<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>331521</docID> <postdate>2024-10-22 12:51:38</postdate> <headline>‘Welcome to Gadigal land’: elders greet King in Sydney</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-331522" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241021171908744323-original-resized-e1729544699478.jpg" alt="" width="742" height="495" /></p> <caption>King Charles will meet indigenous leaders before joining Queen Camilla for a community barbecue. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Jack Gramenz</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>King Charles has been greeted by indigenous dancers and a meal of kangaroo pies during a visit to inner-city Sydney on the final full day of his brief royal tour.</strong></p> <p>The monarch met key elders on Tuesday morning after a small group of hecklers gathered outside the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Redfern.</p> <p>He was welcomed with a smoking ceremony in the building's courtyard, while chants of "You're on stolen land" and "No pride in genocide" could be heard from outside the centre.</p> <p>"We've got stories to tell and I think you witnessed that story yesterday," Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council chair Allan Murray told the King.</p> <p>"Welcome to Gadigal land."</p> <p>On Monday, Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe interrupted a reception in Parliament House in Canberra, telling the monarch "You are not our king" before being led away by officials.</p> <p>After his greeting at Redfern, Sydney, King Charles was led to meet Beryl Booth, who served him 40 years earlier during another Australian tour.</p> <p>This time, Aunty Beryl offered the King kangaroo pies, before he was rushed off to the sports hall.</p> <p>"I'm honoured to have him here because I grew up with respect," she said before his arrival.</p> <p>King Charles watched a performance by indigenous dancers before going into a private meeting with elders.</p> <p>The event took place while Queen Camilla visited Refettorio OzHarvest in nearby Surry Hills and began a packed schedule across the city on the final day of the Australian tour, the King's first since ascending the throne.</p> <p>Their itinerary includes what is expected to be the largest public event of the visit, when the couple greet well-wishers outside the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>The last time a sovereign met the crowds at the Opera House was when the late Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2006.</p> <p>NSW Premier Chris Minns said there would be a surprise in store for the royals at the iconic building, where they would be greeted by 100 public-school students in a special performance.</p> <p>"(The King) doesn't know about it, but those kids are obviously over the moon," he told Sydney radio 2GB.</p> <p>The royals will then take part in a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Review of five ships on Sydney Harbour.</p> <p>The navy, the army, and the air force will carry out fly-pasts and more than 600 officers and sailors will conduct a "cheer ship" salute.</p> <p>King Charles and Queen Camilla are also due to be reunited for a community barbecue at Parramatta, hosted by the premier, before the King leaves for a series of afternoon events.</p> <p>Hundreds of community leaders and volunteers gathered in Parramatta Park before the lunch event, which builds on a traditional Aussie barbecue with a range of multicultural food stalls.</p> <p>The King will later visit the Melanoma Institute in northern Sydney, where he will meet joint Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer.</p> <p>The King, 75, was earlier in 2024 diagnosed with a form of cancer, the type of which has not been officially confirmed.</p> <p>The visit is the first trip to Australia by a reigning British monarch since 2011, while King Charles has previously visited 16 times in an official capacity.</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><em>–with pool reporters</em></p> <p>https://citynews.com.au/2024/fallout-from-not-my-king-outburst-continues/</p> </body>