‘Welcome to the land of Gadigal’: Elders welcome the king to Sydney

King Charles was greeted by Indigenous dancers and treated to kangaroo pies during a visit to central Sydney on the last full day of his short royal tour.

The monarch met with key elders on Tuesday morning after a small group of critics gathered outside the National Aboriginal Center of Excellence in Redfern.

He was greeted with a smoking ceremony in the building’s courtyard, while chants of “You are on stolen land” and “No pride in genocide” could be heard outside the center.

“We have a story to tell, and I think you witnessed that story yesterday,” Allan Murray, chairman of the local Aboriginal Land Council, told the king.

“Welcome to the land of Gadigal.”

Victorian senator Lydia Thorpe interrupted a reception at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday, telling the monarch: “You are not our king” before officials led him away.

After a welcome in Redfern, Sydney, King Charles was invited to meet Beryl Van Oploo, who had served him 40 years earlier on another tour of Australia.

This time Aunt Beryl treated the king to kangaroo pies before he was rushed to the gym.

“I’m honored to have him here because I grew up respecting him,” she said before his arrival.

King Charles watched a performance by indigenous dancers before going to a private meeting with elders.

The event took place as Queen Camilla visited Refettorio OzHarvest in nearby Surry Hills and began a busy schedule around the city on the final day of an Australian tour, her first since the king’s accession to the throne.

Their itinerary includes what is expected to be the biggest public event of the visit, as the couple greet well-wishers outside the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday afternoon.

The last time the sovereign met a crowd at the Opera House was when the late Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2006.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the royals would be treated to a surprise at the iconic building, where they would be greeted by 100 public school students with a special performance.

“(The King) doesn’t know it, but these kids are clearly over the moon,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.

The royals will then take part in an inspection of five Royal Australian Navy ships in Sydney Harbour.

The Navy, Army and Air Force will conduct flyovers and more than 600 officers and sailors will hold a salute.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are also due to reunite at a public barbecue in Parramatta hosted by the Prime Minister before the King leaves for a series of daytime events.

Hundreds of community leaders and volunteers gathered at Parramatta Park before the luncheon, which featured a traditional Australian barbecue with a variety of multicultural food stalls.

The King will later visit the Melanoma Institute in Sydney’s north, where he will meet Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolier.

Earlier, in 2024, the 75-year-old king was diagnosed with a form of cancer, the type of which has not been officially confirmed.

The visit is the first trip by a reigning British monarch to Australia since 2011, while King Charles has previously visited Australia 16 times in an official capacity.

with pool journalists