Queen's Baton Relay
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GC2018
The City of Rockingham was an Australian Celebration Community for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II set the baton in motion during a star-studded ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London on Monday 13 March 2017. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Edward The Earl of Wessex, The Queen placed her message to the Commonwealth and its athletes inside the distinctive baton.
Thank you to all who came out to cheer the Queen's Baton Relay on Friday 23 February 2018 as it was proudly carried through the City of Rockingham. We are now forever part of the longest relay in history, covering a distance of 230,000 kilometres in 288 days from Buckingham Palace to the Gold Coast.
Twenty-one Batonbearers represented Rockingham in the Queen’s Baton Relay on Friday 23 February. The 21 Batonbearers were chosen by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation after a community nomination program which selected people of all abilities from all walks of life in recognition of the inspiration they have provided to others.
Batonbearers:
- Terry Howson
- Sophie Williams
- John Ree
- Anne Moore
- Simon Read
- Sharon Young
- Jan Thair
- Murray Horbury
- Morena Carusi
- Guiseppe Carbone
- Jayde Taylor
- Robert Bates
- Johanna Byrne
- Jordan Elizabeth Mears
- Murray Tolbert
- Marlee Mickle
- Noel Oakey
- Trevor Holmes
- Megan Nielsen
- Eileen Frith
- Craig Watts
See below a gallery of images from the Queen's Baton Relay.
Gallery
Where did the Queen's Baton Visit?
See below some of the baton's journey.
Queen's Baton Relay: Sierra Leone
With the message on board, the baton’s first port of call was Sierra Leone, the beginning of its remarkable 388-day adventure.
Queen's Baton Relay: Ghana
The Queen's Baton Relay visits Ghana.
Queen's Baton Relay: Cameroon
Cameroon
Queen's Baton Relay: Nigeria
Nigeria
Queen's Baton Relay: Trinidad and Tobago
The Queen's Baton has reached the Carribean! Firstly it visited the islands of Trinidad and Tobago – the culture capital of the Caribbean, home to people from Africa, India, Europe, the Middle East and China, with a small portion of native American Indian culture.
Queen's Baton Relay: Grenada
Next stop was Grenada, the world’s largest exporters of nutmeg and mace.
Queen's Baton Relay: St Vincent and the Grenadines
Then it was on to St Vincent and the Grenadines in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Queen's Baton Relay: Malawi
The Queen’s Baton has covered a few more kilometres since the last update as it continues to criss-cross Africa.
Malawi, a narrow strip of land in the East Africa Rift Valley, was the 11th nation on the itinerary.
Queen's Baton Relay: Namibia
It passed through Namibia on the west coast of the continent – famous for its resident population of cheetahs and other wildlife.
Queen's Baton Relay: St Lucia St Josephs Convent Castries
The Queen's Baton has been continuing its journey through the sun soaked islands of the Caribbean, attracting big crowds wherever it went.
Queen's Baton Relay: Barbados
It visited Barbados, one of the Carribbean's sporting powerhouses. Local volleyball legend Jayberry Goodridge holds the Baton with pride at the national monument in Bridgetown.
Queen's Baton Relay: Dominica
A special dance to welcome the Baton to Dominica.
Queen's Baton Relay: Antigua and Barbuda
From Dominica it was onwards to Antigua and Barbuda.
Queen's Baton Relay: St Kitts and Nevis
Next stop was St Kitts and Nevis, which is a federation of two little islands. Here local table tennis champ Angelisa Freeman holds the Baton under a spectacular 400 year old Saman tree in Basseterre, capital of the federation.
The Baton has a few more tropical paradises to travel through before it leaves the Carribean.
Queen's Baton Relay: Montserrat
The Baton then went on to Montserrat. A tiny island home to just 5,000 people. Since the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1997 many people have moved off the island, but as the rebuilding process continues, the population is starting to recover.
Queen's Baton Relay: Pakistan
First port of call in the eastern hemisphere was Pakistan.
Queen's Baton Relay: India
A school student from Lal Bahadur Shastri School with the Baton at the spectacular World Heritage listed Qutub complex in Delhi.
Queen's Baton Relay: Bangladesh
Heading east, the next stop was Bangladesh on the Bay of Bengal.
Queen's Baton Relay: Malaysia
Then it was further east to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where the 1998 Commonwealth Games were hosted.
Queen's Baton Relay: Colombo
When the Baton arrived in Colombo it was greeted by traditional musicians and dancers.
Queen's Baton Relay: Borneo
The next stop was Brunei Darussalam, a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea.
Queen's Baton Relay: Singapore
The Queen’s Baton Relay arrived in Singapore.
Queen's Baton Relay: Nauru
Nauru has a population of fewer than 10,000 people.
Queen's Baton Relay: Kirabiti
The photo shows a Batonbearer carrying the Baton across the watery sands to one of the outlying villages on the island of Maiana, during a day-long visit by the QBR.
Queen's Baton Relay: Niue
Niue is made up of 1,600 fulltime residents.
Queen's Baton Relay: The Cook Islands
The Queen's Baton arrived at the Cook Islands.
Queen's Baton Relay: Tonga
The Queen's Baton was received by nurses and patients at the paedeatric ward of Tonga's Vaiola Hospital, in Nuku' Alofa.
Queen's Baton Relay: Fiji
Fiji (officially the Republic of Fiji) an island country about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km) northeast of New Zealand's North Island.
Queen's Baton Relay: Samoa
Samoa, another small group of islands united under one flag and national identity.
Queen's Baton Relay: Tuvalu
Tuvalu is made up of three islands and six coral atolls with a population of 11,000 people.
Queen's Baton Relay: Papua New Guinea
The Queen's Baton was carried by para-athlete Samuel Nason at the closing ceremony of the PNG Games 2017 in Kimbe.
Queen's Baton Relay: Solomon Islands
The Queen's Baton was carried by Faeni dancers during a cultural performance in the Art Gallery, as it relayed through Honiara.
Queen's Baton Relay: Norfolk Island
The Queen's Baton arrived at Norfolk Island.
Queen's Baton Relay: Aotearoa, New Zealand
The Queen's Baton arrived at New Zealand.