Prince Charles ventures deep into the rainforest as he continues tour of Australia

Prince Charles meets Elizabeth Kulla Kulla after Sunday church service at St John's Anglican Church in Cairns
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Robert Jobson8 April 2018

Prince Charles waved an aboriginal hunting boomerang today as he ventured deep into the Australian Rainforest.

“I suppose this one doesn’t come back?” he said.

Aboriginal elder, Roy Gibson, said: “No it just hits the animal on the neck.”

He was also was also shown a 100 year old wooden sword used in previously fights between indigenous communities.

Charles, on a weeklong tour of Australia he ventured into the Daintree Rainforest near Mossman Gorge, 30 minuet helicopter flight from Cairns.

Prince Charles on his tour of Australia
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He was there to meet indigenous people to discover the traditions of its 50,000-year-old indigenous people.

Charles marvelled at how the Kuku Yalanji aboriginals made use of the forest as a rich resource.

He reacted with awe when he was shown how leaves from a certain tree could provide relief for mosquito bites by elder Mr. Gibson, and took a particular interest in a handmade hunting boomerang.

He also took part in a traditional smoking ceremony, said to help ward off evil spirits.

Charles during Sunday church service at St John's Anglican Church
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Wearing a cream suit and cream shoes, the prince took a stroll through the world heritage listed forest before joining a roundtable discussion on sustainable forestry.

Earlier, the prince had attended a Sunday church service, where he met a woman who made headlines 40 years ago when she gave him a kiss.

Leila Sherwood first met the heir to the throne in 1979 as a 14-year-old, when she skipped school to see him at Cairns Airport.

"I broke through a barrier and jumped out in front of him," she said.

Prince Charles meets with parishioners after Sunday church service
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"I said 'Charles, may I kiss you?' He said 'yes, alright then', so I pecked his cheek. I was all over the TV afterwards."

Greeting the prince once again outside St John the Evangelist Church on Sunday, the now 54-year-old showed him a newspaper clipping from the time.

She said: "He held my hand and said 'bless you' - I didn't want to let go of his hand!"

Charles boards the "Outback Angel" Beech B200 Super King Air aircraft during his visit to the Royal Flying Doctors Service
REUTERS

Charles also visited the Cairns base of the Royal Flying Doctors service, and hailed its "remarkable" work.

The prince spoke via video link to Lyn French and her grandson Robert, who live in rural Queensland, about 600km from Cairns, and rely on the Flying Doctors for medical help.

Charles, who was also shown how to treat a snake bite, said: "I'm very proud to be patron of the Flying Doctors. It's a remarkable operation."

On a busy day for the prince, he even found time to head on board HMAS Leeuwin to present the Gloucester Cup to Hydrographic Ship Blue Crew - an award for the Royal Australian Navy unit displaying the highest level of overall proficiency for the year.

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