Following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip on April 9, The North West Star reflects on the last royal visit to Mount Isa in April 1970.
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It has been 51 years, since Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip stunned Mount Isa into silence during their Australian tour in 1970.
The royal couple arrived in Mount Isa on April 15, 1970, and was reported by The North West Star that it was "possibly the quietest reception experienced by the Queen and Duke in their entire Australian tour", as the crowd were "stunned into silence" upon their arrival.
The Queen and Duke landed at Mount Isa Airport and soon split up to talk to chat to welcomers. The Duke joked and laughed with a number of people as he trailed behind the Queen.
One of the men he spoke to said he was from Hatchers Creek, NT and had come especially to see the royal visitors.
"Have you found the natives friendly?" the Duke asked.
"Not quite," answered Gerhard Lohden. They both laughed.
It took the Queen 15 minutes to walk from the aircraft to the Rolls Royce that was waiting to transport them to Casa Grande where they would stay on their visit, the Duke yards behind had to catch up.
Later that evening, the Queen and Duke attended their first official function arriving at Kalkadoon Park for a mini-rodeo. The rodeo, a mini-duplicate of the Mount Isa annual rodeo, was staged just for the royal visitors.
The Duke held a pair of binoculars, and it was reported that "they hardly left his eyes all night."
On April 16, The Queen conducted a tour of the Mount Isa Royal Flying Doctor base showing a deep interest in the historical display of equipment and photographs; spending twice as long as scheduled.
The Queen continued on to the School of the Air studio where she gave a five minute radio message conveying no one could pretend that life was particularly easy in the Outback.
"Change in the North West is inevitable, whether we welcome it or regret it," the Queen said.
"But it is worth remembering that the pioneers came here because they wanted to establish a satisfying way of life. The period of progress and national economic prosperity is of immense importance."
While the Queen was on her tour, the Duke had completed an underground mine tour of Mount Isa Mines and continued talking to apprentices at the surface plant until the Queen arrived from the Royal Flying Doctor base.
In the K57 headframe area, they saw underground equipment in use on the surface. Although the Queen kept her distance from the equipment, she seemed almost as interested in the display as was the Duke.
The highlight of the mines tour was the visit to the copper smelter, where they watched blister copper being poured into moulds.
Following the mines tour and a private lunch the royal couple also inspected new workers flats in Buckley Avenue, before making their way to a royal public gathering at Alexandra Park.
The royal couple were greeted by a crowd of more than 6000 children.
The Queen and Duke waved from an open Land Rover as it completed a small circuit of the crow. The Duke asked "Is that all?" and the Land Rover moved off on an extra circuit around the outer ring of excited children.
The Queen and Duke then went on to welcome everyone and a presentation of sports trophies were made by the Queen.
The Queen smiled and shook hands with the children, and she and the Duke asked about the schools, what their fathers' occupations were and whether they liked school.
School children from Birdsville, Bedourie, Dajarra, Duchess, Boulia, Camooweal, Normanton, Burketown, Gunpowder, Richmond, Maxwelton, Nelia, Nonda, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, Mary Kathleen, McKinlay, and Kynuna all travelled to see the Queen.
Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip departed Mount Isa that evening boarding the royal plane at Mount Isa Airport en route to the coast.
As the Queen boarded, the Duke paused at the top of the stairs for a last look at the farewelling crowd before departing.
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Samantha Campbell
Samantha Campbell (nee Walton) has worked for regional and rural publications across New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. She is currently writing for the North Queensland Register based in North West Queensland. Email: samantha.campbell@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Samantha Campbell (nee Walton) has worked for regional and rural publications across New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. She is currently writing for the North Queensland Register based in North West Queensland. Email: samantha.campbell@austcommunitymedia.com.au
