The Prince of Wales has arrived at Nhulunbuy in north-east Arnhem Land, for his first ever visit to the remote region.
It is the sixth time Prince Charles has visited the Northern Territory, with a history of royal visits to the Top End before him, including a 1956 stop by Prince Philip when he went crocodile hunting.
In a traditional ceremony at Mt Nhulun, a sacred site of great significance to the Yolngu people, Prince Charles was officially welcomed by the traditional owners and Aboriginal elders of north-east Arnhem Land.
On arrival, His Royal Highness was met by senior Aboriginal leaders and presented with a traditional headdress and a woven dilly bag.
The dilly bag plays an important part in a Yolngu story about where the name “Nhulunbuy” came from.
Dancers wearing traditional dress and ochre paint then surrounded Prince Charles on a bush track at Mt Nhulun and escorted him in a procession to a clearing where the rest of the ceremony took place.
The dancers, holding spears and woomeras, performed and sang around a sand sculpture before the leader of the Rirratjingu people, Bakamumu Marika, delivered the welcome to country.
Prince Charles welcomed to Nhulunbuy in a ceremony not done since the 1960s. He’s the first non-Indigenous person to be acknowledged as part of it. @abcdarwin #RoyalVisitAustralia pic.twitter.com/rbqPLQW4KA
— Georgia Hitch (@GeorgiaHitch) April 9, 2018
Prince Charles then met with Indigenous rangers from Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, who protect and manage the land around the Gove Peninsula.
Prince Charles will fly to Darwin tonight where Chief Minister Michael Gunner will host a reception in his honour.
On Tuesday, the public have been welcomed to join the Prince, who will lay a wreath at Darwin’s Cenotaph at 10am.
He will also tour defence and emergency recovery facilities in Darwin during his two-day visit in the Northern Territory.
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