King confronted by indigenous activists day after being heckled in Australian parliament
The monarch met Indigenous elders during a visit to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney and one told him their goal was "sovereignty".
Tuesday 22 October 2024 12:18, UK
The King has been confronted by indigenous Australian activists the day after he was accused of "genocide" by a senator in the Australian parliament.
The monarch was embraced by an Indigenous elder after a welcome smoking ceremony at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, where one told him their goal was "sovereignty".
An Aboriginal man, Wayne 'Coco' Wharton, was arrested near the Sydney Opera House after protesting about the King and Queen's visit to Australia, The Guardian said.
Mr Wharton, who was trying to serve a notice for the King's arrest to the sovereign, shouted to the crowd, calling Charles a "king of thieves and a king of liars".
Some in the crowd of a few hundred people gathered to see the royals cheered when police led him away, the paper said.
It came after Senator Lidia Thorpe shouted "you are not our king" following his address to the Australian parliament on Monday.
Ms Thorpe accused the King of "genocide" against Australia's First Nations, shouting: "This is not your land. You are not my King."
Ms Thorpe, who wore a possum skin coat and carried a traditional message stick, added: "Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land."
Greeting Charles in Sydney, Elder Allan Murray from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, appeared to reference Senator Thorpe's remarks.
"Welcome to the country. We've got stories to tell, and I think you witnessed that story yesterday in Canberra, but the story is unwavering and we've got a long way to achieve what we want to achieve and that's our own sovereignty," he said. "But welcome to Gadigal land."
The King wafted cleansing smoke over himself at an outdoor fire pit at a traditional smoking ceremony with members of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
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The King also saw a dance performance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in a nearby sports hall.
"That looked like a good exercise," he told the dancers afterwards. "I don't think I can still do it at my age."
The visit to the centre came as a statue of Queen Victoria was daubed with red paint in Sydney.
'The Union Jack was put on our land without our consent'
The King later spoke privately with several First Nations elders, indigenous rangers of the Gamay region and members of the Inner City Empowered Communities Group.
After the visit, Mr Murray said: "We always long for a return of our sovereignty. We are a sovereign people, we have never signed a formal agreement or treaty.
"The Union Jack was put on our land without our consent. We've been ignored. We can't rest on our laurels."
Asked if he blames the King, Mr Murray replied: "It was his family that goes back to 1770. We've sent to the Kings and Queens asking to be recognised but have been ignored since 1770.
"I think he listened to what I said."
Speaking about a divisive referendum last year that saw Australians overwhelmingly reject a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people, he added: "The King's visit to Australia is a year after the failed referendum.
"There's ill feeling in the community and our people are being violated, discriminated and displaced."
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King Charles also visited a skin cancer clinic in the city - one of the last engagements what is his first major overseas trip since being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
At the Melanoma Institute Australia, Charles met Adam Brown, who was given 12 months to live when he was diagnosed in 2015.
The royal couple met Dame Joanna Lumley at the Sydney Opera House, where they marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark on the last full day of their tour before heading to Samoa for a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting on Wednesday.