Filmmaker Ronald Tonkins obtained press accreditation to cover the Royal Summer, the 1953-54 tour of New Zealand by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Tonkins filmed the couple’s visits to Wellington, Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua, Christchurch, Dunedin and their departure aboard the Gothic from Bluff. His record includes poi and haka displays, a visit to a stud farm, a car factory, the Wattie’s cannery in Hastings and the State Opening of Parliament followed by a garden party at Government House.
Chronologically, some sequences are out of order.