1954 QEII opens NZ Parliament

A crowd of 50,000 greeted Queen Elizabeth II, resplendent in her coronation gown, for the opening of a special session of the New Zealand Parliament in its centennial year. This was the first time New Zealand’s Parliament was opened by a reigning monarch.

The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, had arrived in New Zealand shortly before Christmas 1953. Everywhere during their tour they were met by large and enthusiastic crowds. Perhaps three in every four New Zealanders saw the Queen as she visited 46 towns and cities and attended 110 functions. At Tīrau, a community of 600 people in south Waikato, a crowd of 10,000 turned up for a glimpse of the young monarch.

Another notable first from this tour was Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas broadcast from Auckland. This was the first time this broadcast was made outside Britain. The Queen finished with a message of sympathy for the people of New Zealand in the wake of the Tangiwai rail disaster of the previous night.

Image: Queen Elizabeth opening Parliament in 1954