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News

HRH visits Alice Springs

2nd March 2005

The Prince of Wales visited Alice Springs in the heart of Australia as he continued his five-day visit of the country.

On his way from Perth, The Prince flew over Uluru and the red desert of the Northern Territory before landing at Alice Springs airport.

Six women from the Arrente tribe welcomed The Prince with a traditional dance.

They had travelled from Papunya, a community of 370 Aborigines 145 miles west of Alice Springs.

The group leader Alison Anderson Nampbiginpa explained the meaning of the dance saying: “It wished him happiness and safe travel in this country. He asked where we came from and we wished him all the happiness for the future.”

The Arrente tribe have lived in "The Alice" in the centre of the vast continent or Mparntwe as it is known, for 20,000 years.

The Prince thanked the dancers and a group of well-wishers who were waiting to greet him at Alice Springs airport in blistering temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius.

Enid Harland, an Alice Springs resident, said: “He said we‘re very brave for weathering the heat - he said he feels like he just went into an oven.”

While still at the airport, The Prince met the crew of a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) aircraft.

The RFDS was established by the missionary Very Reverend John Flynn in 1928,
who realised that the rapidly advancing technologies of aircraft and radio could be used to provide medical care for remote communities.

The RFDS operates from 22 bases and has a fleet of around 45 aircraft. In 2005, the Service anticipates they will have over 200,000 contacts with patients across Australia.

His Royal Highness, who is Patron of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia British Foundation, was introduced to the on-board engineers and medical staff who serve remote areas of Australia's outback by Mr John Milhinch, President of the RFDS.

The Prince then paid a visit to the RFDS headquarters in Alice Springs before heading to the Centre for Appropriate Technology (CAT).

The Centre aims to harness the desert knowledge built up over thousands of years by indigenous people to improve the quality of life in desert communities using environmentally sound and culturally appropriate technologies.

The Prince visited one of the examples of this technology, an outdoor ‘dunny', which is Australian slang for a toilet.

The environmentally friendly dry toilet contains no water and extracts odours through its flue pipe.

The Prince joked with photographers before inspecting the corrugated hut at closer range.

After shouts of “Don‘t forget to flush” from the Australian media, The Prince smiled, took off his sunglasses and ventured in briefly to view the technology.

Afterwards, The Prince popped his head out and grinned, before adding: “You should all try it.”

The Prince had a close encounter with some bush food at the Alice Springs Desert Park, his next stop in the town, but stopped short of sampling a witchetty grub.

The Desert Park displays the plants, animals and landscapes of the Australian arid zone and their traditional and contemporary use by Aboriginal people. It has three zones: Desert Rivers, Sand Country and Woodland.

The Prince was shown a range of bush food by tour guide Doug Taylor, Alison Ferber, a Central Arrente Traditional Owner, and specialist guide Vincent Forrester who is of Arrente/Luritja heritage.

The range of bush food on display included witchetty grubs, prized for their medicinal value and high protein content.

The Prince picked up one of the creatures and pretended that he was about to eat it, but instead turned to the cameras and laughed.

His Royal Highness was also shown desert raisins, wild passionfruit and sweet wild peach which has the same amount of Vitamin C as four oranges.

The Prince was shown honey ants and told that the sweet juice they carry is sucked out, rather than eating the insect whole. Amused, The Prince asked: “Do you get stung at the end of it?” The Prince asked.

The Prince did sample the bush tomato and a bush banana, but passed on all live foods.

Protected from the heat in a wood shelter, The Prince also met an Aboriginal family.

The Prince said he had “hugely enjoyed” the visit to the Desert Park, and said that so much could be learned from the Aboriginal people's knowledge of the land.

The Prince's final engagement of the day was a reception at Madigans restaurant at the Desert Park, where His Royal Highness saw an exhibition of Aboriginal art work.

The Prince was introduced as a “bloody good bloke” and smiled when congratulated on his engagement.

He was given three cheers and wished all the best for the future.

From Alice Springs, The Prince will visit Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra, and will then visit New Zealand and Fiji.

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