By the time Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were
ready to start a five months’ tour, in the King’s stead, through
Australia and New Zealand, by way of East Africa, the King’s doctors
were satisfied with the progress of their patient. Indeed, so cheerful
and confident was his behaviour, that he went to London Airport on January
31, 1952 to wish godspeed to the royal couple.
The ILN commemorated the start of the journey with a special issue entitled
‘The Royal Tour of Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and Ceylon’
published on February 9, 1952
(Appendix List No. 142). Its main features
are the family farewell at London Airport when the couple left in the
Argonaut airliner “Atlanta”; illustrations of Ceylon; scenes
of the Australian and New Zealand cities the royal couple would visit;
a coloured centrefold showing a diagrammatic drawing of the liner S. S.
“Gothic”; the couple’s arrival at Nairobi airport and
highlights of their stay in the capital city of Kenya colony.
The cover shows a coloured drawing by C. E. Turner of the S.S. ‘Gothic’,
the Shaw Savill liner in which the royal couple would embark at Mombassa
on February 7 for the journey to Australia and New Zealand. The surrounding
frieze shows the coats of arms of the 5 countries the couple would visit
as well as the individual arms of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria,
South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. Bunches and sprays of
yellow cootamundra wattle decorate the borders.
This is issue number 5886, vol. 220, pages 193-236, measuring 37 x 26
cm and priced at two shillings.