Romayne Hoyle was just a young girl when she escaped the throngs of people gathered at Civic Park all vying to get a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth II at the Newcastle Art Gallery.
She and her younger sister snuck past the barrier to get a glimpse of the monarch that had transfixed her family for generations.
Treading on the no-doubt freshly tended garden beds the pair were determined to sneak a peek at the woman who would live to be the world’s longest reigning royal.
“We stood on the plants to get a closer look, and she [Queen Elizabeth II] did walk close by,” Romayne recalls.
“We were a bit naughty, my sister Simone and I, we stood in the garden just down from the fountain and I remember seeing her cut the ribbon for the Art Gallery.
“I was a school child at the time.
“But, it was the biggest thing to happen in Newcastle at the time.
“Everyone was there. We were with our nanny – she was a royalist as well – and she let us get out of school.”
It is just a small memory of hers, but one that resurfaced this month when the world woke to the news of the popular monarch’s death.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away aged 96.
During her monumental reign she had visited the former steel city four times, the first in February 1954 just two years after her coronation.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes recalled the city’s royal moments.
“During that visit, she toured the city with the Duke of Edinburgh, arriving by train at Newcastle Station and being officially greeted at City Hall before visiting No.1 Sportsground, BHP Steelworks, Stockton and Newcastle Airport,” she explained.
“Queen Elizabeth II returned to Newcastle in 1970 to open the International Sports Centre and visited again seven years later to open Australia’s first purpose-built regional gallery, the Newcastle Art Gallery, on 11 March 1977.
“Her final visit to the city occurred in May 1988 when she opened Queens Wharf, a project spearheaded by former Lord Mayor Joy Cummings.”
Romayne’s mother Judith fervently paid attention to the Queen’s visits, too.
“Mum had followed them all around Sydney and she always swore that she heard the Duke [Phillip] say ‘they’re hear again’ when he spotted them at another event, perched on their stools for a closer look at royalty,” she said.
“It’s a sad moment in history saying goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II.”
Meanwhile, a seven-gun salute, illumination of the City Hall Clock Tower and a condolence book signing are among the events planned by the City of Newcastle to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Fort Scratchley Historical Society will fire a salute – one for each decade of the Queen’s reign – at 10am on Thursday 22 September as part of the National Day of Mourning.
The clock tower at City Hall on King Street is also set to turn regal purple, while the City Administration Centre will open from 9am to noon for those wishing to sign the condolence book.
City of Newcastle will close several of its facilities on 22 September, too, including all libraries, apart from the City Administration Centre; the Newcastle Museum; and Beresfield Childcare Centre.
Elsewhere across the city, Port of Newcastle will support the commemorative efforts by lighting up Dyke Point from 5.30pm to midnight during the National Day of Mourning while the Crystalbrook Kingsley hotel will turn purple as a mark of respect.
The community can also attend a memorial service and lay floral tributes at Christ Church Cathedral from 7.30pm on Wednesday 14 September.
For those unable to sign the condolence book on Thursday 22 September, the book will remain at the City Administration Centre until Friday 23 September and can be signed Monday to Friday between 8.30am to 5pm.
