Throwback to the sole visit to Geraldton by King Charles III in 1979 when he was a bachelor prince

Crayfish, a cyclone, meeting civic leaders and an attempted kiss summed up the first and only visit to Geraldton by King Charles III, back in 1979 when he was a bachelor prince. While the three visits from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, remained seared in the memories of many locals — reinforced in the wake of her death — the prince’s 1979 visit was far more low-key, and arguably faded with the passage of time. Geraldton woman Wendy Chant recalled meeting the then Prince of Wales during his stopover in Geraldton 43 years ago, sharing photographs and the story attached to them. Ms Chant was a 36-year-old mother when she rushed to Geraldton’s Fisherman’s Wharf to greet the Prince. An old magazine from that time captured Ms Chant photographing him during his visit. “I remember taking my three children to the Fisherman’s Wharf — the wharf was near what my children would call Crab Beach — an area where we saw the Prince was near our favourite little beach,” she said. Ms Chant recalled there was a sense of relaxation and freedom in 1979. There were no blockades or barricades hindering her experience with the Prince. “Thinking back to it, the thing I realise the most now is how free it was. There were no police cars to my knowledge, no security and just being able to get so close to him and he spoke to me so close,” she said. “He asked me if my husband was a fisherman.” “I was shaking when I said, ‘no, he’s not’. “Its a bit bizarre . . . I was just a young mother with the kids, and now I’m older I thought I was very fortunate.” Ms Chant said there wasn’t as many people around when she met the now-King as you would expect. She has always followed the royal family. In 1954 she was living in the South West when the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh came to WA as part of their first tour of Australia. She still has a commemorative glass cup from that time. In 1963 in Geraldton, Ms Chant bought binoculars to see the Queen up close — which she still keeps today. What truly sparked her interest in the royal family was in 1977 when Ms Chant said her daughters met Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip during their visit to Albany Airport. “In 1988 (in Geraldton) I went and saw the Queen and Duke again there,” she said. Ms Chant believed King Charles would respect the Queen’ legacy and would do the best he could for today’s generation. “Having his son Prince William, who is very level-headed, I think between them they will carry on the tradition as much as they can,” she said. In a Geraldton Guardian story on the Prince’s visit in March 1979, it was reported a natural disaster almost stopped it from happening. And a crisis of having no crayfish at the Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-op to show the Prince was averted at the last minute. “The passage of cyclone Hazel kept all fishing boats at their moorings and Fishermen’s Wharf and there was not a crayfish to be had anywhere,” the Guardian reported. “By chance the only co-op fisherman who moors in Shark Bay came in unannounced after riding out the cyclone. He had a bag and a half of crays.” There was a “collective sigh of relief” that the demonstration of processing and packing crays in front of royalty could proceed. It was reported the then Prince showed keen interest in the industry and spoke to fishers at the wharf about what impact the cyclone had on them. Mayor at the time, Lyle Harris, told the Guardian he half expected the Prince’s visit to Geraldton to be cancelled because of the “dangerous lady” crossing his path — referring to cyclone Hazel. But the king-in-waiting was determined to stick to his commitment unless it was deemed impossible. The Guardian reported 16-year-old Tracy Cooper asked the Prince “how about a kiss” outside the civic centre. No confirmation in print on if he accepted the offer. No need for controversy, however, as this visit was two years before the Prince of Wales became engaged to and married Lady Diana Spencer. The Prince’s 1979 visit to Australia is perhaps most famously remembered for the moment when model Jane Priest stole a kiss from him in the surf at Cottesloe Beach. Overall, it was reported the people of Geraldton gave the then 30-year-old Prince a warm welcome. And he seemed to be equally interested in the Mid West town and its people. Don Boddington previously recalled his brief interaction with the Prince back in 1979. “He shook my hand and asked if I was a surfie because of my long hair,” he said.