expected to congregate along the route. Ten first aid posts were set up along the route and school teachers had been trained to use specific signals to attract medical assistance for children. The local fire brigade expressed concerns that the barricaded streets and the crowds would hinder a quick getaway for fire trucks should any outbreak of fire occur during the royal visit. After months of preparation, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Rockhampton on 15 March 1954. A special commemorative edition of Rockhampton's local newspaper The Morning Bulletin was published. In an unprecedented move, the newspaper featured nothing on the front page except bordered photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, within a decorative illustration which itself was bordered which was accompanied by just one message, specifically addressing the royal couple's visit, which read: Special trains had been organised to bring people from the more remote parts of Central Queensland into Rockhampton for the royal visit. When the Queen and the Duke arrived at the Rockhampton Airport, the royal party was met by Rockhampton mayor Rex Pilbeam and his wife, and the Minister for Health Bill Moore. The royal party consisted of Minister in Charge of the Royal Tour Eric Harrison, Queensland Premier Vince Gair and his wife Ellen, Lady Alice Egerton, Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane, Lieutenant-Commander Michael Parker and Wing Commander Michael George Cowan. The royals proceeded to a civic reception at City Hall where Mayor Pilbeam officially welcomed them to the city. In her reply to Pilbeam's welcome address, the Queen referenced the flooding that had impacted the Rockhampton area a month prior, saying she had read with concern of accounts of the recent flooding the area had experienced, and she sent sympathy to those affected by the disaster. The Queen said she hoped the damage could be quickly repaired. She thanked the mayor for his kind and loyal address and said that they had been fortunate to visit Rockhampton because they understood it was the pastoral and commercial capital of Central Queensland. The bells of St Paul's Cathedral and St Joseph's Cathedral in Rockhampton tolled in honour of the royal visitors, and both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh signed the same Visitor's Book that the Queen's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, had signed in 1946. The Rockhampton police inspector said that he had been the happiest man