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Remembering Queen Elizabeth II
PLC SYDNEY GIRLS REMEMBER QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II saw many of our more senior ex‑students take pause to recall a day they got very close to the Queen. It was on Her Majesty’s 1954 visit to Australia that PLC Sydney girls excitedly waved as she, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, drove past Concord Park.
The cohort from PLC Sydney was among the 150,000 children who gathered at four different locations to see the Queen and the Duke. The ladies all recall that it was an uncomfortably hot day. “We all came to school that day with a little flower posey,” recalls Shirley Evans (Day, 1954). “The idea was to place them in front of the barriers so the Queen would see them as she drove along in her car. Because it was such a hot day, they were looking very wilted!” “It was very exciting,” adds Caroline Lyons (Shiess, 1956). “It was a very long, hot day, mind you. But we had a really good view. We were all there in our Panama hats from memory, which was good because that was a bit of sun protection.” “A memorable day,” shares Diane Robertson (Pittman, 1961). “So hot but so exciting. A day very vivid in my memory.”
“There we were in our woolen uniforms and black stockings,” adds Marilyn Philip (Goodsir, 1956). “It was very hot but we just loved it. We all thought it was wonderful.”
Nancy Badewitz (Caldwell, 1956) was staying in Vaucluse and had a beautiful view of the Queen’s ship in the port. On the day in question, Nancy recalls that “being short, I was in the front row,” giving her a great view of the Queen driving past. Michele Vuaran (Whitaker, 1968) was also front row with many of her Branxton friends.
“I was there in 1954,” says Michele. “Waving the flag as Her Majesty’s car passed by... I can never dismiss the solemnity and privilege at being there, representing PLC Croydon.” While still two years away from becoming a PLC girl, Margaret Bergomi (Brodie, 1960) was also at Concord Park with her family that day. She witnessed visits from many royals over the years including the Queen Mother and Princess Alexandra.
“I do also remember when Princess Margaret got married and we were allowed to watch a television broadcast of the wedding at school,” she shares. Hilary Wall (Preston, 1961) had only started at PLC Sydney as a boarder that week when she joined the school on the visit to Concord Park. She also has another special memory of being “with my family at Taronga Zoo to watch the Queen’s arrival into Sydney Harbour. It was 20 years after the Queen’s 1954 visit that Adele Ho (Davison, 1975) had the chance to shake hands with Her Majesty.
“I was a Queen’s Guide and they gathered the Queen’s Guides who were on Norfolk Island to be presented to the Queen as part of her tour,” she says. “I remember shaking her hand. She was an amazing woman, very delightful. She had a chat with everybody.”
If you have a memory or photo from a historic event that occurred at PLC Sydney, we would love to hear about it. Please contact exstudents@plc.nsw.edu.au to share your stories.
