While the city of Albury rolled out the red carpet for the Queen's visit in 1988, not everything went her way.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Great emphasis had been put on the Queen's inspection of the PS Cumberoona, an $850,000 project for Australia's bicentenary.
But the monarch's planned cruise on the mighty Murray River was not to be.
Former Border Mail journalist Howard Jones, who co-ordinated the paper's coverage of the royal visit, said a lack of water stymied a trip.
"The river wasn't high enough to sail the boat and the authorities said, in not as many words, that they couldn't put more water in just for the Queen," Jones recalled.
The Border Morning Mail reported a crowd of 5000 lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty, well down on the expectations of 25,000.
Future deputy prime minister Tim Fischer suggested that it was talk of such a big crowd that had kept many away.
Her most enthusiastic admirers were the 10,000 school children who turned out to greet her at the Albury Sportsground, with one young student quoted by The Border Morning Mail identifying the likeness between Queen Elizabeth and her own father.
"She is like my dad, he doesn't smile much and neither did she, but she looked friendly," the youngster said.
'On the throne for as long as I've been alive'
When Yvonne Jackson heard the news that Queen Elizabeth II had died it was a significant blow. The West Albury resident was not just a distant admirer of the monarch.
In 1988, when the Queen visited Albury for around four hours on a May day, Mrs Jackson was part of the official delegation that hosted the sovereign. Indeed, Mrs Jackson shared the very same table, two seats away from Her Majesty, for the official lunch at the city's convention centre.
"All you do is answer questions but she was very nice, she was smaller than I thought she would be, she was very petite," Mrs Jackson recalled.
READ MORE:
During that visit, Albury mayor John Roach revealed Civic Square would be renamed Queen Elizabeth II Square, now commonly known in Albury as QEII Square.
In QEII Square on the morning of the Queen's death, semi-retired Albury grandfather Gary Parker described the occasion as among the biggest news events in his lifetime.
"It's one of those moments you will always remember when it was and where you were,"he said.
"She's been on the throne for as long as I've been alive; it's one of those losses you feel very sad about."
