Royal Salute for the Arrival of HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana – 26 Oct 85

HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana arrived at Tullamarine on 26 Oct 1985 to begin a brief tour of Victoria. 2/15 Field Regiment fired a Royal Salute for the occasion.

Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana - 26 Oct 1985
Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana – 26 Oct 1985

The following archived news article provides a summary of the occasion.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived in Melbourne to begin a 13-day visit to Australia.

Diana received a kiss on the hand from a spectator who said he ‘lost control for a second or two’ as the royal couple mingled with about 600 spectators following their 31 -hour trip from London.

Their aircraft — an Australian Air Force Boeing 707 reported to be fitted out with a double bed — touched down at Tullamarine airport at 12:40 p.m.

Charles and Diana were welcomed by Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen and John Cain, premier of the state of Victoria. They are visiting Australia to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Victoria’s founding.

After the greetings from dignitaries, Charles and his wife, 24, shook hands, chatted and accepted bunches of flowers from the waiting crowd.

After their arrival, the couple were driven to Government House.

The highlight of their visit will be the Melbourne Cup horse race on Nov. 5, considered to be the biggest social event of the year, attracting racegoers from Australia and elsewhere.

UPI Archives
Oct. 27, 1985
Charles and Di Down Under

The regiment provided a battery of M2A2s to fire the 21 Gun Royal Salute.

Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana - 26 Oct 1985
Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana – 26 Oct 1985
Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana - 26 Oct 1985
Salute for HRH Prince Charles and HRH Princess Diana – 26 Oct 1985

Mitch Kenny (with cart case in the above photo) said the day was incredibly hot and the guns set fire to the grass. It would have been uncomfortable in the battle dress.

The trip included the opening of Hopkins Barracks Puckapunyal by HRH Prince Charles, Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) on 31 October 1985.

In 1985, the portion of Puckapunyal Army Camp housing the Armoured School and Corps Museum underwent a major rebuild. The new facility named Hopkins Barracks was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles on 31 October 1985. Prince Charles, who was accompanied by his wife HRH Princess Diana, is Colonel in Chief of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC). The Barracks is named to honour Major General R N L Hopkins who was instrumental in the development of the RAAC and is affectionately known as the ‘father of the Corps’.

Victorian Collections (https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5d5201b121ea6c157cc1f156)

If you have further details or memories of the salute, please comment below.

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