The procession turned up Collins street, and at Russell Street, the highest point in the route, passed underneath the Queen's Arch. The enormous curved double-span was surmounted by a bronze statue of the late Queen Victoria, who had died soon after Australia celebrated Federation. Cupids flew above the statue's head and lions rested at her feet, the general decoration was in violet hues with silver and gold detailing.
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| Queen Victoria Arch. (Image: Royal Historical Society of Victoria P489.1Rv) |
The Victorian Chamber of Manufactures dispensed with arches at Exhibition Street and marked the corner and the occasion with a 70 foot high monument in fibrous plaster by the architects Ussher and Kemp. An enormous central Corinthian column supported a figure bearing the globe upon his shoulders. Above this flew the Australian ensign.
As the procession rounded the corner from Collins Street into Spring, the assembled dignitaries on the grand stands in front of Parliament House:
rose as one man. Ladies jumped on chairs or raised themselves by other means… amid a tornado of cheering led by Mr Barton, the Prime Minister…
Parliament House itself was decorated with an enormous allegorical painting depicting Britannia welcoming the six federated states of Australia. The image was painted in hues of masonry grey to create the illusion that the figures were carved upon the face of the building.
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| Parliament House with allegorical decoration visible on roof. (Image: PROV PTC H5099) |