By Corey Everitt
King Charles III set foot in Australia for the first time as the titular head monarch, but few in Cardinia Shire could ever forget his visit as Prince.
King Charles and Queen Camilla paid a short visit to Sydney and Canberra over the last week, 41 years on from his visit with Princess Diana.
In 1983, it was a six-week trip across the country, but it was the visit to Melbourne and Cockatoo that many residents will never forget.
It was only weeks after the area was devastated by the Ash Wednesday fires, the Prince and Princess visited ground zero, meeting with local fire brigades and residents still recovering.
They arrived at McBride Street on 25 March, one of their local guides for the day was then captain of Upper Beaconsfield Fire Brigade Eric Bumpstead OAM.
Previously reported, he said they were easygoing and a little worried about their visit seeming like a publicity stunt. He can’t recall much of what was said between them as it was lost in the moment.
Going full circle, Bumpstead would receive a Medal of the Order of Australia this year for his service, from the Prince he met all those years ago – now as King.
6000 people came together for the visit and watched Charles and Diana plant a tree on the grounds of the kindergarten – which is now the Ash Wednesday Bushfire Education Centre.
Today, the tree stands tall by the front alongside a commemorative plaque.
It was also a big day for the Pakenham Gazette, which produced an eight-page wrap-around feature for the event.
Both the edition after Ash Wednesday in February and the royal visit in March required a second run of printing after they would sell out within 24 hours of publication. The 23 February edition was the first time in the Pakenham’s Gazette history to sell out on the first day.
