With a didgeridoo placed against his chest, the future king of England closed his eyes. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales stood in the guts of the Yirrkala Art Centre, on the steamy top east coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, as a bearded man with sunglasses blew wild, rhythmic vibrations into his heart.
This was healing, East Arnhem Land style, applied to Prince Charles by internationally renowned yidaki master and Galpu clan elder, Djalu Gurruwiwi. “I feel better already,” Prince Charles said following the didgeridoo blessing ritual. He took Mr Gurruwiwi’s hand.
“It’s certainly beautiful to get to this part of the world and meet you. It’s taken me many years. And such a beautiful welcome – I’m touched.”
Prince Charles arrives for a Welcome to Country Ceremony in the Top End on April 9, 2018.
The 69-year-old royal said he was “touched” to receive such a welcome.
And so it was that Prince Charles, son of Queen Elizabeth II, had finally found himself in the traditional Yolngu heartland of Australia, in one of the country’s most respected indigenous art hubs, walking through the halls and chatting with artists as a throng of Clarence House minders, international media and government dignitaries tailed him through the building.
Prince Charles touched down at Gove Airport in a Royal Australian Air Force jet just before midday yesterday. He was greeted on the tarmac for his sixth visit to the Northern Territory, his first to East Arnhem Land, by officials including Gumatj clan chieftain Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Chief Minister Michael Gunner and wife Kristy O’Brien, NT Administrator Vicki O’Halloran and Senator Nigel Scullion.
Mr Yunupingu, a former Australian of the Year and land rights pioneer, handed Prince Charles a woomera as a welcoming gift to Yolngu country. Prince Charles picked up the traditional weapon and jokingly pretended to use it.
“It’s for his protection in case someone throws a spear at him,” Mr Yunupingu joked at the airport afterwards.
The Prince, dressed in a khaki suit and tie, then climbed into his police escorted motorcade, thrilling onlookers by winding down his window and offering a brief wave.
Charles, who wore a khaki suit and tie for the moving visit, met with local leaders and artists.
He wore a feathered headdress for the ceremony and a string basket, known as a Bathi.
It was then up Mt Nhulun, a site known as the birthplace of the nation’s Aboriginal land rights fight, where he received an official Welcome to Country at a private, sacred ceremony.
Later His Royal Highness flew to Darwin where he attended a reception at the Royal Flying Doctor Service. He was received by Michael Gunner, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, and Bill Risk, Traditional Elder of the Larrakia Nation and also met contestants from Ten’s TV hit MasterChef who prepared the evening’s food.
