Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

'The price of greatness is responsibility,' said Winston Churchill, the first English prime minister that Queen Elizabeth II worked with and, reportedly, her favourite. Her Majesty never sought greatness, but, through her devotion and service to her country and to the Commonwealth over an extraordinary 70-year reign, the Queen achieved a rare measure of greatness the world seldom sees. Through the peaks and valleys of war and peace, through the darkest days and in times of triumph, in a rapidly changing world, she was a reassuring presence of continuity and calm. She was a 25-year-old who became the longest-reigning monarch in British history and, for many, was the most loved. As we mourn her passing, country communities have come together across our electorate of Calare to share memories of when the Queen swapped the comforts of Buckingham Palace, Balmoral and Windsor Castle for the wonders of the Central West.

On the first of the Queen's 16 visits to Australia, in 1954, the royals visited 57 towns and cities in 58 days, including two in the region that I'm lucky enough to call home. On 12 February the royal flight touched down at Raglan Aerodrome, and the Queen said g'day to Bathurst for the very first time. In the 1954 census, Bathurst had just over 16,000 residents, so you can imagine the pandemonium as the city's population swelled five times over, with an estimated 90,000 people gathering in the city's CBD to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty. That's about the same number of motor racing fans that descend on Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 1000 each year. Later that day, the Queen and Prince Philip boarded the royal train from Bathurst to Lithgow, where 20,000 people gathered at Lithgow Park, including 6,000 children from 45 schools across Lithgow, Mudgee, Gulgong and Kandos, who each carried a Union Jack flag made in Lithgow. The name of that park was subsequently changed to Queen Elizabeth II, in honour of her visit that day.

She was a Queen, but she never lost her connection to the people she led. She loved meeting regional Australians from all walks of life. After her visit, the Queen sent a letter to the Mayor of Lithgow, writing:

I am well aware that this area with its coal and its industry is making a notable contribution to the strength of Australia, and I am very glad that I have been able to come here and see something of it.

I am still more pleased to be able to meet some of the men and women who work the mines and man the machines.

This week, Ann and Owen Murray from Manildra, and their granddaughter Lily, stopped in to my Orange office to sign the book of condolence. Ann recalled the Queen and Prince Philip's visit to Orange on 28 April 1970, when, as a young girl, she happily sat in the street outside the former Bank of New South Wales for hours, waiting to see Her Majesty. While in Orange, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited the Email fridge-making factory, which was to be a key employer for the city for several decades.

While the royal visit largely went off without a hitch, decades later it was revealed that there had been an assassination attempt on the journey to Orange. According to former detective Superintendent Cliff McHardy, a large wooden log was placed over the train tracks at Bowenfels, near Lithgow, in an attempt to derail the train carrying the royals. The advancing train struck the log, but, fortunately, it was travelling slowly enough that it didn't derail. The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the public were unaware anything had happened for three decades, before the Lithgow Mercury finally broke the story of the Lithgow plot. I bumped into the legendary former Lithgow Mercury editor Len Ashworth last week, who recounted how pleased he was that the story he did not print at the time has finally now been told. The identity of the perpetrators remains a mystery to this day.

In 1982 the Queen visited Bathurst for a second time, demonstrating her great fondness of and interest in regional Australia and affirming a strong and lasting connection between residents of the Central West and the royal family. Her presence and support in times of tragedy and loss will never be forgotten. Douglas Brooks of Orange echoed the sentiments of many, when he wrote in our book of condolence:

In others' tribulations your loyalty held sway

We honour and salute you and bid farewell today.

It was truly an honour to attend the national memorial service yesterday on behalf of the Calare electorate. We thank and salute Her Majesty for her seven decades of unwavering and resolute service to the Commonwealth and the international community of nations. Hers was a life of duty, dignity, service above self and love, including love of Australia and love of country Australia and its people. She was truly exceptional. May she rest in peace.

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