Description
This is a black-and-white photograph taken on 14 February 1958, showing a group of women and children waiting for the arrival of the Queen Mother in Canberra. The children in the front row are in national costumes and are carrying bunches of flowers to present to the Queen Mother. A boy and two of the girls in the front row are wearing Dutch clothing and clogs. The costume worn by the girl on the boy’s left-hand side may be Ukrainian, and that of the girl on his other side, either Hungarian or Polish. Some of the children are holding specially made Australian flags that have a photograph of the Queen Mother on them.
Educational value
- This asset shows part of one of the numerous groups of people who gathered to greet the Queen Mother (Elizabeth, wife of the late King George VI) during her tour of Australia from 14 February to 7 March 1958 - the Queen Mother was visiting Australia six years after the death of the King, and four years after their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, had made the first tour of Australia by a reigning monarch; plans for the Queen Mother to visit Australia along with the King in 1949 and in 1952 were cancelled because of his ill health.
- It suggests the popularity of royal tours in Australia in the 1950s - the Queen Mother's 1958 tour was not sufficiently long for her to visit regional centres, encompassing Canberra and all state capitals except Hobart; the tour by Queen Elizabeth II also attracted huge crowds, in both rural areas and the cities.
- It shows the use of specially made Australian flags by some members of the crowd assembled to greet the Queen Mother - Prime Minister Robert Menzies had asked that there be 'plenty of flags' on display during her visit.
- It suggests a bid by organisers of the Queen Mother's tour to highlight the migration of Europeans to Australia, and cultural diversity in Australian society - royal tours have always been highly orchestrated affairs, and it may have been a deliberate decision to have the children in the front row at this location wearing national costumes.
- It shows children who were probably European migrants - by 1958, the number of migrants who had arrived in Australia since the Second World War was well over 1 million, most of them from Europe.
- It highlights the common practice of presenting bouquets of flowers to a visiting dignitary - the girl third from the left in the front row is holding a large bouquet, while the other children are holding posies.
- It features some examples of 1958 children's fashions.
