The Queen's tours of Australia

THE QUEEN MEETS AUSTRALIA

1954, February 3-April 1: A newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II toured Australia with The Duke of Edinburgh. The couple visited 57 cities and towns in every state and territory except the Northern Territory. Highlights of the tour included the opening of the federal parliament and a meet-and-greet with 70,000 ex-service men and women at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Three-quarters of the population were estimated to have seen the royals at least once. Novel greetings included thousands of school children spelling out the word "loyalty" on an Adelaide oval and Sydneysiders risking their lives on railway tracks as the Royal Train steamed into the city.

CANBERRA'S JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

1963, February 18-March 27: The Queen marked Canberra's Jubilee celebrations with a tour of every state and territory. She made headlines after visiting the Red Centre and addressing remote communities via the Royal Flying Doctor Service radio network. The Queen also knighted Prime Minister Robert Menzies, visited the Australian War Memorial and the town of Elizabeth, north of Adelaide, named in her honour.

BICENTENARY OF YEARS SINCE COOK'S LANDING

1970, March 30-May 3: The royals returned to celebrate the bicentenary of Captain Cook's landing in Australia. The Queen unveiled a memorial in Cooktown before heading bush to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base at Mt Isa. The Queen and Prince Philip also visited NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. The "royal walkabout" was introduced during this tour, allowing the couple to depart from protocol and mingle with ordinary people.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE OPENING

1973, October 17-22: Queen Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House on October 20 with Aboriginal man Ben Blakeney, a direct descendant of Bennelong. The ceremony included fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The Queen also attended a parliamentary luncheon in Canberra.

NEW PARLIAMENT HOUSE OPENING

1974, February 27-28: The royals were back to open Parliament House in Canberra. But the Queen was forced to return to Britain after a snap general election was called, leaving Prince Philip to finish the tour. It was the only time the Queen abandoned an overseas trip.

QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE

1977, March 7-23; 26-30: Queen Elizabeth II marked her Silver Jubilee with a tour of every Australian state and territory. Things didn't go to plan when she was confronted with anti-royalist demonstrations in Adelaide. But it wasn't all heckles, with Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee requesting an autograph when the Queen visited the MCG. She declined but later mailed him one.

HIGH COURT OPENING

1980, May 24-28: The Queen opened the new High Court of Australia in Canberra. She also met entertainers, including comedian Paul Hogan and singer Olivia Newton-John, after they performed in a Royal Charity Concert at the Sydney Opera House.

CHOGM IN MELBOURNE

1981, September 26-October 12: The Queen travelled to Melbourne for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. She also toured Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia.

BRISBANE COMMONWEALTH GAMES OPENING

1982, October 5-13: Queen Elizabeth II opened the Brisbane Commonwealth Games on September 3. She and Prince Philip also travelled to NSW as well as Canberra for the launch of the National Gallery of Australia.

THE AUSTRALIA ACT

1986, March 2-13: Queen Elizabeth II signed the 1986 Australia Act in Canberra on February 7. This made Australian law independent of British parliament and courts. The Queen also opened Parramatta Stadium during her tour of NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

AUSTRALIA'S BICENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

1988, April 19-May 10: Queen Elizabeth II marked Australia's Bicentenary with a tour of every state and territory except Victoria and the Northern Territory. Along the way, she opened Brisbane's World Expo 88 and the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach. She also opened Canberra's new Parliament House, where Aboriginals were protesting. But one little girl stole the show after breaking away from the crowd to give the Queen flowers.

`THE LIZARD OF OZ' TOUR

1992, February 18-25: British tabloids were furious when the Queen made global headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her Majesty was here to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Sydney. But then-Prime Minister Paul Keating took the country's famously laid-back attitude to new heights when he put his arm around the Queen, earning the nickname "the Lizard of Oz". And then his gloveless and hatless wife Annita declined to curtsy.

AFTER THE REPUBLICAN REFERENDUM

2000, March 17-April 1: Queen Elizabeth II delayed this tour until the debate around Australia's 1999 referendum had subsided. She visited every state and territory except South Australia, paying particular attention to regional areas including Wagga Wagga, Bourke, Ballarat, Alice Springs and Busselton. But her visit was marred by an armed man who posed as a royal security officer ahead of her arrival at Darling Harbour. He was arrested and the Queen was unharmed.

CHOGM SUNSHINE COAST

2002, February 27-March 3: The Queen had been on the throne for 50 years when she attended a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on the Sunshine Coast. But the corgi-loving monarch also made time to meet fellow dog owners at Adelaide's Government House.

MELBOURNE COMMONWEALTH GAMES OPENING

2006, March 11-16: The Queen opened Melbourne's Commonwealth Games on March 15. She also opened a new section of the Sydney Opera House, planted a gum tree at Canberra's Government House, met Aboriginal leaders and honoured firefighters who fought the January 2003 Canberra bushfires that destroyed more than 500 homes.

THE SWAN SONG TOUR

2011, October 19-29: Queen Elizabeth II's swansong tour revealed just how much Australia's relationship with the monarchy had changed. Prime Minister Julia Gillard bowed, rather than curtsied, to the 85-year-old monarch. And Prince Philip got behind the grill at Perth's "Big Aussie Barbecue". The royals also visited Brisbane, meeting victims of the previous summer's disastrous floods. In Melbourne, the Queen opened the new Royal Children's Hospital and rode in a custom-designed Royal Tram. She finished her tour at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, before being farewelled by a crowd of nearly 100,000.

Australian Associated Press