THE Queen's visit to Launceston in northern Tasmania on April 27, 1988, filled the streets with excited locals eager to catch a glimpse of the only monarch they had ever known, and who many had never expected to see in person.
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Crowds flocked to Civic Square on that autumn afternoon - the perfect time for the royal visit in North Tasmania before winter sets in properly - in the centre of Launceston's CBD.
Lining the square was a thick throng of people, some waving flags, others standing on top of any object nearby to get a better view.
For three of the town's youngest members, it would mark a memorable day captured by The Examiner.
Eight-year-old Danielle Coulson, flanked reassuringly by her friends, nine-year-olds Sherryl O'Malley and Megan Saunders, broke from the crowd to offer the Queen a small bunch of flowers.
Although the Queen already had her arms full with a bouquet, she stopped her procession down the Square to accept the young girl's gift.
When the Queen went fishing for answers
Professor Nigel Forteath met the Queen when she visited Launceston in 1988. Professor Forteath guided the Queen on her tour of the Tasmanian State Institute of Technology's aquaculture centre.
"It was a very special day," he said. "She was going to come around to the aquaculture school on our campus. My job was to greet her at the gate to show her around."
Professor Forteath said Her Majesty was very interested in the animals at the centre.
"We went to where we had all kinds of fish and aquatic life, and at nearly every tank she had something to ask and enquired the whole time about things," he said.
"She was interested in everything we were doing, which made it so easy."
The professor remembered a funny moment during her tour.
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"We went into the area where we kept trout and I remember I told one of the students that when the Queen comes in to feed the trout, so she could see them all splashing around on the surface," he said.
"Unfortunately the student waited until the Queen was horribly close to the tank and threw in some pellets and the trout went berserk.
"The Queen nearly jumped out of her skin I think, and moved backwards, so I felt a bit embarrassed. She needn't worry, she took it in her stride. She was just so good at relaxing you and that's what I remember most."
