Queen Visits New Town Named After Her

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30063, 22 February 1963, Page 11

Queen Visits New Town Named After Her

(W. Press Association— Copyright) ADELAIDE, February 21. The Queen faced her second hot day in South Australia today when she visited her own town, the satellite town of Elizabeth, 17 miles north of Adelaide. In a temperature approaching the 90s, the Queen squinted into the strong sunlight and frequently brushed her hand across her face.

But she looked quite cool and serene in an apple blossom pink frock with a matching pink hat and white accessories. The Duke of Edinburgh wore a grey lounge suit and did not have a hat.

When the Queen last saw Elizabeth, which was named after her, in 1955, it was little more than hay paddocks. Now it is a thriving town, with a population of more than 30 000. The Royal couple drove to Elizabeth in a closed RollsRoyce to unveil a commemorative fountain at Windsor Green, in the centre of the town. More than 4000 invited guests, and thousands of others lined the fence around the green enclosure and applauded warmly as the Queen and the Duke stepped from their car.

Even policemen holding back the crowds broke into spontaneous applause. The chairman of the South Australian Housing Trust, which built and runs Elizabeth, Mr J. P. Cartledge, said the Windsor Green Park was built to begin a civic tradition and to provide a setting for works of art.

In reply, the Queen said there were many problems in

planning and developing a new town, but they could not be compared with the difficulties that confronted those who came to start a new life in it

'They find themselves in unusual surroundings, amid strangers, and having to adapt to a new pattern of life,” she said. The Queen continued: ’’So I am glad to hear that most of the problems have been solved and that Australians and new Australians have come together to form living and virile communities in which the duties and responsibilities of citizenship are shared by all. “The test of any community is its ability and willingness to govern for the benefit of all its members,” she said. Rug Presented Mr Cartledge preaented the Queen with a car knee-rug made of eight Auatralian lambskins with an overlap on top to provide a handmuff. The Queen turned a tap to start water gushing from the granite fountain. She and the Duke alao looked at a statue presented to Elizabeth by the town of Hemel Hempstead, 15 miles outside London.

As the water gushed from the fountain, the Duke of Edinburgh turned smiling to photographers nearby and said: “See —I didn’t even touch it”—a reference to incidents in which he is reported to have sprayed photographers with a hose. Officials escorted the Royal couple back to their car to prevent the crowd closing in on her as they did at yesterday’s garden party in Adelaide.

The Royal couple returned to Adelaide for luncheon at Government House. Later an

investiture was held there. The Queen and the Duke then went to Victoria Park racecourse where about 75,000 schoolchildren were assembled to greet them. Tonight a dinner party is being held on board the Royal yacht, Britannia. It will be the last of the Queen's official functions in Adelaide. Later tonight the Britannia will sail for Melbourne.