Crowds line the roads to greet queen in Australia
Source: Agencies |
October 20, 2011, Thursday
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CROWDS of cheering children waving Australian flags welcomed Queen Elizabeth II as she and her husband Prince Philip landed at an Australian air force base yesterday in the nation's capital.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Governor General Quentin Bryce, the monarch's representative in Australia, greeted the royal pair, who received a 21-gun salute as they emerged from their plane.
The warm welcome comes despite the ruling Labor Party's desire for the British monarch to be replaced by a president as Australia's head of state. Gillard has said Australia should become a republic.
But she said she did not believe that debate would mar the queen's first visit since 2006, when she opened the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The 85-year-old monarch will travel to four cities and open a meeting of leaders of mostly former British colonies during her 10-day visit.
"While the queen is here in Australia, what Australians will be doing is enjoying and celebrating her presence," Gillard said. "I believe she is very well respected by Australians and she is going to be tremendously warmly received from the moment she sets foot on Australian soil."
Australians rejected a proposal to make the country a republic in a referendum in 1999.
Schoolchildren lined up near the queen's plane to present her with gifts, including bouquets of flowers, a paper crown and a stuffed Corgi - a nod to the monarch's favorite dog breed. She grinned and chatted with a crowd of well-wishers before heading off to the Governor General's official residence in the capital, Canberra, where she will spend most of her 10 nights in Australia.
Hundreds lined the drive leading to the residence.
Flag-waving Emily Seseile, nine, said she had come to see the monarch because "she is the queen and it could be the last time she comes."
Narelle Gibson, 69, held a sign that read "Australians for a constitutional monarchy," supporting those who want to maintain the current system. She said she last saw the queen during her 1970 visit.
The queen will visit Brisbane and Melbourne before opening next week's meeting of the 54-nation Commonwealth in the western coastal city of Perth.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Governor General Quentin Bryce, the monarch's representative in Australia, greeted the royal pair, who received a 21-gun salute as they emerged from their plane.
The warm welcome comes despite the ruling Labor Party's desire for the British monarch to be replaced by a president as Australia's head of state. Gillard has said Australia should become a republic.
But she said she did not believe that debate would mar the queen's first visit since 2006, when she opened the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The 85-year-old monarch will travel to four cities and open a meeting of leaders of mostly former British colonies during her 10-day visit.
"While the queen is here in Australia, what Australians will be doing is enjoying and celebrating her presence," Gillard said. "I believe she is very well respected by Australians and she is going to be tremendously warmly received from the moment she sets foot on Australian soil."
Australians rejected a proposal to make the country a republic in a referendum in 1999.
Schoolchildren lined up near the queen's plane to present her with gifts, including bouquets of flowers, a paper crown and a stuffed Corgi - a nod to the monarch's favorite dog breed. She grinned and chatted with a crowd of well-wishers before heading off to the Governor General's official residence in the capital, Canberra, where she will spend most of her 10 nights in Australia.
Hundreds lined the drive leading to the residence.
Flag-waving Emily Seseile, nine, said she had come to see the monarch because "she is the queen and it could be the last time she comes."
Narelle Gibson, 69, held a sign that read "Australians for a constitutional monarchy," supporting those who want to maintain the current system. She said she last saw the queen during her 1970 visit.
The queen will visit Brisbane and Melbourne before opening next week's meeting of the 54-nation Commonwealth in the western coastal city of Perth.
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