A group of Aboriginal Australians have performed a traditional dance and song before the King at London’s Australia House to mark the 40th anniversary of the Handback of the Uluru National Park.
Charles attended the commemoration at the diplomatic mission in central London, where he met nine Aboriginal representatives and owners of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which Charles himself visited back in 1983, accompanied then by Diana, Princess of Wales.
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, and Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas, are large geological rock formations reaching up to 500 metres in height, and make for one of central Australia’s most iconic landscapes.
Included in the Unesco World Heritage List, they are sacred sites of the Anangu people – the indigenous people of the area – who reclaimed ownership of the land after the Australian Government handed back the title deeds on October 26 1985.
The celebration on Thursday included a traditional dance and song performance by the nine Anangu representatives – some of whom had never visited the UK before.
Sammy Wilson, whose words were translated into English by fellow Anangu representative Harry Wilson, said: “When you heard us singing our song, it’s from our grandmothers and grandfathers.
“That place has always been ours, from a long way back.
“Our land is sacred. That is the song we were singing.”
Alison Carroll, who also spoke with Mr Wilson as an interpreter, said: “In the past, when I was young, the Queen and the King before her, they did have ownership of Australia.
“But now, we’re in the process of saying, some of the lands has to come back to Aboriginal peoples, and that needs to be given back in a process of, you know, a sense of ownership where we belong.”
Asked whether they would like the King to come visit Uluru again, Harry Wilson, Alison Carroll and Sammy Wilson smiled and gave a thumbs up, adding: “Yep, we would like him to come and visit.”
Charles was first welcomed at Australia House by the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith, before going to the building’s Downer Room, where Anangu representatives Rueben Burton, Craig Woods, Sammy Wilson, Alison Carroll, Rita Okai, Selina Kulitja, Rene Kulitja, Tapaya Edwards and Harry Wilson shook hands with him.
Charles also gifted a decorative plate to the Anangu community, created by Scottish slipware potters Fitch & McAndrew.
In a video message addressed to the King and played out to the audience at Australia House, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked Charles for “taking this opportunity to meet with the traditional owners ahead of what is a deeply significant anniversary”.
“It was a milestone in Aboriginal land rights in Australia and a powerful moment in the story of our continent,” Mr Albanese added.
“Around the world, Uluru is instantly recognised as Australian.
“In Australia, it stands as a monument to our people’s love for the country and their determination to see justice done.
“It is indeed a deeply spiritual place.
“Thank you to the Anangu community for making the long journey to share your rich cultural history with their UK friends.”
Charles’s visit to Australia House on Thursday was his first as monarch, with his last visit dating back to November 2018, when he was then accompanied by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Following the Uluru Handback in 1985, Anangu people signed an agreement to lease the park back to the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service, establishing a joint management arrangement for a period of ninety-nine years.
