‘Ain’t spending any time on it’: Why Katter country town is keeping Prince Andrew tribute

3 months ago 18

A plaque depicting disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will remain in place at an outback Queensland museum, even as the fallen prince continues to pay the price for his long-term connection to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the past week, Mountbatten-Windsor’s name has removed from plaques at public buildings in the Falkland Islands, the British territory he helped defend as a pilot in the 1982 war against Argentina.

That came after the King stripped him of all royal titles last month.

The then-Duke of and Duchess of York unveilling the plaque in 1988.

Thirteen years before Mountbatten-Windsor’s alleged sexual assault of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who committed suicide in Western Australia earlier this year, the then-Duke and Duchess of York opened the John Flynn Place Museum and Art Gallery in Cloncurry.

The museum pays tribute to Flynn’s role in helping remote communities – most notably through the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which he founded in 1928.

As a grade 8 student, Cloncurry Mayor Greg Campbell was at that museum opening on October 4, 1988.

“We had James Blundell as the entertainment,” he said.

“I would think most locals would remember his performance more than Andrew and Fergie.”

There was nothing to suggest Mountbatten-Windsor’s sordid future at the time.

But Campbell said the thought of removing his physical presence at the council-owned museum had not crossed his mind, even since the allegations came to light.

“Everything that he was involved in is terrible, and now we don’t like the thought of being connected to it at all,” he said.

“But we’ve got much more important things that we had been thinking about – how we upgrade our airport, how we get the state government to build us a new hospital, or how we recruit enough police and doctors.”

Campbell said he did not want to spend ratepayers’ money on removing or replacing the plaque, but was open to raising the issue at a future council workshop to “see if anyone was worried”.

“It might be one of the biggest stories on the news cycle at the moment, but to people on the ground in Cloncurry or Julia Creek or Winton, there’s still more important things that we turn our mind to,” he said.

But if the museum’s planned renovations to mark the RFDS’s centenary in 2028 were to interfere with the plaque, Campbell said the council “wouldn’t be putting in lights” that the original building was opened by Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson.

Australian Republican Movement Queensland convenor Isaac McSwan said he hoped the residents of Cloncurry would get the opportunity to decide whether they maintain a link with Mountbatten-Windsor.

“I think the local community should have a say whether a plaque for someone who’s kind of disgraced, and potentially has done some very bad things, should actually still be in their community,” he said.

Australian Monarchist League Queensland branch secretary Alexander Voltz agreed with his republican counterpart that it should be left to the community to decide.

“However, I would question what there is to be gained by removing it,” he said.

Prince Andrew with Virginia Roberts Giuffre (centre) in 2001 and Epstein’s then personal assistant Ghislaine Maxwell.

“History cannot be undone, and the erasure of history more often than not prolongs problems rather than solving them.

“If we were to remove every plaque opened by a disreputable politician, we should have no plaques left.”

Local federal MP Bob Katter was in lock-step with the Cloncurry mayor, saying there were bigger issues facing Australians including housing, the cost of living and “not being able to feel safe in their homes and near their northern Australian rivers”.

“I believe most Australians would not be even contemplating spending money changing plaques when they are wondering how to house, feed, clothe and educate their children,” he said.

“Most know I believe an Australian should be our head of state, but as the media like to keep repeating, ‘I ain’t spending any time on it’. We have more important matters at stake right now.”

In Melbourne, residents of Prince Andrew Avenue in the northern suburb of Lalor have asked their local council about changing the name of their street.

In 2014, the Mountbatten-Windsor was named in US court papers in which Roberts Giuffre alleged Epstein trafficked her to the then-prince at least three times and paid her $US15,000 to have sex with him.

A disastrous appearance on BBC Newsnight in November 2019 followed, in which Andrew denied ever meeting Roberts Giuffre, and said he had not had any contact with Epstein since December 2010.

That claim was contradicted by a 2011 email that came to light last month.

“It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it,” he wrote to Epstein. “Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”

Roberts Giuffre lodged a civil claim for sexual assault in August 2021, and a US judge rejected Andrew’s attempt to have the case thrown out.

Andrew settled out of court in February 2022, months before it was due to go to trial.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1800 512 348, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or the National Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).