As we each rejoice the life, and mourn the loss, of Queen Elizabeth II it is fascinating to see how a lot journey modified throughout her 70 years on the throne. That’s mirrored in her 16 visits to Australia.
As Princess Elizabeth, she was meant to go to Australia however returned to England from Africa upon the loss of life of her father King George VI travelling on a BOAC (now British Airways) 4-propeller Argonaut, a variation of the DC-4. The plane had a 36-metre wingspan, was 28.5 metres lengthy and cruised at 523 km/h with a variety of 6210 km. It was customized fitted with two light-weight armchairs and two beds for the royal couple.
Her first go to to Australia was in February 1954 on a Royal Yacht the SS Gothic (Britannia’s maiden voyage was nonetheless some months away). As on subsequent voyages the Queen got here ashore off a Royal Barge – fittingly, at Farm Cove in Sydney Harbour.
Whereas in Australia the royals flew round on a specifically fitted out Qantas Lockheed Constellation L749. The L749 was powered by 4 three-bladed propeller, 18 cylinder, air-cooled radial piston engines, every producing 2500 horsepower. It might carry as much as 81 passengers and cruised greater than 8000 km at 555 km/h at a ceiling of 7300 metres.
Britannia was in Australia in 1956 however the Queen was not on board. Slightly Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh was right here to open the Melbourne Olympic Video games.
The Queen returned to Australia in 1963 however this time she flew in from Christchurch, New Zealand for Canberra’s Jubilee. She and Prince Phillip flew on a Qantas Boeing 707 and that flight was the primary jet passenger plane to land at Christchurch. Britannia had been despatched on forward for use as her base as she then circumnavigated the nation.
That 707, a part of Qantas’ V-jet fleet, was era-defining in some ways. Qantas was the primary service outdoors the US to purchase 707s and required particular specs to function in Fiji’s warmth off quick runways. It launched Australia to the jet age and inexpensive air journey – and flew a lot quicker that the Constellation. This was the plane John Travolta purchased from Qantas in 1988.
The Queen’s 1963 go to was chargeable for one other important technological breakthrough. Throughout World Warfare II the CSIRO had modified a sheep blowfly remedy to guard Australian troops in opposition to malarial mosquitoes.
There have been worries that the Queen’s flawless complexion can be marred by Canberra mossies so she was sprayed earlier than she set out on a sport of golf. The media seen that the official social gathering have been remarkably fly-free. Mortein subsequently referred to as the CSIRO, which offered their analysis freely and Aerogard was born.
For her visits in 1970, 1973 and 1977 the Queen flew to Australia on Qantas 707s. The 1970 go to was to commemorate the bicentennial of Captain Cook dinner’s “discovery” of Australia and the Queen and Duke have been accompanied by Anne and Charles and, once more, Britannia was their base for a few of the time. The 1973 go to was primarily for her to open the Sydney Opera Home.
In February 1981, Qantas flew Diana Spencer and her mom to London for the engagement announcement. There was feverish media hypothesis so that they needed to be smuggled into Sydney Airport and onto the airplane. It will be onerous to think about a extra appropriate car to do this than in a Toyota Corona – it will solely be extra becoming if she was marrying into the Spanish royal household the place “corona” merely means “crown”.
The 1974 go to utilised Britannia, RAAF plane and Qantas and it included Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island and Australia. The Queen and Duke had Princess Anne and Mark Phillips in addition to Lord Mountbatten with them, however a UK basic election was referred to as so the Queen needed to return to London, leaving Phillip to finish the official duties. The 1977 journey was additionally a mixture of Qantas, RAAF and Britannia.
In 1980, it was a fast four-day go to and Prince Phillip flew in on QF4 whereas the Queen arrived on an RAAF 707. In 1981 she flew in on a RAAF 707 and Britannia was awaiting her in Melbourne. In 1982 her arrival and departure for the Brisbane Commonwealth Video games was by RAAF 707 then she met up with the Duke and Britannia. Her go to in 1986 was barely completely different in that she arrived in Canberra on an Air New Zealand Boeing 727, joined Britannia and left on an RAAF 707 to return to London. In 1988, for the Bicentenary, it was the by now acquainted RAAF 707 arrival.
In 1992 the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh flew London to Sydney on a chartered Qantas Boeing 747-400. Whereas this plane was the pure evolution of the 707, the 747 jumbo jet took worldwide flying to an entire new degree of accessibility and affordability. Whereas the Boeing 707-320B was 46.6 metres lengthy with a wingspan of 44.4 metres, the 747-400ER was 70.7 metres lengthy with a wingspan of 64.4 metres. The 707 carried 141 passengers in opposition to the 747’s 416 passengers – and the 707 had a variety of 9900 km vs the 747’s 14,200 km vary.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned in 1997. Not like the Gothic, which suffered a dramatic and deadly fireplace within the Pacific in 1968, Britannia has been preserved as a museum. Certainly, she sits alongside the Ocean Terminal in Leith, simply outdoors Edinburgh the place she has been rated the UK’s high attraction. Britannia presents a outstanding perception into royal life – the Queen needed her to be snug not stuffy, sacking the ship’s first designer. Britannia offered respite from the Queen’s gruelling schedule but additionally served because the venue for a lot of state dinners world wide. See https://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/.
In 2000 the Queen arrived on a Qantas chartered plane designated QF6060, visited the Sydney Olympic village round many different appearances and flew out of Perth on QF9. In 2002 to mark her Golden Jubilee the Queen and Duke arrived in Adelaide and flew out of Brisbane on a constitution 777 plane. In 2006, they once more arrived and departed on a constitution 777 plane. The Queen’s final go to to Australia was in 2011 and once more she and the Duke arrived and departed on a constitution 777.
That’s the logical finish to the story. From the early days of gradual, inefficient propeller plane, the Queen’s final journeys to Australia have been on an plane famend for its superior vary, good gasoline effectivity and good passenger consolation. We await the developments in journey over the subsequent monarch’s reign.
