THE passing of Her Majesty The Queen on 8 September 2022 has stirred locals’ fond memories of her visit to Coffs Harbour in 1970 as part of the bicentenary celebrations.

Eyewitness recollections of Queen Elizabeth II’s tour around Coffs Harbour have come flooding back to Coffs Coast locals who lined the streets of our city to wave to the Royals.

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For Noeline Sell who lives in Coffs Harbour, her experience of the Royal visit takes her back to being seventeen-year-old Noeline Jarman, then living in Urunga.

“Mr Joyce, who ran the school bus taking us to Bellingen School, rang around to various families he knew saying he was driving the bus up to Coffs to see the Royals, did we want to come,” Noeline told News Of The Area.

Of course they did, and off they went.

Mr Joyce parked the bus in the back streets near the Jetty.

“We stood on the pavement opposite the Pier Hotel, there were heaps of people,” Noeline recalls.

“The Royal car stopped right in front of us and we saw The Queen, Prince Philip, Princes Charles and Princess Anne up-close – it was amazing.”

Queen Elizabeth and her family stayed “at the best motel in town” which at the time was The Coffs Harbour Garden Motel on the site where the cinema and Greenhouse Tavern are today.

The Royal Yacht Britannia was anchored just off Coffs Harbour and the Royals were tendered over alongside the Jetty and then they boarded an open-topped car.

“Their visit took in Bruxner Park, a stop at Hannaford’s banana plantation where they stopped by the banana stall on the side of the road, and then they went to take in the view at Sealy Lookout,” said Noeline.

Did you see the Queen when she came to Coffs?

Share your memories with NOTA to media@newsofthearea.com.au.

By Andrea FERRARI