Royal Banquet to Her Majesty QEII

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Type: Menus
Materials: Ink, Paper
Collection: Bernard Freedman collection no. 2
Accession number: 1991.0013.0002

Description

A booklet menu for a Royal Banquet given by Prime Minister Menzies at Parliament House, Canberra, on 16th Feb 1954. The cover is embossed with the royal emblem and tied with blue ribbon and the inside of the booklet features colour pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh. The raised text on the front reads 'ROYAL BANQUET / TO HER MAJESTY / QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND / AND / HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS / THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH / CANBERRA / 16th FEBRUARY, 1954'.

This is part of a collection donated by Bernard Freedman (1925-2011). London-born Freedman emigrated to Australia in 1948. Already an experienced journalist, he worked at both The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) and The Argus (Melbourne). In 1951 he moved to Canberra, as a political correspondent for The Argus, where he covered high-profile events such as the 1954 Royal Tour by Queen Elizabeth II, and the Petrov Affair. In 1955 Friedman began a 25 year long career with the Department of Immigration. In 1981 became the Canberra Press Gallery correspondent for the Australian Jewish News. This collection relates to various aspects of Freedman's life, including his involvement as a journalist in the political life of Australia.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:34:59 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-24. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.