On New Zealand Parliament's centennial, a special guest paid a visit - Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty was the first and only reigning sovereign to open Parliament and it was the first time the occasion had been filmed.
The Queen - who had been crowned only two years prior - and the Duke, Prince Philip, were visiting NZ on a royal tour in the summer of 1953-54. Crowds of adoring onlookers followed the Royal party everywhere they went, desperate to catch a glimpse of the monarch and her husband as this was the first time a reigning monarch had ever travelled to our shores. The pair travelled to 46 towns or cities on their first visit to Aotearoa, allowing around three out of every four Kiwis to see the Queen. They attended 110 separate functions but arguably the most important was the opening of Parliament.
Wellington pulled out all the stops, lighting fireworks and bright signs to commemorate the Queen's special visit to the capital as the gala day commenced on January 12. The Queen and Duke arrived at Parliament to a crowd of 50,000, Her Majesty delighted the onlookers as she wore her coronation gown to mark the momentous occasion.
The Queen received the Royal salute on Parliament's steps before entering the building to commence the ceremony.
In the United Kingdom it is a tradition that the sovereign has no direct entry into the Lower House. The same rule applies in NZ so the Queen entered the chamber of the Upper House.
On this historic occasion, Her Majesty performed duties normally carried out on her behalf by the Governor-General. She ordered Major Bryan, the Black Rod, to back away to perform the traditional task of requesting admittance to the Lower House. From there he called upon the speaker Sir Matthew Oram to lead the members into the Queen's presence.
Black Rod, the mace bearer, the Speaker, the leaders of both parties and all Mmembers of Parliament entered the legislative chamber where the Prime Minister, Sidney Holland, presented Her Majesty with the text of the address.
The Queen spoke to the House of Representatives: "A hundred years ago when the people of New Zealand gained for themselves the right of responsible self-government, it would have required a prophetic imagination to have foreseen the possibility of the present occasion. But in these 100 years, New Zealand has grown to be a sovereign and mature state."
The Queen then left Parliament and headed off to her many engagements while in the capital.
Another notable first that occurred during the Royal tour was Her Majesty presenting her Christmas broadcast from Auckland - the first time it had been filmed outside of Britain. The Queen ended her speech with a message of sympathy towards those who suffered in the wake of the Tangiwai rail disaster of the previous night, in which 151 people died.
The Queen would visit New Zealand a further nine times during her reign, most recently in 2002 as part of her 50th Jubilee commemoration.
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Footage from this story was first broadcast on Pictorial Parade, which showed in cinemas each week from 1952 and 1971, courtesy of the National Film Unit.
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