"It was so exciting and having something like that happen, in a country that was part of the Commonwealth, was very important.
"The streets were lined thick with people.
"And I had a scrapbook full of Queen's stuff, and actually, later on, I wrote a letter to Princess Anne because I was sick, and I got a letter back saying 'I write at the Queen's command to thank you for the kind thought in writing to her daughter'.'"
And a few years later Prince Charles gave her the royal wave outside a shop in Wellington.
"So I have had the personal royal wave."
McEwing-Anderson said the Queen was an important person back then, and still is, despite her passing.
"I think she's just a really good example to us all.
"God bless her and let her rest in peace."
Betty Carpenter was also there at the time and remembers coming down from Ōtaki with all the other school children in the district to line the streets.
Touchdown in Paraparaumu. Photo / File
"All school children at primary school in the district were transported to the airport on Kāpiti Rd.
"We waited for a few hours before the plane landed and the Queen was driven around a circuit in an open-top car for us all to wave with flags we had been given.
"Every school-age child was given a commemoration medal."
Marilyn Stevens' father Roy Skinner was one of the royal chauffeurs during the tour, including the airport pick-up.
"Roy and his brother Ian had the same position at Public Service Garage - dad in Wellington and Ian in Auckland," Stevens said.
"They both did royal tours of duty."
Skinner also received an award but it wasn't for his skill behind the wheel.
