As Their Majesties’ Royal Tour of Australia nears its end, King Charles is making the most of it. He received a warm welcome from Indigenous leaders as he participated in a traditional smoking ceremony.
Charles visited the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) just a day after he faced shouts of ‘You are not my King, this is not your land’ from a senator at Canberra’s Parliament House. The King’s appointment with elders in the Sydney community was always scheduled to happen. Following criticism, it made for a timely moment for the leader of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Uncle Allan (a formal title for elder men) Murray to warmly greet The King. His Majesty was greeted on what is considered “Gadigal Land” (the southern side of the Sydney Harbour) with the wider point being, “Welcome to the Country.”
The Telegraph reports Murray told His Majesty: “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.
“We are proud, sovereign people, and we continue to walk on this great land.”
Murray continued on with respectful remarks for the monarch. Including how there has always been a longing for a return of ‘our sovereignty.’
“We are a sovereign people, we have never signed a formal agreement or treaty. The [British flag] was put on our land without our consent. We’ve been ignored. We can’t rest on our laurels.”
While visiting the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, His Majesty took part in a traditional smoking ceremony. The ceremonies are part of an ancient custom among Aboriginal tribes that involves smoldering native plants to produce smoking. Legend has it that smoking has cleaning properties to ward off bad spirits.
Charles’ outing to the indigenous center marked the first visit on the busy, final day of his and Queen Camilla’s royal tour of Australia.
