By Natasha Fujimoto
DISEMBARKING from their royal yacht in the scorching summer heat of 1954, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh began their two-month tour of Australia.
Travelling by air, sea and land, the royal couple set a gruelling pace of 57 towns in 58 days. But it was to the tiny town of Goorambat, 24km north of Benalla, that the royals came to spend one restful night on a little siding.
On a tour of northern Victoria, the Queen and the Duke spent 12 hours in Goorambat on their Royal train before heading off to Benalla, Shepparton, Tatura and beyond, the next day. In excitement and in anticipation of catching a glimpse of royalty, thousands of people reportedly slept in their cars all around the proposed route.
On March 5, 1954, the Australian daily newspaper, The Argus, reported, “Police kept watch over the train all night. The Track between Benalla and Goorambat was checked, and teams of men worked late sprinkling 2,000 gallons of water to keep the dust down.
As soon as the train arrived at Goorambat, at 10.50pm it was connected to the local electricity supply and 12,000 gallons of water were pumped from a special railway tanker.”
The following morning, the locals of Goorambat were allowed to gather in the station yard and were delighted beyond measure when the royal couple appeared on the observation platform to view the station which had been bedecked in greenery, bunting and flags by the local CWA.
Today, in front of the Mechanics Institute and opposite the famous little siding, there is a plaque which commemorates the hours that the Queen and her prince spent, in the little town of Goorambat.
