for New South Wales material.

There is some material relating to Papua New Guinea in the collection. These items are predominantly copies of published geographical articles and annual reports of the two territories. There are, however, some typescript notes for a speech delivered by Sir Eric, dated 1939. It seems likely that this material was collected whilst Sir Eric was a Minister without Portfolio in 1938 and 1939.

The newspapers and newspaper clippings collected by Sir Eric relate mainly to Royal and other celebratory events. They are overwhelmingly culled from Australian newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald.

All items in this series are described on the National Archives’ RecordSearch database.