Coronation of King Charles III gives pause to reflect on royal’s special visit to the Murchison in 1979

The vast land of the Murchison is easy to pass off as God’s country, but in 1979 it became officially fit for a King — or a future one —when the then-Prince Charles spent a special four days in the region during a 16-day tour of WA. The Price family from Coodardy Station, 32km west of Cue, took the then 30-year-old Prince of Wales under their wing during his tour of WA, representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II as part of the State’s 150th birthday celebrations. And it’s clear the Murchison leg of his tour left a lasting impression on King Charles III. He had requested to stay on a station during his trip, which is when Gwen and Jim Price, and their son Les, received a call from then Premier Sir Charles Court, informing the family they would be hosting royalty. The Prices had weeks to organise their station and polish up on their best table manners for the arrival of the future monarch, a firm “told you so” moment for Mrs Price, who was an avid fan of the Royal Family. Despite the entourage the King travels with now, when Charles flew in to Coodardy he had four WA police officers and a handful of security, which he would later present with signed itineraries and medallions as a thank you. “He was impressed with the manner in which the police carried themselves and was very thankful,” Les Price recalled this week. Two weeks before the King’s arrival, the Army came to set up his Bivouac-style tent and toilet, which was made redundant when the King said: “I want to do what everyone else is doing and use the tree”. The first in line to the throne took a noticeable liking to station life. “I suspect royal life was very choreographed, he was able to let his hair down, get away for a bit and he didn’t have to mind his Ps and Qs,” said Les Price, who was in his mid-20s when the King visited. “He was quiet and reserved, a bit astute. He was very intelligent and understood his position as a royal, but he also made everyone feel very comfortable and at ease around him.” Although the King had a bed in the homestead, he requested to sleep on the lawn to watch the stars. “He said, it’s just something that he hadn’t experienced before, and something that he hadn’t done,” Les Price said. During his stay, the press were given access for one hour, leaving the Price family to have uninterrupted time with the young royal, discussing his family history but under strict instruction to not bring up any of the women in his life. For the four days, King Charles went horse riding, flew the plane that dropped him at the station, mustered sheep and checked fences in true station-style. During his time in the Murchison, other highlights included a “biscuit and cordial meet-the-people affair” at Meekatharra shire hall, where the King wore, The West Australian noted, “a neatly-tailored safari jacket and slacks,” and where informality was taken to new heights as 17-month-old Clarence Cameron “wrapped his arms around the royal right leg”. When speaking to the media of drinking a cup of tea in the bush he said, “When you drink this you don’t say cheers, you say ‘Oh! The flies’.” The West Australian declared that his stay in the State was “one of the happiest tours of WA by a royal visitor”. The Price family stayed in touch with the King over the decades, with letters going back and forth between the Cue post office and Buckingham Palace. Les Price, who is now Cue Shire deputy president, said the stay left both the King and himself with memories they would treasure forever, proven when King Charles invited him to his 67th birthday party at the Cottesloe Civic Centre in 2015 and discussed his fond memories from the visit. After the coronation at the weekend, Les Price had this to say of the newly-crowned monarch: “As a King, I think he will do a really good job. He has a lot of his mother’s values, and he knows his role is to serve — not to be served.”