2 October

Older Canberrans are strong supporters of the republic and featured in The Canberra Times by reporter Emma McDonald are Mrs Dorothy Collings 77 and Miss Imelda Fleming 71, both active members of the local branch of the Australian Republican Movement.
“Mrs Collings was a teenager when it occurred to her that Australia was an entirely separate country from Britain. ‘I would hear people talking about taking a trip ‘home’ to England and I thought ‘how curious, Australia is their home’.
Miss Fleming was a young student of political science at the Australian National University when she first considered the viability of a republic. She says that there is no more appropriate time to move to a republic than on the 100th anniversary of Federation. ‘It really is time for us to choose to have one of our own as Head of State.’
Mrs Collings says that older people have nothing to fear in the move, ‘We still have our history and many of us will still have strong ties to Britain.’ “
Read what has influenced Imelda Fleming to support the republic.