The national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II has not been universally welcomed but some still took a moment out of their day to remember the longest reigning British monarch.
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At 11am on Thursday several families congregated around the Queen Victoria statue in Rosalind Park, Bendigo, to pay their respects.
Mark and Janette Hernan took their grandsons five-year-old Noah and nine-year-old Elijah Finlay to observe a minute's silence in the Bendigo CBD.
Multiple generations mourn Queen
"We were with our grandchildren and we just felt it was good to help them to sort of show the respect for the 70 years of loyal service to God and just other people that the Queen gave," Mr Hernan said.
"It was basically an act of respect for her and her service and to be able to teach the young ones just what it is for someone like her and the commitment she's made, for them to understand it."
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Mr Hernan said he was surprised by the impact it had on his grandsons.
"They surprised me, they were very respectful and understanding of what the Queen's role was as sovereign to the Commonwealth.
"It was good for them to understand that she's done that for a very long time - 70 years.
"Most people that they were able to look around and see have been under her sovereignty [their whole life] and the Queen has been so loyal not just to God but also to the people.
"I suppose the great things we have today are brought about by people's commitment to the good cause so it's great to respect someone so honourable in her role."
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While Mr Hernan said it was expected that the Queen would die one day soon, it was still sad to hear of her passing.
"We respect the qualities of the monarchy and we respect what the Queen and the Crown has done for us as a country," he said.
Day of mourning turns to protest
Elsewhere around the country, the day of mourning became a day of protest against the monarchy, colonisation and the intergenerational trauma is sparked.
Protestors decried the extent of Indigenous child removals and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in prison systems including juvenile detention, among other human rights abuses.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe who spoke at a Melbourne rally called the Queen as a representative of the Crown, "a coloniser who brought the pain and the genocide and the murders here to our people".
While Queen Elizabeth did not rule at the period of Australia's initial colonisation, she was the monarch and Australia's head of state during the White Australia Policy and events such as the Stolen Generation.
Her family members also ruled during the time period in which hundreds of colonial massacres took place based on research from the University of Newcastle, including more than nine mass poisoning events.
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
