The Queen had a whistle-stop tour of the city on February 11 - she arrived in the morning, drove through the streets to the city centre where she made a speech.

Then she hopped on a train at Bulli in the afternoon and was gone.

Read more: The Queen's passing, your questions answered

While she was here some people were very keen to get a good view of the proceedings that they were eyeing off the second storey of the nearby Wollongong Hotel.

Hotel manager EG Bosley said some people had offered him up to £20 for a seat at a window - that's more than $700 in today's money.

Bosley had to knock back the cash - he had no room at the inn, with rooms booked out months in advance.

At the Little Flower Church at the Crown Street and Mt Keira Road intersection, they built a grandstand and sold seats at £2 a pop because that was where the Queen would stop and change cars before heading down Crown Street.

One place that was out of bounds was the awning of a building; anyone found watching from one of those would be arrested and prosecuted, the Mercury reported.

The day before her arrival, the city was decked out with flags, bunting and decorations.

"With many firms putting the finishing touches to their decorations, Crown Street yesterday presented a glittering facade of colour and bright lights," the Mercury reported.

"It is estimated that firms have spent thousands of pounds in decorations. Shop windows have been dressed in royal tonings, Crowns surmount buildings, Union Jacks and Australian flags flutter at an average of one to every 20 yards of building frontage.

"Royal motifs decorate street corners; and everywhere cars have been decorated with coloured streamers and flags. Stores report that they have never before experienced such a rush in the sale of decorations and flags."

The local cinemas were holding special screenings of Royal Tour films of other countries, as well as "an intimate story of the Queen since her childhood".

One man was unimpressed with some of the preparations. John Waters wrote to the Mercury outraged the mayor planned chocolate wheels "and similar games of chance".

"I am sure that a large proportion of the citizens would, like myself, find this proposal most repugnant," wowser Waters wrote.

Roads around the city were closed on the day and all traffic in the CBD was stopped at 11.45am as the Queen drove down Crown Street, then a lap of Smith and Corrimal streets before returning to Crown Street to head to the council chambers.

Read more: When thousands were in Bulli to welcome the Queen

The streets from Mt Keira Road (then dubbed the Crossroads) all the way into the city were lined with spectators who braved an overcast day for the chance to see her pass by - the crowd was estimated at 120,000.

Those stuck several rows back resorted to using periscopes to see what was happening.

They could hear what was going on thanks to Bulli's TH Seagrove, who laid 4.5 kilometres of wiring connected to 58 speakers along the route.

Plenty of children were in the crowd; 16 special trains were put on to take them to the city. More than 9000 kids were transported "without any unpleasant incident", the Mercury reported.

In her address, the Queen wished she could stay longer to see more of "the notable part Wollongong is playing in the growth of Australia's industrial strength".

But there was no time; she had to rush up to Bulli so more people could gawk at her before jumping on a train at 3.40pm.

The idea of the train was a late decision, "because it would be imposing too much strain on the Queen to expect her to drive back to Sydney by car", the Mercury reported.

That was good news for the staff at Bulli station; it meant they'd see the Queen, though they did have to put up a lot of last-minute Union Jacks.

"We have been flat out and haven't had time to breathe," station master Jack Henson said the day before Her Majesty's arrival.

The Mercury would later bemoan the fact that the Queen didn't have time to see the sights. "The Royal car did not go to Bulli Pass or stop at Sublime Point," the paper reported.

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