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Brewster Road, Ipoh - Decorations For The Coronation Of Queen Elizabeth II
The photograph shows Brewster Road, from the Padang, decorated for the celebrations associated with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2nd June 1953.
Although the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary, had passed away in March 1953, the Queen's coronation took place in London at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953 in front of more than 8,000 VIP guests. The ceremony was televised throughout the Commonwealth where towns like Ipoh, Taiping and Kampar also staged their own celebrations. It was estimated that twenty million people watched the televised ceremony and procession and that a further twelve million listened to it on the radio.
The decorative archway shown above was mounted on the Ipoh Padang immediately at the bottom of Brewster Road. On the left, through the trees, is the FMS Hotel. Through the arch can be seen the second Brewster Road archway also erected as part of the town celebrations. Through that archway can be seen the Odeon Theatre in the far distance. The archway says, in Malay, "Dipanjankan Usia Beginda Queen" which can be loosely translated as "God Save the Queen".
Another arch was built in Hugh Low Street adjacent to the People's Park and the Rex Hotel.
On the actual day, 2nd June, a parade of military and local organisations took place on the Ipoh Padang, followed by a march past along Belfield Street. The salute was taken by the Sultan of Perak, accompanied by the British Adviser. Invited guests, and local people lined the street while members of the Ipoh Club watched from their elevated gardens on the other side of the Padang.
As well as the arches and parade, a number of important buildings were floodlit in the evening to mark the occasion of the Coronation.
To see photographs of the second Brewster Road arch, click here.
To see a photograph of the Hugh Low Street arch, click here.
To see a photograph of the Belfield Street Saluting Platform and VIPs, click here.
To see a night view of the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank and the J W W Birch Memorial Clock Tower, click here.
To see the Coronation celebrations at Taiping Lake, click here.
To read more about the People's Park, click here.
For the Ipoh Club’s history, click here