Harry and Meghan join Aboriginal walking tour in Australia

16 Apr 2026 • 7:44 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Harry and Meghan join Aboriginal walking tour in Australia

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have joined an Aboriginal walking tour in Melbourne.

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 Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet representatives from the Koorie Heritage Trust before taking part in the Scar Tree Walk in Melbourne (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

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 is 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 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.

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