Royal Visit

When Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburg visited Australia in 1954, it was the first time that a reigning monarch had set foot on our soil.
As the royal tour progressed through the country, excitement in Adelaide began to mount. The streets were decorated and school students everywhere continued to practise for mass dances and displays.

On March 19 Concordia’s staff and students went to their allotted space in Gouger St in the city to view the royal cavalcade and catch a glimpse of the queen.
On March 23 more than 90,000 primary and secondary school students gathered at the Wayville Showgrounds. They treated the royal couple to a thunderous welcome as their Land Rover slowly made a complete circuit of the oval. By the time the Queen and Duke reached the dais, boys had run out on to the oval to form a giant version of the word ‘Loyalty’. Primary school children dressed as kangaroos, kookaburras, cockatoos and aboriginal people then performed a colourful ‘wattle dance’.
Concordia girls took part in other items which followed. The last display to be performed was the most spectacular, as 7000 young people carrying coloured hoods swayed from side to side to give the effect of a flag or standard fluttering in the breeze.