His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaullah, the Sultan and Yang Dipertuan of Brunei Darussalam began his second day stay in Australia with an early morning walk with the Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable John Howard. In the morning walk His Majesty and the Austrilian Prime Minister covered a distance of five kilometers in about half an hour.
En route to the airport to Sydney, another destination of the State Visit to Australia, His Majesty went to the Transport Industries Skills Centre in Canberra. On arrival, His Majesty was welcomed by the Senior Officials of the Transport Industries Skills Centre. Three high-powered cars were introduced to His Majesty. The three Holden Monaro are the latest edition of the Holden Company manufactured by its factory in Adelaide, south Australia. Together with His Majesty to test drive the car was a well known Australian car racer, Mark Skaife. The test drive was done on a special purposed built 2.5 kilometer track. The centre is not only giving a normal driving lesson training but also providing special driving skills for drivers of heavy vehicle of various classes. His Majesty himself, a man of many talents behind the wheel, is a qualified helicopter and airplane pilot. His Majesty's skill in driving the high powered car was noted with admiration by Mark Skaife, five-time national champion. At the end of the test drive, His Majesty consented to receive a gift from Mark Skaife in the form of his personal racing helmet, which according to him instrumental in giving him luck in all the major Australian championships.
In Sydney, the second city to be visited by His Majesty, is Australia's oldest city with a total population of four million. On arrival, His Majesty was greeted by the Official Secretary to Her Excellency the Governer of New South Wales, Mr brian Davies, Senior Manager of Protocol and Community Programmes and other Senior Australian Officials.
His Majesty's first official engagement in Sydney was a meeting with the Governor of the New South Wales, Her Excellency Marie Bashir and Sir Nicholas Shehadie. The informal discussion between His Majesty and the Governor of New South Wales and Sir Nicholas Shehadie took place at the Government House. After meeting, His Majesty attended a luncheon hosted by Governor of New South Wales and Sir Nicholas Shehadie in honour of His Majesty's visit to the city. At the luncheon, His Majesty consented to deliver a titah praising Sydney as the most cosmpolition and international city with a reputation for great hospitality and generosity. This, His Majesty highlighted was exemplified by the Australian spontaneous response to help countries affected by the recent tsunami. His Majesty in the titah also noted that since the establishment of air link, there had been a growing number of Bruneians travelling to Sydney for business, leisure as well as education. His Majesty further expressed appreciation for the opportunities offered to the people of Brunei Darussalam.
His Majesty continued his State Visit programme in Sydney with a call by the Premier of News South Wales, the Honourable Bob Carr in the hotel where His Majesty resides during his stay in Sydney. New South Wales is one of the seven states in Australia with Sydney as its capital.
