The success of a Royal Command Surf Carnival at Bondi nearly resulted in the beach being renamed Royal Bondi Beach after Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit in 1954.
Queen Elizabeth II attends a surf carnival at Bondi Beach during the 1954 tour. Veteran surfing official Ken Watson is holding her parasol.Around two-thirds of Sydney’s population – about a million people – came out in blistering heat to greet her at Farm Cove on February 3 in an event the State Library of NSW says “practically stopped the nation”. Curator Margot Riley said it was the “last great public event” before the advent of television.
“Her KPIs were tremendous,” Riley said. “How many hands did she shake, how many posies did she receive, how many trees were planted?”
juliepower Enough
juliepower Royal Hotel Bondi. Anything from a middy of beer to a brick of coke. God bless.
juliepower How about reading the room and realise that it's time for change.... How about naming Bondi Beach after our First Nations elders? Are you trying to erase history again?