PM Transcripts

P. M. NO. 42192
ROYAL TOUR
Statement by t ~ rime Minister the Rt. Hon RG Menzies
I am now in a position to announce certain tentative
arrangements for the forthcoming visit to Australia of Her
Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness, the Duke of
Edinburgh. It is expected that the Royal couple will arrive
in Canberra by air from New Zealand on Monday. February 18.
Thereafter, they will engage in a tour which will take them
into all six States and the Northern Territory.
The precise amount of time to be spent in each
State has yet to be determined though it is unlikely in any
instance to exceed three days,
Her Majesty has made known her wish that her visits
to the States should be associated, if possible, with some
event of special significance. As a result, the exact
itinerary cannot be announced until the States have themselves
made their proposals and these have been communicated to the
Queen. However, it seems likely that the general order
of the visits after Canberra will be South Australia, Victoria,
Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, return to Canberra,
then visit the Northern Territory and Western Australia,
Her Majesty has also made known her desire to use
the Royal Yacht " Britannia" at various stages of her tour.
Rcalising that this will reduce the periods in which she will
be in direct contact with her Australian people, she has
herself volunteered to extend the length of the visit beyond
the month originally contemplated and her departure from Perth
by air for the United Kingdom will now take place on 27th
March. It is expected that the use of the " Britannia"
will produce a number of agreeable results. It will allow
Her Majesty to enter some of the Australian cities from the
seaward. Further she will be able to achieve rest while
moving from point to point and the Royal Yacht will be
available for such entertaining as Her Majesty may choose
to do.
CANBERRA, 6th July, 1962,