Australia holds day of mourning for queen with art, flowers

Canberra, Sept. 23 (BUS): Australia honored the late Queen Elizabeth II with a day of national mourning Thursday, including dignitaries laying sprigs of golden wats in a wreath at Parliament House, which she opened on one of her visits three decades ago. .

The focus of the ceremony in Parliament’s Great Hall was a portrait of the former British monarch and Australia in a yellow dress embellished with gold embellishments, which she wore on her first night in Australia in 1954, known as the “Wattle Painting,” which was created by the Associated Press (AP) reported. Australian artist William Dargy.

The Queen’s death came on September 8, during the southern hemisphere spring when its golden roses and green foliage bloom, reflecting Australia’s national colors, in what has become a symbol of unity.

The government declared Thursday a public holiday and the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor General David Hurley, King Charles III’s representative in Australia. On Wednesday, the two returned from the Queen’s funeral in London.

The holiday was marked by some protests that focused on the damage British colonialism had caused to Indigenous Australians. Australia is one of the few former British colonies that did not have a treaty with the indigenous population.

“I acknowledge that her death provoked different reactions in some in our community,” Hurley said. “I am respectfully aware that the response of many First Nations Australians is shaped by our colonial history and the broader journey of reconciliation, a journey we as a nation must complete.”

The government plans to change the Australian constitution through a referendum that would create a mechanism for Indigenous peoples to consult Parliament on policies affecting their lives.

Lydia Thorpe, an Aboriginal senator for the small Green Party, led hundreds of protesters against the British monarchy in Melbourne.

“The crown is on our neck and we are tired of it,” Thorpe told the gathering.

Aboriginal reactions to the queen’s death were mixed. Indigenous dancers and singers began the Parliament House ceremony.

Albanese, who wants Australia to replace the British monarch with an Australian head of state, spoke of how the nation has changed since 70% of the population saw the queen in 1954.

“Perhaps the greatest tribute we can give to her family and her memory is not a marble statue or a metal plaque,” ​​Albanese said. “It’s a renewed embrace of community service.”

Past and present political leaders, judges, and military leaders aA number of VIPs were among the 700 guests on duty.

The Queen officially opened Parliament House in 1988. Her father opened the temporary Parliament House nearby in 1927. King George VI was at the time the Duke of York, making his daughter the first monarch to visit Australia.

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