As a staunch republican and a founding member of the Australian Republican Movement, I cannot but admire the extraordinary reign of Queen Elizabeth II. I have no doubt that Australia would have become a republic a long time before now if it were not for her.
It is difficult to think of anyone in Australia’s history that has been held in such high regard and for such a long period of time. She was adored throughout Australia even before she became our Queen. Five years before her coronation, when she married Prince Philip in November 1947, Australians from all the towns and cities took to the streets in large numbers to celebrate the wedding, which, in the age before TV, was broadcast nationally on radio.
