THE Queen’s 1986 visit to the Mornington Peninsula started on Friday 7 March after being ferried from the Royal Yacht Britannia to Stony Point pier. The Britannia had arrived in Western Port from Port Phillip the previous night.
First stop once ashore (after being welcomed ashore by local dignitaries and officials) was a visit to Ballam Park Technical School, Frankston.
The royal couple was then driven back to Stony Point for lunch aboard the Britannia before returning to shore and heading off to HMAS Cerberus, at Crib Point.
Flag-waving schoolchildren lined the road as the Queen and Prince Phillip headed the naval base for the presentation of a new Queen’s Colour and a garden party.
News crews, including royal watchers from the United Kingdom who follow the monarch’s every step, were bunched together to record and report the events.
The royal visit began in Canberra on 2 March, moved to Melbourne on Thursday 6 March for a garden party held by Victorian Governor David McGaughey and his wife Jean and watching the Royal Gala River Pageant at Henley Landing on the Yarra.
The royal couple boarded the Britannia that night at Station Pier to sail to Western Port.
After the ceremonies ended at HMAS Cerberus the Britannia and her royal passengers set sail for Adelaide, from where they flew out of Australia on Sunday 9 March, ending their 1986 Australian tour.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 13 September 2022
