Fired-up During anti-monarchy demonstrations in Melbourne organised by Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, indigenous protestors painted the incorrect royal crest with fake blood.
On Thursday, the country observed a day of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. Thousands of demonstrators demonstrated against British colonialism in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra.
The most spectacular events took place in Melbourne, when protesters burned the Australian flag and doused the royal seal in crimson paint in an effort to draw attention to the injustices that Aboriginal people have endured as a result of British colonialism.
However, demonstrators protesting outside the British embassy on Collins Street in Melbourne accidentally vandalised the Portuguese monarchy’s coat of arms by smearing the incorrect royal insignia with fake blood.
the Portuguese monarchy that was overthrown in favour of a republic in 1910.
The existence of the coat of arms out front was explained by representatives of the building’s administrators.
‘I hate to tell it to the demonstrators… but 90 Collins St is not held by the Commonwealth & the protesters oddly splashed fake blood on the royal arms of the now extinct monarchy of Portugal,’ Victorian Liberal MP and outspoken monarchist Tim Smith said in a tweet.
With his hands covered in fake blood, Senator Thorpe addressed the gathering as one of the protest’s main voices.
The Crown is guilty of murder. Every day, our people continue to perish in this nation, Ms. Thorpe said.
“The boot of the Crown is on our neck, and we are weary of it.”
After marching from the Queen Victoria Statue, hundreds of demonstrators congregated in Brisbane’s central business district.
Our message to England and the Monarchy is to f**king burn, one protest speaker said.
Another demonstrator added, “We don’t need the numbers, we just need the enthusiasm.”
The Socialist Alternative, an organisation that advocates for economic change, held a banner during the demonstration that said, “No Kings, No Cops, No Capitalists.”
Other demonstrators during the demonstration sported shirts that demanded the elimination of Australia Day.
Demonstrators in Sydney assembled in front of the Town Hall and addressed people from the sandstone steps of the building using speakers.
The nationwide demonstrations after the Queen’s passing were organised with assistance from the activist organisations Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) and Fighting in Solidarity Towards Treaties.
“This is a position against the ongoing atrocities against marginalised Asian, Black, and First Nations groups. We want justice, the truth, and everyone’s responsibility; we do not support benefactors or Stolenwealth (sic). On Facebook, WAR said, “Justice for everyone.”
This protest is directed against racial colonial imperialism.
In reaction to news of First Nations fatalities in detention, changes including the implementation of an Indigenous treaty, Australia becoming a republic, and justice were demanded on signs and banners during the demonstrations.