During January 2010, Prince William visited New Zealand to officially open the Supreme Court on behalf of his grandmother in her role as Queen of New Zealand. The Prince specifically asked to visit Australia after visiting New Zealand and did so on an unofficial basis so as to get to know Australia and its peoples.
During his stay Prince William toured areas and met locals devastated by the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria. In particular, Prince William visited Whittlesea and Flowerdale and was enthusiastically met by locals who were buoyed by his visit to their areas, and in particular where some residents were living in temporary homes following the natural disaster. Prince William In Australia 2010Prince William also travelled to Redfern and was welcomed by thousands of mostly aboriginal residents who had gathered to see him. The Prince spent time with pre-schoolers, playing table tennis in the community centre and listening to local youth musicians, and then met with elders and community leaders.
The Prince then visited the Governor-General and had a barbeque lunch with some of Australia’s finest youth including sports stars and musicians. Also on his schedule was a visit with the Prime Minister to a teenage drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre where he enjoyed watching young people practising their hip hop music.
Prince William's affinity for Australian troops was clear when he visited our soldiers, recently returned from Afghanistan, at the Holsworthy Army Base. The troops were extremely grateful for his visit, with Private Tom Quirke commenting that “It’s more motivation to know that the guys higher up do care about the job that we are doing”.
Prince William addressed the Australian people at Sydney Harbour in front of the Premier of New South Wales. He also addressed an Australia Day Service and commented “What an exciting place Australia is, this truly is a country for the 21st century”.
Prince William is the grandson of Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia. He is second in line to the throne of Australia.
