Harry and Meghan embark on Aboriginal walking tour in Melbourne as part of Australia visit
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have joined an Aboriginal walking tour in Melbourne.
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Harry and Meghan took part in the Scar Tree Walk, which connects traditional and contemporary Aboriginal cultures and the histories of the local Kulin Peoples on Thursday morning.
A scar tree, also known as a canoe tree or shield tree, has had bark removed by Aboriginal Australians for the creation of bark canoes, shelters, weapons, tools, traps and containers.
The couple were surrounded by a scrum of local press photographers and video journalists, as a helicopter flew above.
Five police officers arrived as growing ranks of media encircled the couple on a gloriously sunny morning in Melbourne.
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Scar trees may also be created as a form of artistic and spiritual expression by some Aboriginal peoples, to mark places of significance such as burial sites, and provide a link to 60,000 years of continuous culture.
The walk was led by local Indigenous guides, beginning at the Koorie Heritage Trust in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Koorie is a term which refers to Indigenous people from Victoria and parts of New South Wales.
The duke and duchess stopped to pose for selfies while joggers and cyclists looked stunned to see the pair strolling through one of the city’s most popular running routes
The walk follows the Birrarung (Yarra River) and meanders through Birrarung Wilam (river camp) Aboriginal art pieces and contemporary installations.
It continues over William Barak Bridge, named after an elder of the Wurundjeri-willam clan, which crosses Batman Avenue, to enter a traditional Kulin Nation meeting place which is thousands of years old.
The meeting place of the Wurundjeri people is now the site of Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the continuation of local Aboriginal culture is explained before the walk finishes at the Scar Trees, a protected cultural heritage site in Yarra Park.
Harry stopped to talk to Rohan Davies and his three-year-old daughter, Heidi, who said hello to the duke.
Mr Davies, 40, said it was “surreal” to see the couple on one of Melbourne’s most popular walking routes, adding “it’s not something you see every day”.
The duke asked Heidi what her favourite colour was as he bent down to speak to her.
Discussing the conversation, Mr Davies said: “Heidi asked him and he said blue.
“She said dark purple – he said that she had a beautiful top on and I just asked whether I could take a picture and he said ‘yeah’.”
Mr Davies added: “I just live across the river, and we do a morning walk down here.
“Usually the playground is open, and they’ve got a food festival happening, and we just ran into them coming down here.”