The Queen has been a regular visitor to Australia throughout her reign.
In 16 visits, The Queen has celebrated all aspects of Australian culture and life, from sheep farms to natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef, and from the triumph of Olympic and Commonwealth sporting meetings to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and tradition.
The very first Royal visitor to Australia was Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria's second son, and later Duke of Edinburgh. A captain in the Royal Navy, he visited Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in 1867-68 during a world tour on board HMS Galatea, and was met with enormous warmth.
But all did not go entirely smoothly. On 12 March 1868, an Irishman named Henry James O'Farrell shot the Prince at a picnic in Sydney. Fortunately, the Prince made a quick recovery and was able to leave Australia by early April. A hospital was founded in his name.
In 1901, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) visited Melbourne to open the first Federal Parliament. The visit confirmed links with Britain, and helped to make the opening a grand ceremonial and festive occasion.
Edward, the Prince of Wales arrived in Victoria on 2 April 1920 representing his father, King George V. His mission was to thank Australians for the part they played in World War I.
Australians warmed to his humour and modesty. He endeared himself to them further by making light of a rail accident in which his carriage overturned in Western Australia. The Prince was unhurt and thanked the officials for arranging the 'harmless little railway accident'.
In 1927 The Queen's parents, as Duke and Duchess of York, arrived at Sydney Harbour, attracting a crowd of over a million.
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V, served as Governor-General, and lived there with Princess Alice in 1945-7. He was Australia's first Royal Governor-General.
The first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch took place in 1954. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh undertook a tour of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. They arrived in SS Gothic, steaming into Sydney Harbour.
The advent of air travel has made more frequent visits possible, although for many of them The Queen based herself on the Royal Yacht Britannia to travel around the country.
During her 1963 visit, The Queen made a unique broadcast to people in remote communities over the Flying Doctor network in Alice Springs.
In 1970 The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh joined in the celebrations marking Lieutenant James Cook's discovery of Australia 200 years earlier. They were accompanied on this occasion by Princess Anne and, for part of the time, by The Prince of Wales.
In 1973, The Queen opened the landmark Sydney Opera House, an event which attracted world-wide attention.
Australia also figured prominently in The Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977, in which The Queen visited every state during a three-week tour.
The Queen and The Duke toured Australia again in 1980 and 1981, to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Melbourne. In 1982 they attended the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.
In 1988 The Queen took part in Australia's bicentenary celebrations, travelling extensively across the nation, and opening the new Parliament House in Canberra. The same year also saw a tour by The Prince and Princess of Wales during January and February, and a visit by The Princess Royal.
The Queen has visited Australia on 16 occasions:
1954, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2011.
