Albany 2026: Fran Wallace recalls the excitement of Queen Elizabeth II visiting Albany in 1954 and 1977

Only a handful of Albany locals can say they saw the Queen not just once, but twice in Albany.

Fran Wallace is one of those lucky few having been in the port city for both of Queen Elizabeth II’s visits — first in 1954 for her initial tour and again in 1977 for her silver jubilee.

Ms Wallace said she was able to experience history from the footpath as the city came to a standstill to honour her majesty.

Queen Elizabeth II visited Albany first on March 30, 1954 as part of her first tour of Australia as a reigning monarch.

Her majesty travelled from the airport to Centennial Oval where more than 25,000 people greeted her.

Ms Wallace was 13 years old during the Queen’s first visit and said she was able to catch a glimpse of her at the Albany Regional Airport.

“She came to Albany when I was still a schoolgirl but she came to the airport and our class was brought down to see her,” she said.

“The airport was packed with different classes from all over and, of course the general public too.

“Just seeing her drive past, that’s the experience we had, but there was lots of cheers.”

Ms Wallace described the experience as memorable and one that she and her classmates wouldn’t forget.

“It was time off school and we all longed to see the Queen,” she said.

“We had heard so many good reports about her and had seen lovely photos.

“I was in awe of this beautiful young Queen coming all the way to visit us.

“It was just awe-inspiring to be in that situation.”

On March 1977, Queen Elizabeth II made her second visit to Albany as part of her Silver Jubilee tour with Prince Philip.

The royal occasion also marked a milestone for the city, which was celebrating its 150th anniversary.

Ms Wallace was a 36-year-old during this visit and a mother of two young boys aged seven and five.

She remembers the town embracing the significance of the visit with residents cleaning up their houses for the Queen.

“I noticed that she had to come from the airport into town so all those houses on the Albany Highway they all seemed to be spruced up, painted and gardens looking tidy,” she said.

“The town was all spruced up.

“There was an air of expectancy and excitement.”

Determined not to miss this historic moment, she said her family arrived early to secure a prime viewing spot.

“We got ourselves down to the museum area near the big lawn and that’s where we stayed because we had a good spot,” she said.

“There was heaps of people as you can imagine.

“The atmosphere was exciting.”

Ms Wallace said the visit brought up strong emotions due to her past memories of seeing the Queen during her earlier visit decades before, and described the monarch’s presence as both striking and warm.

“Queen Elizabeth II was a very beautiful woman and also very gracious and humbling,” she said.

One of her most memorable moments from this visit was when her eldest son, Peter presented flowers from his grandmother’s garden to the Queen.

“My mother had picked a beautiful posy of roses from her garden and Peter being the eldest had the honour of presenting them to her,” Ms Wallace said.

“Peter sort of put out the roses and she stopped and said, ‘Oh thank you. Where did you get these lovely roses?’.

“It was a bit of chatter and Peter said, ‘From my nanna’s garden’, so she had a chat to my mother.”

Ms Wallace said she was also impressed by the quiet dignity shown by Prince Philip during the interaction and throughout their tour of Albany.

“It was very gracious how Prince Philip stood back and gave all the glory to his Queen, to his wife,” she said.

Both visits remain among Albany’s most memorable moments, recalled through the excitement of those who gathered to welcome the Queen.