The Queen’s Day of Mourning
Thousands of Australians rage against the monarchy
09/23/2022, 1:48 p.m.
On National Queen’s Memorial Day, thousands of Australians took to the streets – but not in mourning. In several cities, demonstrators are calling on the country to abandon the monarchy and become a republic. The Queen’s death is “a cause for joy”, says an activist.
Thousands of anti-monarchy campaigners took to the streets on Australia’s Remembrance Day to honor its late head of state, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. In cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, opponents of the monarchy have denounced the devastating effects of British colonialism on Australia’s indigenous peoples. “The monarchy must be abolished, it should have been done years ago,” said 24-year-old indigenous activist Paul Silva in Sydney.
Indigenous Australians are “still fighting for their traditional lands”, Silva added. He called for the return of these territories to the “traditional owners”. Gwenda Stanley, 49, an indigenous activist from Gomeroi, said the monarch’s death was not to be mourned. On the contrary, “it is a reason for rejoicing for our people”. She also demanded the return of land and reparations for “war crimes”.
At a memorial service for the Queen in the capital, Canberra, Governor-General David Hurley said he respected the reservations of Australia’s earliest residents. There were mixed reactions to the Queen’s death across the country, Hurley said. He understands that the response of many Indigenous peoples “is shaped by colonial history and the broader path to reconciliation. This is the path that we, as a nation, must follow to the end”.
Like New Zealand and Canada, Australia is one of 14 Commonwealth countries that have the British monarch as head of state. Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese favors a principled republic, but said after the hugely popular Queen’s death that the issue of abolishing the monarchy was not currently on the table.
The arrival of British settlers in 1788 marked the start of two centuries of discrimination and oppression against Indigenous Australians, who have lived on the land for around 65,000 years. To this day, there are stark inequalities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians – such as a life expectancy several years shorter.
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