Prince Alfred was the second son of Queen Victoria and her German
husband Prince Albert. In 1868, as part
of a world tour, the Prince made a much anticipated visit to the Colony of Queensland. Committees had been formed to plan the
celebrations.
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| The Less Than Amiable Prince Alfred |
As well as holding the titles of Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Kent and
Earl of Ulster, Alfred was also (courtesy of his father) the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and as such, his visit caused much excitement amongst
the German community in Queensland.
In Toowoomba, home to a large number of German settlers, the royal visit
would not be quite what the German Queenslanders expected.
The Brisbane Courier
reported:
A meeting of the German residents of Brisbane was held
last evening, at the Town Hall, to arrange the part to be taken by them in the
reception of H.R.H. the Prince on his visit to the colony.
After some discussion, it was unanimously resolved that a
torchlight procession should be held in honour of the Prince on his arrival in
the colony. It was anticipated that upwards of 200 or 300 Germans would take
part in the procession. It was also resolved that the Prince should be
serenaded on the same evening. [1]
The German residents of Toowoomba were also keen to provide a suitable
welcome to the prince. They were not
pleased that the government had not planned an official reception in their
town.
 |
| Gentlemen seated in front of the German Club in Toowoomba |
Toowoomba and Drayton and the residents of the
neighbourhood are quite as loyal to the Crown as the inhabitants of any other
part of Australia. Amongst us there are many Germans, whose feelings towards
the Prince may be warmer, because in the natural course of events, he will
cease to be an Englishman, and become the reigning Duke of a German
principality.[2]
A meeting was duly called.
The German population of Toowoomba met last night, and
agreed to get up a grand demonstration during the visit to the Downs of the
Duke of Edinburgh. The residents in the
outside districts are very enthusiastic with respect to the visit of the
Prince.
 |
| Woman driving a German Wagon in Laidley |
The Germans of Gotha Coburg are organising a
demonstration, and have erected an arch near the Railway Station. It is hoped
that the Prince will alight there, as the programme allows of a delay of twenty
minutes before starting for Jondaryan. [3]
The prince’s train stopped briefly on his journey further west to
Jondaryan. His Royal Highness did not
even bother to leave his carriage.
The Prince arrived
from Ipswich at a quarter to 7 last night; about two thousand persons were
present. As soon as His Royal Highness entered the station he was greeted with
enthusiastic cheers. The Prince smiled at this demonstration of the popular
feeling—the first of the kind that he has witnessed in Australia. His Royal
Highness did not leave his carriage, and no addresses were presented. The train
staid twenty minutes, after which it proceeded to Jondaryan. On leaving the station hearty cheers were given
for the Prince.
After the departure of His Royal Highness a large public
meeting was held, at which great dissatisfaction was expressed at the
proceedings of the Government with respect to the Prince's visit. It was
arranged last night that the Prince, on his return from Jondaryan to-day,
should stay for an hour at Toowoomba, and receive an address from the Germans,
under the triumphal arch.[4]
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| The Serious Men of the Lutheran Church Committee, Toowoomba |
The return visit was not much better.
His Royal Highness arrived at a quarter to 10 o'clock
this morning, and alighted amidst great cheering. Mr. James Taylor's carriage
was in attendance. The Prince entered, and drove from the station up Ruthven-street
and back to the station, when he took his seat in the railway carriage, and the
train started at once. The whole visit only lasted twenty minutes. On the
Prince leaving, he was again cheered heartily. About five hundred persons were
present. [5]
Unfortunately, the German reception procession, which included a dozen
costumed girls, was still making its way to the station.
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| German Wedding Party |
About five minutes after the train had started, the
Germans arrived in procession, headed with the national banner and twelve young
girls dressed in white, with blue ribbons, each with a basket of flowers,
intended to have been strewn in the Prince's path.
Their whole arrangements were very creditable. The German
address was a poetical one, and was very good. Their disappointment, at finding
that the Royal visitor had departed, was very great.
The Germans have agreed to send their address to His
Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, to meet him on his arrival in Sydney.[6]
The Germans were in no doubt just who was to blame for the insult, and
it was not the Prince, but those who were in charge of his schedule. Amazingly the normally steady-minded Teutonic
settlers of the Darling Downs were so incensed that they organised a trial in absentia and a medieval-style immolation
of the guilty parties, namely the Premier and the Colonial Secretary, who also
happened to be wealthy pastoralists – no friends of the farmers.
About three thousand persons of all classes attended the
burning in effigy of Messrs. Mackenzie[7]
and Palmer[8].
A mock trial took place at the School of Arts, after which the effigies were
carried in procession through the streets. Unanimity of action was very
general, the Germans being very bitter in their expressions.
The proceedings were closed by singing "Old John
Brown."[9]
The Prince was most enthusiastically cheered, whilst loud groans and hisses fell
to the share of the Ministry. [10]
The whole affair reveals the undercurrent of feeling by the
establishment in Queensland, that the Germans, despite their reputation as hard
working settlers, were not considered as true British citizens, which in
reality most of them had become through the process of “naturalisation”.
©
K. C. Sbeghen, 2012.
[1] The Brisbane Courier 17.1.1868
[3]
The Queenslander 29.2.1868
[4]
The Queenslander 29.2.1868
[5]
The Queenslander 29.2.1868
[6]
The Queenslander 29.2.1868
[7] Robert
Ramsay Mackenzie (1811–1873), Premier of Queensland.
[8] Arthur
Hunter Palmer (1819-1898), Colonial Secretary.
[9]
Presumably the American Civil War song celebrating the Abolitionist John
Brown. Did they regard themselves as
being considered as non-British inferior citizens? No better than slaves? Was the singing of this
rousing anthem, an affirmation of their rightful status as loyal Queenslanders?
[10]
The Brisbane Courier 29.2.1868
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