Aboriginal Wayne Wharton, a prominent Indigenous activist from Brisbane, was arrested at the Sydney Opera House after shouting anti-monarchist slogans and refusing a police order to move on, as crowds gathered to greet King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Just a day before, Aboriginal senator Lidia Thorpe heckled King Charles as he finished a speech.
The King spoke about indigenous communities and what he had learnt from them saying his own experience had been “shaped and strengthened by such traditional wisdom”.
“In my many visits to Australia, I have witnessed the courage and hope that have guided the nation’s long and sometimes difficult journey towards reconciliation,” he said, and was promptly followed by Lidia Thorpe.
Wayne Wharton shouted “he’s not my King”, echoing Thorpe’s exact words.
But the crowd shouted back “God save the King”.
Wharton had also protested outside the church service the royals attended on Sunday.
Interviewed bystanders expressed that they were not impressed with this means of protesting, though many have pointed out that Australia does need to self-determine, others say that the Royal Family are part of Australian culture.
Unlike New Zealand and other former British colonies, a treaty with Indigenous peoples in Australia was never established. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people say that they never officially ceded their sovereignty or land to the Crown.
Lidia Thorpe’s approach has been praised by some Indigenous activists as brave, but condemned by other prominent Aboriginal Australians as “embarrassing” and disrespectful. It has also been largely criticized by her parliamentary peers as unprofessional.
After making claims of genocide against “our people”, Thorpe could be heard yelling: “This is not your land, you are not my King.”
Aboriginal elder Aunty Violet Sheridan said Thorpe’s protest was “disrespectful”, adding: “She does not speak for me”, particularly as the King is going through chemo.
Thorpe, who was wearing a traditional possum skin cloak, is now under question for having broken her oath as a senator, particularly as she is said to have posted a drawing which depicted the King beheaded alongside his crown on Instagram.
King Charles visited the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, where he met with Aboriginal elders.
Two weeks ago, he reiterated his view that it is up to the Australian people to decide whether the country remains a constitutional monarchy or if it becomes a republic.
