A good day out.

Today I officially joined the OAP brigade. We went on a coach trip, something I couldn't see myself ever doing, but it was worth the effort.

We headed across to Manly, not to the beach or to watch the whales but to see this wonderful exhibition of skill and craftsmanship.



A little bit of history first. In 1988, the Bicentennial gift from the people of Australia to Queen Elizabeth II was the Australian State Coach which was designed and built by the gentleman that we had come to see, Mr Jim Frecklington. This coach is now housed in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, the first new coach built for the royal household since 1902, and is used regularly by the Queen for the state opening of Parliament.

Jim was born in Parkes, NSW, and has a close association with the Royal Mews. He initially looked after the Duke of Edinburgh's four-in-hand competition horses, moving on to look after the royal carriages. Returning to Australian in 1986, Jim felt that something special was needed for the Bi-centenary so using his coach building skills and permission from the Queen, the Australia Coach was built.


In 2005 work started on another coach for the Royal Mews, to be called The State Coach Britannia. The coach is very nearly complete and we are very lucky to have been able to get up close and personal.


All the 'gold' seen on the coach is actual hand beaten gold or gold leaf. The filigree gold work on the side panels above the coats of arms is all hand beaten by a firm in Birmingham UK.


The majority of the coach is made from aluminium but even so the coach weighs in at about 2.5tonnes.


The wheel spokes are cast aluminium, hub and rim machined from aluminium and when assembled they are finished in gold leaf.


All the coats of arms on the coach have been painted by Paula Church, renowned for her detailed paintings of flora and fauna.


The four lanterns are gold leaf covered brass with the glass panels made from crystal glass, hand blown and cut by Edinburgh Crystal. Each one has an individual motif, The English Rose, The Scottish Thistle, The Welsh Leek and The Irish Flax.


The springs were made by Lovell Springs in Sydney from ore mined in Whyalla,South Australia, and rolled in Newcastle.


The coach has a rich interior with electrically operated windows, interior lighting and a heating system.

The coach is also a time capsule incorporating metals and timbers of historic interest, all recorded inside the door panels, unfortunately too numerous to list.



The crown on top of the coach is hollow and holds a camera which records to coaches journey and can also be beamed for television broadcasting.

The black eye bolt above each door column, four in total, are lifting lugs used when the coach is dismantled and assembled but will be removed when the coach takes up residence in the Royal Mews.