Priceless photos of Queen from 1954 Lismore visit stolen from flooded hotel

Priceless photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh appear to have been stolen by looters from the flood-ravaged Lismore pub.

Priceless photographs of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh appear to have been stolen by looters from the flood-ravaged Lismore pub where the couple stayed on their historic visit in 1954.

The theft was discovered by Glenn Tomkinson, general manager of the Gollan Hotel, who had to be rescued during the floods from the same second-floor balcony on which the then-27-year-old Queen stood to greet the people of the city.

It was the first time a reigning monarch had visited Australia, and the Gollan remains the only pub in Australia to have ever ­accommodated the Queen.

When floodwaters hit Lismore two weeks ago, Mr Tomkinson worked all night moving ­valuables up to the hotel’s second floor, but by midday on Monday water was almost a metre past the second floor.

Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Lismore in 1954 at the Gollan Hotel. Picture: The Northern Star Archives

Mr Tomkinson said he woke in his bedroom – which was once the loungeroom of the quarters in which the Queen and the duke stayed – with water lapping at the mattress.

“I put my foot in two feet of water and then my bed started to float; there was no warning really.

“We certainly didn’t expect the level of water to go so high,” he said. “All of our hard work was futile.”

Two days later, when the ­waters still hadn’t receded, Mr Tomkinson was rescued by locals “doing the rounds” in a fishing boat when he was picked up from the balcony.

Just 10 days after the February 1954 royal visit, Lismore was inundated by the worst floods the town had then seen.

As a cyclone passed over the Queensland border, the Wilsons River peaked at a record-breaking 13.4m, still a full metre below its peak in the most recent crisis. The hotel was also hard hit by the 2017 floods and closed for a few months as it underwent repairs.

General manager of the Gollan Hotel in Lismore, Glenn Tomkinson, with two of the remaining historical photographs of the 1954 visit of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Picture: Liam Mendes

Returning to the pub on Saturday with The Australian to pick up a few extra belongings, Mr Tomkinson discovered looters had struck, stealing several pictures of the royal visit.

“Everything is lost and I am extremely gutted,” Mr Tomkinson said.

“I was evacuated with a small bag of personal belongings but I am alive.”

Mr Tomkinson said he was “annoyed” at the thieves, who also stole some of his personal belongings and allegedly attacked him earlier this week when he confronted one.

“I’m furious and disheartened that these people would stoop so low when I’m at the lowest point of my life,” he said.

“These are the only photos that could be saved,” he said of the few pictures that remained, “but there’s a lot more history which is now gone due to the floods and looters.”

In the second-level room where the Queen and duke once stayed, the carpet was still damp and muddied despite the floods hitting their peak almost two weeks ago.

The ground floor of the pub had been completely stripped and cleared by workers. Mr Tomkinson said it would take up to six months to complete repairs.

Despite the setbacks, Mr Tomkinson said he could guarantee the hotel would be “up and running as soon as possible”.