Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie's Australian tour has seen him retrace the steps of his grandfather, Emperor Haile Selassie, who visited nearly 50 years earlier.
The Australian and Ethiopian relationship dates back to the late 19th century when Emperor Menelik II imported and planted the eucalyptus in the capital city of Addis Ababa.
So, my first scent of Australia was a scent of home.Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie
Since then, the scent of eucalypts has been a reminder of home for Ethiopians. It prompted the Prince to say, "So, my first scent of Australia was a scent of home."
The exiled Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile Selassie is President of the Crown Council of Ethiopia.
During his recent tour around Australia from 18 June– 1 July 2017, he met members of the Ethiopian community in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth.
Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie meets with members of the Ethiopian community in Melbourne during his tour of Australia in June/July 2017. Credit: SBS Amharic
"Remember, even as you become Australians, that your Ethiopian heritage and qualities mean that you have great things to give to society, to the world," Prince Ermias told the crowds in his speech.
Your Ethiopianness sets you apart and gives you pride and duty; your Ethiopianness will help make Australia an even greater country.Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie
Below: Listen to Prince Ermias' Remarks to the Ethiopian Community of Victoria in an address given at Melbourne's Langham Hotel
Prince Ermias's Royal commemorative visit to Australia traces its journey back to 1965 and Prime Minister Robert Menzies's cricket diplomacy and the state visit to Australia of the last Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile-Selassie I, Prince Ermias's grandfather, in 1968.
Fans of reggae music may be familiar with the name Selassie, as followers of the Rastafari movement, primarily based in Jamaica, regard Emperor Haile-Selassie as a messiah-like figure.
Selassie himself, though, was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian throughout his life.
Rastafarian and banana artist Bandi Payne who moved to Shashamane in 1994, poses for a photograph with one of his works on January 26, 2017, in Shashamene, Ethiopia. Rastafarians from countries including the U.K, France and Jamaica continue to live in Shashamane after Ethiopia's former ruler Emperor Haile Selassie donated 500 acres of land to allow members of the Rastafari movement and settlers from Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean to go to Africa. Credit: Carl Court/Getty Images
Based on his understanding of Ethiopia’s history and the interests of the Emperor, Menzies sent a team of New South Wales schoolboys under the leadership of a great test cricketer, Bert Oldfield, to play cricket in Ethiopia.
Oldfield presented a cricket bat to the Emperor in the name of Prime Minister Robert Menzies. The Emperor was impressed by this gesture from the Menzies government.
Cricket diplomacy paved the way for the Emperor’s state visit to Australia in 1968, hosted by the new Prime Minister of Australia, John Gorton.
Being a keen horseman, the Emperor fell in love with Australian breeds of horses, especially the Waler horses. Later, the Australian Waler horse breeds served in the Ethiopian Imperial Guard Regiment.
At least in that light, we see the ANZAC spirit still at a gallop in Ethiopia’s beautiful terrain.
Prince Ermias highlighted the historical connection of the Imperial Guard Regiment and the Australian Light Horsemen in his speech to the New South Wales Parliament, “At least in that light, we see the ANZAC spirit still at a gallop in Ethiopia’s beautiful terrain.”
During his tour of Australia, Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie addresses the Ethiopian Community of Victoria at Melbourne's Langham Hotel. Credit: SBS Amharic
Australian and Ethiopian soldiers fought side-by-side during the Korean War 1950-1953 as allies under the umbrella of the United Nations.
In memory of shared sacrifices and the unbroken Australian-Ethiopian bond Prince Ermias laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on June 22, 2017.
During his Canberra visit, the Prince received Parliamentary receptions at the highest ministerial levels and met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The former Governor-General Michael Jeffery and Mrs Jeffery hosted the Prince at a dinner in his honour. The Prince also met the Ethiopian Ambassador in Canberra.
During his visit to Melbourne, the Prince planted a tree at the Royal Botanic Garden near the tree planted on May 16, 1968, by his grandfather and the last Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I using the same engraved spade the Emperor had used.
Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie plants a tree at the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens near the tree planted in 1968 by his grandfather. Credit: SBS Amharic
Pictures from Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie's tree planting ceremony in Melbourne - including the same spade used by his grandfather 50 years earlier. Credit: SBS Amharic
“The Solomonic identity and the great saga of the Kebre Negast – the Glory of Kings – was part of what defined the Ethiopian people,” he says. “In the same way that ANZAC defines Australian and New Zealand Peoples.”
Prince Ermias unveiled his plan to build the Emperor Haile Selassie I Library and Conference Centre in Addis Ababa to promote the rebirth of national understanding of Ethiopian identity.
The exiled Prince’s commemorative visit to Australia ended on June 29. He is now back in his adopted country, the United States.
Crowns change as societies change.Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie
Will he be able to see the establishment of constitutional monarchy in Ethiopia in his or his sons’ lifetimes?
As the Prince describes, “Crowns change, as societies change.”
Listen to Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie's full interview (in Amharic) with SBS Amharic in the player above.
*** This article was published first July 4 2017, by SBS Amharic.
