It rained a lot during her majesty, the Queen's, first visit as monarch to Canberra (it was 60 years ago this week, in February 1954) but even the city's loyal puddles got caught up in the fervour. If you look very closely at this famous photograph taken on February 15, 1954 (in which we see her ascending the steps of Parliament House, wearing her coronation dress) you can see how the big puddle to the right of the red carpet is sporting a reflection of a Union Jack flag.
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And if you follow in the same footsteps today, you can go up into what was then Parliament House and see the Museum of Australian Democracy's exhibition Happy and Glorious.
As well as celebrating and remembering the five heady Canberra days of 1954, and of the whole royal tour (of eight weeks), there are displays of 1954 souvenirs, including a must-have royal matchbox holder. Better still, there is a sparkling display of exact replicas of the crown jewels. How one hankers to try on the crowns! But, alas, they are in glass cases along with the great surprise of the display, the replica of the Sovereign's Orb held during her coronation in 1953. It turns out to be larger than a granny smith apple - more like a great, golden, jewel-encrusted rockmelon.
During her Canberra stay a room that had been part of the president of the Senate's suite in Parliament House was given to her (freshly refurnished, reupholstered and festooned with fresh flowers). Ever since it has been called the Queen's Room and it is part of the exhibition. One item the room has at the moment that it didn't have in 1954 is a nice big book into which today's visitors are invited to write their reminiscences of 1954. From one of them we found, stickybeaking, that as well as wet weather during the 1954 tour there was some stinking hot weather as well. A recent visitor, who was 13 in 1954, wrote: ''I remember seeing the Queen when she visited Australia in 1954. I was, along with thousands of other schoolchildren, all assembled at Wollongong Showground in the boiling heat. Kids were passing out everywhere - but not me!!! The Queen drove around the showground standing in an open car … I remember thinking how beautiful she was.''
The south coast children in sunny Wollongong had a far better time than lots of the Canberra children who were there to see the Queen arrive at Parliament. The Canberra Times, not missing any of the minutiae of the occasion, reported ''Children Fear Queen Missed Their Flags.
''Thousands of children uttered a drawn out sigh of disappointment and many of them cried when they thought [correctly] Her Majesty had not seen their colourful display prior to the opening of Parliament yesterday. More than 3500 children were poised and awaiting a signal to give the display when Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were about to enter Parliament House.
''But the signal did not come until 10 seconds after Her Majesty had entered the doors of the House. The children had waited in pouring rain for the Queen to arrive. Children from every school in the ACT were massed on the hill in front of Parliament House for one of the most colourful displays of the Royal Visit. Each child held a coloured flag, either red, white or blue, and they were so spaced that the completed tableaux represented a Union Jack. The first children, ranging in age from five to 14, arrived on the hill at 12.45pm in pouring rain and with no shelter available they were soaked to the skin within minutes. Heavy showers throughout the next hour made conditions unpleasant for them. St John Ambulance officers moved through the lines of children treating on the spot those who found the occasion too much for them.''
If 60 years ago you were one of those drenched urchins please, please send us your reminiscences. Has the experience left you emotionally scarred, perhaps jaundiced against the monarchy? Or have you moved on, cheerfully?
The Queen was touched by the occasional raindrop on that monsoonal day. TheCanberra Times, gushing, (this columnist has reported several royal tours and knows they are ordered to gush), reported her amazing stoicism in the face of a few raindrops as if she was deserving of medals for extreme bravery.
