Prince Alfred joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman at the tender age of 14. He enjoyed success in his naval career and was given command of the HMS Galatea in 1866 and became Captain. He came to Australia in this ship in 1867, arriving in October at Glenelg in South Australia.
The second in line to the throne visited many places while he was in Australia, including Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney. He also visited several provincial towns. It was a long tour – Prince Alfred stayed for almost six months.
Prince Alfred is Welcomed
The Prince was greeted enthusiastically by most colonists, although there was a strong Fenian movement in Australia. There was also some resentment about the large cost of maintaining Queen Victoria’s many children and her absence from public duty after Prince Albert’s death. Some Australians favoured the idea of a republic.
Prince Alfred’s dislike of pomp was liked by Australians. One wrote that ‘he had grown in favour with all classes of people daily.’ The Premier of Victoria, O’Shanassy, suggested that the Prince should become ‘King of Australia.’
Prince Alfred in Queensland
Prince Alfred was probably not very impressed with Queensland, which he visited in 1968. He had a rather miserable time there because of zealous officials and disorganization.
The Prince went to Jondaryan in Queensland, to open the new extension to the railway line. His train unfortunately arrived two hours late, delaying the official welcome and celebrations. In fact, neither the Prince’s entourage nor the welcoming party had any idea about how to proceed. The poor Prince was confined to a small room at the station while he waited and asked what he’d come to see.
He enjoyed dinner at the Jondaryan homestead and he was invited to spend the night there. However the Prince had to spend the night in his small quarters at the station because of an official’s concern that this would disrupt his schedule. He also wanted to accept an invitation to hunt kangaroos and emus the next day but the organizer of his tour thought that too much time had been lost already. The Prince was not pleased about this.
Prince Alfred is Shot
The Prince was enjoying a picnic at Clontarf beach in Sydney in March, 1868, when he was attacked by an Irishman, Henry O’ Farrell. He shot the Prince in the back. Luckily the Prince soon got better. O’Farrell, who said that he was concerned about the wrongs of Ireland and that was his motive, pleaded insanity. He was later hanged.
Most of the colony was horrified and there was great antipathy towards the Irish Catholics who were regarded as disloyal to the Monarchy. The Irish Catholic community, including the priesthood, was extremely upset and insisted that they were loyal shortly afterwards. A memorial fund was set up and this was the start of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The Prince returned home in April. He must have had a good sense of humour because he told his mother, the Queen, that: “In New South Wales they shot at me, in Victoria they mobbed me, but in Queensland they sent me to Jondaryn and afflicted me with over zealous officials.”
Sources
A British Prince and a Transnational Life
Prince Alfred's Royal Tour of Australia
Prince Alfred's Visit to Australia 1868
Lisa Sanderson - Lisa has been a freelance-writer for many years. She used to write for the topic, British Social History, for Suite 101 under the ...
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