Venues NSW Honours The Queen’s 70 Years of Dedicated Service
Wednesday 1 June 2022 2:43pm
The Sydney Cricket Ground, Accor Stadium and CommBank Stadium will be illuminated in royal purple on Thursday night as part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
This year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Monarch of Australia to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee after 70 years of dedicated service to Australia and the Commonwealth.
This date also marks the anniversary of Her Majesty’s Coronation.
In 1954, aged 27 and just a year after her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II sailed into Sydney Harbour as the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia. Sydneysiders turned out in their millions to catch a glimpse of the young Queen. The royals visited 57 towns and cities during the 58 days they spent in Australia. They traversed the country by plane, train, ship and car.
The royal couple were greeted by thousands of school children at the Sydney Cricket Ground during that tour on February 5, 1954.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and H.R.H. Duke of Edinburgh in Land Rover (second path on left) inspect thousands of school children at Sydney Cricket Ground. February 5, 1954. With permission State Library of New South Wales.
Just six days later, Her Majesty and her husband Prince Phillip, spent a day in Wollongong where 80,000 people lined the streets to welcome the reigning monarch. The royal couple visited the Wollongong Showground, now known as WIN Stadium, where 13,000 school children from 130 schools in the district were waiting to see and hear their new Queen.
Mid-afternoon, the royal couple travelled north to Bulli – home of the iconic Bulli soil that forms the base of the SCG wicket square - where they boarded a train to return to Sydney. Upon arrival at Central Station, Prince Philip made a peak hour dash to the Sydney Cricket Ground via police motorcycle escort to watch John Landy’s attempt to break the four-minute mile at the Australian Track and Field championships.
In 1970, Her Majesty returned to Australia and opened the first stage of the Newcastle International Sporting Complex, now known as McDonald Jones Stadium, on April 10.
A few weeks later, Queen Elizabeth, accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, returned to the Sydney Cricket Ground with their daughter Princess Anne, to watch a rugby league match between Balmain and South Sydney from the SCG Ladies Pavilion on May 2.
On March 5 1986, Her Majesty visited Australian shores once again and opened the former Parramatta Stadium, now the site of CommBank Stadium.
Some well-known landmarks in Sydney and around the state are taking part in the royal purple illuminations include NSW Parliament House, NSW Government House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, buildings across Circular Quay, the CBD, Sydney Olympic Park (Olympic Park train station, Olympic Boulevard light towers and Accor hotels and Stadium) and the Sydney Cricket Ground to name a few
For more information on the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, click here.
