Crowds once royal and loyal but cheers now jeers

Protesters said they would take the Queen to the International Criminal Court. Picture / Reuters

This is not a good time to be Queen of Australia.

Even before last night's Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, when Deltra Goodrem's anthem upstaged God Save the Queen, the monarch felt the lash of the times.

Yet another recent poll confirmed that most Australians want a republic and their own president.

And only a relative handful took the time to welcome the Queen and Prince Philip when they arrived for a state luncheon at Melbourne's grand Royal Exhibition Building yesterday.

Half were Aboriginal protesters, who burned a Union Jack as they chanted for a treaty and the return of lands lost with British colonialism.

The Royal Exhibition Centre holds great symbolism for both.

In 1901 the first Parliament of the new Commonwealth of Australia was opened there by the Queen's grandfather, the future King George V.

But time has not been kind to the royals.

When the then-Duke of Cornwall and York declared the first Parliament open, the building shook to the roars of 12,000 dignitaries and guests, and thousands of other loyal subjects outside echoed their cheers.

Britain was still a major world power, even if a fast-waning one, when Elizabeth became Queen in 1953, only six years after 200 years of the Raj ended with Indian independence.

Eight months after her coronation, her first visit to Australia was met by 500,000 people on Sydney Harbour, and 75 per cent of Australians lined the streets of the cities and towns she toured.

Yesterday about 2000 people lined the yellow plastic barricades to welcome her to the Royal Exhibition Building, separated by a wall of police reinforced by mounted officers in body armour and riot helmets.

The protesters demanded a meeting with the monarch to press their case and when - as expected - this was declined, they promised to press ahead with a new United Nations action against Australian apartheid and a charge of genocide against the Queen in the International Criminal Court.

Police refused their request to site the fire of their traditional smoke ceremony beyond the barricades, where the Queen could see it.

But police did agree that two of their children could join the gaggle of little boys assembled to present flowers to the royals as they arrived.

Five-year-old Alira Dryen and her big brother Joshua, 9, were escorted across the sweeping drive by a police officer, to thunderous applause.

Alira and Joshua are of the Yorta Yorta people, whose claim to traditional lands straddling the Victorian-New South Wales border has been refused.

As the Queen stepped from her Rolls-Royce, accepted the welcome of Prime Minister John Howard and turned to the children, the protesters booed and roared out their chants.

The monarch did not look in their direction.

But she did take Alira's and Joshua's flowers.