John Coffin Memorial Lecture: "The Queen in Australia": rebranding the British Commonwealth in the Pacific

John Coffin Memorial Lecture


Friday 23 November 2012

Jane Landman (Victoria University): '"The Queen in Australia": rebranding the British Commonwealth in the Pacific'

6.00pm: The Beveridge Hall, Senate House, University of London

Introduced by Brian Winston (University of Lincoln)

Moving images of British monarchs traverse the history of film and television, from documentary footage of Queen Victoria dating from 1897, to the Commonwealth Film Unit’s extensive archive of royal visits to far flung colonies, to Madonna’s recently released W.E. on the Wallis Simpson-Edward VIII romance. This Jubilee year seems the appropriate time to consider the historic past and current effusion of film and television representations of the British monarchy.

To mark this occasion, Jane Landman will consider a classic of colonial cinema, the Commonwealth Film Unit’s documentary of the Royal Tour of 1953-4, "The Queen in Australia". Extravagantly praised at the time for its contribution to ‘world affairs’, this tribute to the Crown stages each floral genuflection as the act of a unified free world, marshalling Fijians, Tongans and New Zealanders as well as Australians into a Cold War homage to both Elizabeth II and the king of the British Documentary Movement, John Grierson. Dr Landman will bring to this presentation her acuity and expertise in the iconic repertoire of national narrative in postwar Australian film and television.

This lecture will be hosted by the Institute of English Studies in collaboration with the University of London Screen Studies Group, and in association with the IES conference "The British Monarchy on Screen" (23-24 November 2012), which will further debate the starring role of royalty in our viewing lives, with presentations from international film and television experts on topics ranging from the broadcasting of royal weddings to the cinematic casting of the sovereign.

Jane Landman is Senior Lecturer at the School of Communication and the Arts, Victoria University. She is the author of The Tread of a White Man’s Foot: Australian Pacific Colonialism and the Cinema (Pandanus Books, Canberra, 2006), and (with Chris Ballard) ‘New Guinea Patrol’: Documenting Australian Colonialism, forthcoming in 2013. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the monograph series on Australian film, Moving Image, and guest editor of the Journal of Australasian Studies. Dr Landman's current research concerns the role of the cinema in the process and cultures of colonialism and decolonization, with current focus on the series of government documentary films made in the Territories of Papua New Guinea in the 1950s and 1960s. These are films that visually report on those policies and practices of development that were part of Australia’s trust responsibilities, and Dr Landman’s research traces the political, institutional and administrative negotiations that determined the semantics and rhetoric of the visual and aural modes deployed to represent the Australian work of development of the Territories and its peoples. Broader research addresses a comparative understanding of imperial mass communications in the colonised - then decolonising - western Pacific, with specific focus on Australia and various British-derived colonial administrations.

Free and open to all, and followed by a wine reception. If you would like to attend please notify IESEvents@sas.ac.uk

Enquiries: Jon Millington, Events Officer, Institute of English Studies, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU; tel +44 (0) 207 664 4859; Email: IESEvents@sas.ac.uk

The Monarchy, the Commonwealth and the Media

The Monarchy, the Commonwealth and the Media

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the first ever to be televised, a decision the new Queen actively encouraged. 19 million viewers watched the ceremony in the UK, over half of the adult population. Within five years, television ownership had risen six-fold. The shedding of media light on the mystery of monarchy was sometimes engineered and sometimes accidental – but always remorseless. Alongside the triumphs, there have been the dark days of the death of Princess Diana, ‘Annus Horribilis’, and the hacking of royal phones. Can the monarchy survive its dealings with the media – or is that relationship the secret of its survival?

In conversation ...
CHARLES ANSON CVO (former Press Secretary to the Queen)
TOM CORBY MVO (former Court Correspondent of the Press Association)
KESHINI NAVARATNAM (former BBC World TV presenter)

Tuesday 20 March at 5.30pm

The Senate Room, 1st Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU

ALL WELCOME (booking strongly advised - please email chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk)

Part of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies’ Diamond Jubilee series, reflecting on the role of Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth and Sovereign of the Commonwealth Realms

Diamond Jubilee Seminar ‘The monarchy, the Commonwealth and the media’, 20 March 2012

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies is pleased to announce the second seminar in its Diamond Jubilee Series: ‘The monarchy, the Commonwealth and the media’ will be held on 20 March 2012.

The shedding of media light on the mystery of the monarchy has sometimes been engineered and sometimes accidental – but always remorseless. Alongside the triumphs, there have been the dark days of the death of Princess Diana, ‘Annus Horribilis’, and the hacking of royal phones. This seminar asks: can the monarchy survive its dealings with the media – or is that relationship the secret of its survival? The panellists discussing the relationship between the monarchy and the media will be Charles Anson CVO (former Press Secretary to the Queen), Tom Corby MVO (former Court Correspondent of the Press Association), and Keshini Navaratnam (former BBC World TV presenter).

The seminar will take place on Tuesday 20 March at 5.30pm in The Senate Room, Senate House, Malet Street WC1E 7HU. All are welcome; the seminar is free to attend. Booking is essential as places are limited, please email chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk

The Diamond Jubilee Seminar Series was launched by the Chancellor of the University of London, the Princess Royal, on 11 January 2012. The series, which marks the Diamond Jubilee Year by exploring the relationship between the monarchy and the Commonwealth, will run throughout 2012. Information on forthcoming seminars will be posted to the Institute’s events pages.

Princess Anne launches new Diamond Jubilee Seminar Series on the Monarchy and the Commonwealth

Princess Anne launches new Diamond Jubilee Seminar Series on the Monarchy and the Commonwealth


On 11 January 2012, the Chancellor of the University of London, the Princess Royal, visited the Institute of Commonwealth Studies to launch a series of seminars for the Diamond Jubilee Year exploring the relationship between the monarchy and the Commonwealth. She participated in the first seminar in the series, which was introduced by the Institute’s director, Professor Philip Murphy.

Among the other speakers was the former Nigerian diplomat, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who served as Commonwealth Secretary-General from 1990 to 2000. Chief Anyaoku paid warm tribute to the Queen’s personal role as head of the Commonwealth. The title ‘Head of the Commonwealth’ was established by the London Declaration of April 1949. In the view of most constitutional experts it is not hereditary, and will therefore not pass automatically to the next British monarch. Hence, there is some uncertainty as to what will happen to the title at the end of the current reign. In an important intervention on this issue, Chief Anyaoku expressed his personal view that when the time came, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth should inform Commonwealth member states that, in keeping with the London Declaration, the headship of the Commonwealth should pass to the Queen’s successor as monarch.

Another speaker was the Nigerian-born artist, Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy, who was commissioned to produce a portrait of the Queen for the Golden Jubilee in 2002. The portrait – which depicts the Queen as head of the Commonwealth, hangs in Marlborough House in London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Chinwe recalled the Queen’s warmth and humour during the sittings for the portrait.

The Princess Royal herself recalled some of her own visits to Commonwealth countries and spoke about the forthcoming tours of the Commonwealth by members of the royal family to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee year. She noted that, along with other members of the royal family, her exposure to a multi-cultural environment while growing up had been thanks to the Commonwealth – in terms of both visits to and visitors from its member states. She remembered with affection her visit to Kenya in 1971 and spoke of meeting its President, Jomo Kenyatta, as ‘a highlight of my life’. What had struck her on her various visits were, she claimed, the similarities across the Commonwealth rather than the differences.

The Diamond Jubilee Seminar Series will run throughout 2012. The next seminar - on the Crown, the media and the Commonwealth - will take place on 20 March, 17:30-19:30. Information on this and all forthcoming seminars will be posted to the Institute’s events pages.

Diamond Jubilee Series opening seminar podcast

Interview with Professor Philip Murphy podcast