On this day, National Convenor of Women for an Australian Republic, Sarah Brasch, was flying back to Canberra from Fiji, another former British colony, now a Republic still with its Commonwealth flag bearing the Union Jack – a matter of national pride for Fijians.
She recalls, “Towards the end of the flight, the coastline of Australia came into view. I recognised my country but wished that I didn’t. I looked out the window, gripped with overwhelming sadness returning to Australia after having voted YES in the referendum, in hope, at the High Commission in Suva. It was a very emotional experience. The weight of the failure of the vote was upon me as I realised the prospect of a Republic was rapidly receding and that it was going to be years of hard work to achieve, much harder than after the 1999 referendum”.
