As King Charles attempted to quell yesterday’s verbal attacks in Parliament House, he was reminded again of the protests that erupted at the start of the penultimate day in Australia.
Arriving at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Sydney, he was greeted by Alan Murray of the local Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, who referred to Lydia Thorpe’s controversial rant on Monday.
He said: “We have a story to tell, and I’m sure you witnessed that story in Canberra yesterday, but this story is unshakable and we have a long way to go to achieve what we want to achieve, and to achieve our own sovereignty. But welcome to Gadigal land.”
Charles, 75, nodded.
Elders welcomed him to the centre, adding: “We are a proud, sovereign people”.
The King said: “In 1966 I was trying to light a fire in the bush in Victoria but it was difficult as we had no fire at home”.
He waved smoke in welcoming Aboriginal land and gathered around an outdoor fire pit with members of the Gadigal people of the Eora national.
At the sports hall, the King was impressed by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance performance.
Afterwards, as he greeted the dancers, he himself tried to jump into the air, saying: “I don’t think I could do that at my age. “
He also spoke to Gamay rangers and members of the Inner City Empowered Community Group, which provides services to Sydney’s local Indigenous community.
Before heading to Parramatta for a community barbecue, the King spoke privately with many Indigenous Elders.
The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) is a not-for-profit social enterprise that builds strong foundations and a solid future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Founded in 2006, NCIE is dedicated to building skills and creating opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia. NCIE’s programs, services and businesses exist solely for the purpose of improving long-term wellbeing.
Charles was said to have been “calm” about the lone protester in Canberra and not allowed it to overshadow an otherwise great day.
On Monday, Ms Thorpe, 51, tried to disrupt the royal couple’s visit to Canberra by insulting the monarch shortly after he delivered a groundbreaking speech in Parliament House.
She was chased out of the Great Hall after shouting remarks such as “You are not my king” and accusing the monarch of committing “genocide” against Indigenous people.
But she continued her attacks on the monarchy online, reposting on her Instagram story a caricature of the monarch’s head next to a crown created by Matt Cheung, co-editor of the anti-imperialist publication The Sunday Paper.
The sombre photo was captioned, “You are not our king.”
Charles, 75, was barely seated when Australian Indigenous Senator Lydia Thorpe strode down the aisle of the Great Hall, shouting: “Give us back our country. Give us back what you have stolen from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.” They have destroyed our country. Give us a deal. We want a treaty with this country.”
Ms Thorpe, 51, wearing a long coat made of possum fur, tried to approach the stage where the king and queen would sit alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other officials.
As security guards tried to remove her from the hall, she became increasingly agitated, shouting, “This is not your country, this is not your country, you are not my king, you are not our king.”
It took almost a minute for security guards to eject Ms Thorpe, who was attending the event as a guest as a senator from Victoria. As she was pushed back into the hall, she shouted, “Fuck the colony.”
While those gathered at the parliamentary reception remained silent during the riot, the king turned around and calmly addressed the prime minister.
In a statement after the protest, she said she had sought to submit a “notice of complicity in indigenous genocide” to the King under the 1998 Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Dozens of politicians have condemned Ms Thorpe’s actions, while Auntie Violet Sheridan, a Ngunnawal elder who had issued an official “welcome” to the King and Queen just 30 minutes before the protest in Parliament, was infuriated by the violence.