The jewel-encrusted 2.75 tonne black carriage, made with $250,000 (£161,000) of Australian taxpayers' money, was supposed to be delivered in 2006, but government officials have admitted they have no idea where it is.
The coach, named Britannia, is decorated with 24 diamonds, 130 sapphires and 400 books of gold leaf and is estimated to be worth a total of A$1.5 million (£900,000).
It was made by monarchist Jim Frecklington and is said to feature fragments of more than 100 British historical artefacts including timber from Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, a piece of the 1760 doorway from 10 Downing Street and gold from Admiral Nelson's crown from the Battle of Trafalgar.
While he was prime minister, John Howard committed $250,000 worth of public money to the project to support "Australian craftsmanship". » | Bonnie Malkin, Sydney | Thursday, May 26, 2011
