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The biggest news of the year, the decade, and arguably the century was the visit of the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Edinburgh to Bundaberg. March 11 that year was proclaimed a public holiday for the occasion. A crowd of 10,000 greeted the Royals at the airport. Then 30,000 people, at places 20-deep, lined the procession route from the hospital through the CBD and finishing at the old showgrounds. Once there, the Royals spent 15 minutes driving up and down lanes of 8000 screaming, flag-waving children. The city's oldest woman, Ellen Clarry, who'd turned 100 the previous August, was invited along with her daughter, Mrs T. Broom, who she lived with, to meet the monarch. All up, 70,000 people were thought to have turned out for a brush with the Royals. About 5000 caught trains from other areas so they could be in Rum City. Source: www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bundaberg/photos-r...

This is not a Hercules, most likely a 707 in cargo configuration.

In 1948 Bundaberg honored soldiers lost in a wartime plane crash with a funeral procession and burial, attracting letters of appreciation from the Australian and United States air forces. Letters to Bundaberg Mayor of the day Alderman F.H. Buss recently rediscovered in Council’s historic archives reveal the gratitude for the service following the tragic discovery made five years after the plane was lost on 21 November 1943. According to the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives, the soldiers were traveling on a Douglas C-47 Skytrain, christened ‘Star Duster’, and were on their way to Brisbane after collecting mail in Rockhampton. “On the last leg to Brisbane, while cruising west of Monto, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and lost control of the aircraft that crashed in a canyon,” the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives report reads. “As the aircraft was declared missing, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended a few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found.” The State Library of Queensland said the twin-engine United States Douglas Dakota transport plane had disappeared without a trace until a discovery was made in June 1948. “… a farmer found the wreckage in a gully on Magpie Station at Yarrol, in the Monto district of Queensland,” the State Library said. “The plane was carrying 4 American crewmen, 2 American military passengers, and 7 Australian military passengers.” Other parts of the wreckage would remain undiscovered for decades including the right wing which was found in 1961, about one km from the main wreckage, and other debris such as a door and stabilizer which were found in 1991. Australia @ War has published a military document relating to the crash found in NARA records, dated 29 June 1948. “The starboard motor was located 300 to 400 yards from the main wreckage, as no damage to trees was evident it appears that this motor came adrift in mid-air,” the report said. While the crash victims were unable to be identified, a moving historical image of the funeral procession held in July 1948 shows the reverence and respect with which they were treated by the Bundaberg community. The procession moved through the town area before the soldiers were laid to rest in the Bundaberg War Cemetery. The grave sites are maintained within the Bundaberg Cemetery on Takalvan Street by War Graves Australia. Source: www.bundabergnow.com/2022/05/07/wartime-plane-crash-victi...