King Charles and Queen Camilla are on their last day of their visit to Australia
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King Charles embraces a member of Sydney’s Indigenous community at the National Center for Indigenous Excellence on October 22, 2024
King Charles was welcomed by Indigenous leaders in Sydney amid an ongoing protest over sovereignty.
Charles’ visit to the National Center of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) came a day after he faced shouts from a senator at Parliament House in Canberra: “You are not my king, this is not your country.”
The king’s appointment with the elders of the Sydney community would always take place on October 22. But it meant there was a good time for Uncle Allan Murray, a leader of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, to greet the king. , 75, on ‘Gadigal land’, saying, ‘Welcome to the land’, while also getting the broader point across.
“We have stories to tell and I think you saw that story in Canberra yesterday, but the story is steadfast and we still have a long way to go to achieve what we want to achieve and that is our own sovereignty,” he said to Charles. to the British newspaper The Telegraph.
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King Charles watches a performance by the Mui Mui Bumer Gedlam group at the National Center of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney on October 22, 2024
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“We are a proud, sovereign people, and we continue to walk across this great country,” he added.
The king nodded and listened, the reports said. Uncle Allan – the respectful formal title for older men – said after the conversation: ‘We always long for a return of our sovereignty. We are a sovereign people, we have never signed any formal agreement or treaty. The [British flag] was put on our land without our permission,” The Telegraph reported. “We have been ignored. We cannot rest on our laurels.”
Charles appeared relaxed, seemed to enjoy meeting the elders and took part in a traditional smoking ceremony led by community representatives from the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.
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King Charles will take part in a traditional smoking ceremony in Sydney on October 22, 2024
A day earlier, on October 21, the protests had been clearer and louder. Harassing Senator Lidia Thorpe, an Indigenous Australian politician, first made claims of ‘genocide’ then said: ‘Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,’ videos of the event shared ThroughThe Telegraph showed. “You destroyed our country, give us a treaty – we want a treaty, we want a treaty with this country.”
As she was escorted out of the Great Hall of Parliament House, Thorpe continued to shout: ‘This is not your country, this is not your country. You are not my king, you are not our king.”
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King Charles and Queen Camilla cook sausages for the food stalls during the Prime Minister’s Community Barbecue at Parramatta Park on October 22, 2024
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Charles’s trip to the Indigenous center was his and Queen Camilla’s first visit on a busy day on their last full day in Australia. Charles – who has been undergoing treatment for cancer since February – met with some melanoma experts.
The couple also went together for a communal picnic and barbecue, although they reportedly declined to sample food, hosted by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and his wife Anna.
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