Prince Alfred joined the Royal Navy at age 14, and by 1866 he had reached the rank of captain, in command of HMS Galatea, a sail-equipped steam frigate.
Image credit: Image credit: National Library of Australia

1867: first royal visit to Australia, by Prince Alfred, son of Queen Victoria

On October 31, 1867, Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, arrived in Adelaide, South Australia.

As the first member of the British royal family to visit Australia, he attracted huge crowds wherever he went. The tour was marked by riots, pranks, tragedies and First political assassination attempt in Australiawho saw the prince injured during a picnic in Sydney.

In January 1867, HMS Galateawith Prince Alfred at the helm, set out from Plymouth on a voyage around the world. The Prince docked at Glenelg, South Africa, on October 31 and crowds gathered along the route to Adelaide.

As night fell, 40,000 gas lamps lit the colony’s public offices, and huge portraits of the prince adorned many buildings. Alfred spent three weeks in South Africa and left with a very positive impression, stating in a letter to the press: “I noticed in Adelaide an absence of the poor and rowdy class, so numerous elsewhere.” Considering that the South African Parliament had just legislated to keep the colony free of convicts, his comment met with an appreciative audience.

On November 24, the prince arrived in Melbourne to a more enthusiastic crowd. But tragedy would follow.
The façade of the Protestant hall in Stephen Street was decorated for the prince’s visit with an image of William of Orange, the 17th-century English king, defeating Catholic armies at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. This was a provocative move, given ongoing tensions between Australian Catholics and Protestants. Crowds of Irish Catholics gathered outside the hall, singing Irish republican songs and throwing stones at the building.

As the group dispersed, people inside the lobby opened the windows and fired into the crowd. A Catholic boy was killed and a riot broke out.

There was even more chaos on November 27 at a free public banquet that the prince was to attend. Organizers anticipated 10,000 people, but 40,000 people arrived expecting free food and wine. When the prince retreated for safety, the angry crowd charged the barriers and another riot broke out as thousands fought over food and wine.

The disastrous royal visit went from bad to worse. In Bendigo there was to be a fireworks display centered around a model of the Prince’s ship Galatea. Tragically, three boys climbed into the model and set off the fireworks. They were trapped inside and burned alive.

Two days later a ball was planned in the new building named Alfred Hall. Unfortunately, it was a wooden building lit by gas lamps and calico cloths inside caught fire. The room burned to the ground.

In March 1868, after months of incessant public engagements, Prince Alfred’s staff requested a less demanding schedule. The royal visiting committees agreed, but one of the events the prince agreed to attend was a picnic to raise money to build a sailors’ home. It was scheduled for March 12 in Clontarf
on Sydney’s north shore.

Once again, larger than expected crowds appeared at the scene very early. During a walk after the picnic, a man approached the crowd, pulled out a pistol and shot the prince point-blank in the back. Alfred fell to the ground screaming, “God, I’m being shot… My back is broken.” »

The attacker, Henry O’Farrell, an Irish Catholic, was accosted by a passerby who snatched the gun from him as he attempted to fire a second bullet. A medical examination confirmed that the Prince’s injury was not life-threatening and he was returned to his cruiser. The predominantly Protestant crowd nearly lynched O’Farrell on the spot.

Prince Alfred made a full recovery and O’Farrell was convicted of attempted murder, although he showed signs of mental instability. The prince begged for mercy but the request was ignored. Alfred sailed for England on 4 April and O’Farrell was hanged at Darlinghurst Prison on 21 April 1868.

Concern for Prince Alfred and the relief felt when it was learned that he would survive led the public to contribute large sums to funds established to build hospitals in his name.

‘The first royal visit is part of the National Museum of Australia. Defining moments in Australian history prthrow.