While thousands of people lined the streets for Queen Elizabeth II's 1954 tour of Bendigo, Tom Luke was dutifully stationed on top of Bendigo Hospital.
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Mr Luke was part of the preparations and efforts he and many others went to for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the city.
As a sergeant in the 38th Battalion based out of Mollison Street, the Bendigo-born Mr Luke was also in charge of the radio section of the unit's signals.
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For the Queen's visit, Mr Luke and 22 of his colleagues each carried a 56-pound radio to coordinate communications for the royal tour of Bendigo.
"If you go back to 1954 in Bendigo, there was one ambulance and it was run by the fire brigade," he said.
"We knew that we were going to get thousands of people into the streets, because the Queen stopped everywhere. So we pulled the ambulances in from around the area - Castlemaine, Rochester, Echuca or wherever - and we took a group of fellows, everyone with a 56-pound radio strapped to their back and we stationed them with all the ambulances."
Mr Luke was stationed on the roof of the Bendigo Hospital in Lucan Street and ended up being metres away from Queen Elizabeth II.
"When I got up (to the roof) the ABC said I couldn't use that radio when they were broadcasting because it would come right over the top of their equipment," he said.
"So while the Queen came, I packed up and went down the stairs, (and) stood on the long path that went up to the old hospital. I was as close to her as I am to you. They didn't stop. They just slowed right down and drove around.
"There's a photo there of all the patients they brought out on the stretchers. They all cheered but being a soldier in uniform, I saluted.
"We weren't required in the end, but we were there.
"It's different, seeing her in front of you. People react differently.
"It was just 20 or 30 seconds.
"She came down Lucan Street, turned into the main gate of the hospital, into the thoroughfare that goes up and round up the fountain and back down again.
"Then she continued on.
"Luckily, the day turned out to be a lovely sunny day with a cool breeze."
Through his life, the 89-year-old saw Queen Elizabeth three times.
They all cheered but being a soldier in uniform, I saluted.
- Tom Luke
"One was here, once was in Melbourne, and when I was a rep for MacRobertsons Chocolates in Swan Hill, she turned up there and I drove out to the airport and saw the plane go by," Mr Luke said.
The change in monarch is something Mr Luke has also seen before.
"When her father (King George VI) died, we didn't get a holiday," he said.
"I was a postman at the time and the postmaster said 'Do your round as quick as you can and be back here for 11 o'clock because we have got to have a two-minute silence'.
"My post round was walking up around View Street and that area.
"I got to Langston Street and thought 'I'm not gonna make it back'.
"So I stood in Langston Street, took my hat off, put my bag of mail down and spent the two minutes that way."
During his life, Mr Luke has also visited Scotland's Balmoral Castle twice as well as touring London's Buckingham Palace.
His wife of almost 40 years, Libby, also prepared stamps to be included in the Queen's stamp collection.
"I was an archival collection manager at Australia Post," she said.
"I looked after Australia's collection of stamps and worked with the people that designed the stamps.
"We'd send Queen Elizabeth II a stamp every three months for her collection and when she came to Australia we'd do a presentation of all the stamps that have been issued since her last visit."
Mr Luke doesn't count himself a monarchist, a royalist or a republican. But he think Australia is gradually moving towards becoming a republic.
"In those days, everybody was a royalist. There was nobody who wanted a republic," he said.
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