Prince wins hearts in Australia
Source: Agencies |
January 20, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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BRITAIN'S Prince William was greeted with a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony yesterday as he arrived in Australia for the start of a three-day tour that will also take him to villages devastated by last year's deadly wildfires.
The sounds of a didgeridoo hummed across Sydney's predominantly Aboriginal suburb of Redfern as an Aboriginal elder fanned a cloud of smoke from a pile of smoldering leaves at the 27-year-old prince in a sacred cleansing ritual. The prince then waved to the cheering crowd of around 2,000 well-wishers, before being ushered inside a community center to meet indigenous people.
"We're over the moon that he's come to this part of the city to spend time with us," said Lewis Kelly, from Kempsey, 420 kilometers north of Sydney. "I was surprised when I heard it on the grapevine that he was coming here to see the indigenous people, the real Australians."
The second in line to the British throne last visited Australia as a baby in 1983, accompanied by his parents Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. His trip to Australia follows a three-day visit to New Zealand, where he opened the country's new Supreme Court building.
Inside the Redfern community center, the prince spoke with Aboriginal elders and spent some time with around 30 youngsters, reading them the famed Australian children's book "Possum Magic," joining a boy in a video game and checking out some of their drawings.
"Does your grandmother live in a big castle?" 9-year-old Penelopee McGrath asked the prince.
"She does," he replied.
The prince is scheduled to fly to Melbourne tomorrow, where he will travel to communities destroyed by last year's deadly wildfires. Hundreds of blazes last February killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.
The sounds of a didgeridoo hummed across Sydney's predominantly Aboriginal suburb of Redfern as an Aboriginal elder fanned a cloud of smoke from a pile of smoldering leaves at the 27-year-old prince in a sacred cleansing ritual. The prince then waved to the cheering crowd of around 2,000 well-wishers, before being ushered inside a community center to meet indigenous people.
"We're over the moon that he's come to this part of the city to spend time with us," said Lewis Kelly, from Kempsey, 420 kilometers north of Sydney. "I was surprised when I heard it on the grapevine that he was coming here to see the indigenous people, the real Australians."
The second in line to the British throne last visited Australia as a baby in 1983, accompanied by his parents Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana. His trip to Australia follows a three-day visit to New Zealand, where he opened the country's new Supreme Court building.
Inside the Redfern community center, the prince spoke with Aboriginal elders and spent some time with around 30 youngsters, reading them the famed Australian children's book "Possum Magic," joining a boy in a video game and checking out some of their drawings.
"Does your grandmother live in a big castle?" 9-year-old Penelopee McGrath asked the prince.
"She does," he replied.
The prince is scheduled to fly to Melbourne tomorrow, where he will travel to communities destroyed by last year's deadly wildfires. Hundreds of blazes last February killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.
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