After a couple of failed trips, Air Force One finally crossed the international dateline from Hawaii to Australia, touching down in the capital city, Canberra. Barack Obama became only the fourth US President to visit the Land Down Under this week right on the heels of Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour.
While this was a much shorter visit than the Monarch, it marked the 60th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, a defense treaty between the US, Australia and New Zealand. Obama even got a bonus opportunity to strengthen the friendship between himself and Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister
Since they are very chummy pals, Ms. Gillard gifted Mr. President an Akubra hat—a traditional Australian stockman’s hat. Think Hugh Jackman in the movie Australia for a mental image. For the presidential daughters, Malia and Sasha, gifts also went the way of traditional Australian fare: UGG Boots and oh-so-delicious, Tim Tams.
After a truly eloquent speech to Parliament House, Mr. Obama hopped back on his Boeing 747 for the 3-hour flight to what Aussies call the “Top End,” aka Darwin in the Northern Territory. This will be the first time a sitting US President has visited the outback territory.
In the tropical, surf-side city, the President visited the USS Peary war memorial from WWII before heading to Jakarta for an Asian security summit. Unfortunately, this trip was all work and no play, so Obama didn’t have time to swim on any of Darwin’s world class beaches.
In the last few months, Australia has enjoyed high profile visitors from both the Queen and the US President, so we can’t deny the power of Oprah as a travel trailblazer.
