Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II first visited Australia on the 3 February 1954. Her visit included a stop at the General Repatriation Hospital in Concord. An enormous crowd of around one million people lined Parramatta Road between Broadway and the suburb of Concord to catch a glimpse of the Queen as her cavalcade passed by. 

Concord repatriation Hospital officials have cancelled visiting hours on Friday, when the Queen will visit the hospital. The Queen will arrive at the hospital at 3 pm and will stay for an hour. A hospital official said last night that officials cancelled the visiting hours to prevent sightseers from crowding into the hospital.

– Daily Telegraph, 1954

Her first visit was to the men's surgical ward where she was presented with a bouquet of red roses and white carnations by a white-gloved second year trainee nurse, Miss Judith McAviney.

The Queen gave me a beautiful smile as she shook my hand. I think she only said, “How do you do?” but I was so excited I can't remember.

– Nurse Trainee McAviney

For the next two months, the Queen would visit every capital city (except Darwin) and many regional centres, until departing from Fremantle on 1 April. It is estimated that almost three quarters of the Australian population took time to see the Queen on this trip. The Queen visited Australia 16 times during her life.