CANBERRA, Feb 13: A single word -- “sorry” -- sparked an outpouring of emotion among thousands of Australians, black and white, gathered across the country for Wednesday’s apology to Aboriginal people.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke for half-an-hour in an historic address to parliament, outlining the injustices and indignities heaped on Aborigines since white settlers first sailed into Sydney Cove 220 years ago.

But for all Rudd’s eloquence, it was the word “sorry” the 3,000-strong crowd on the lawns of parliament had come to hear and they cheered, whistled and waved flags every time he uttered it, six times in all.

Similar scenes were repeated around giant screens showing live broadcasts of the proceedings in major cities from Perth on the west coast to Sydney in the east and Melbourne in the south.

Many Aborigines had travelled thousands of kilometres to Canberra for the occasion, while schools held special assemblies so pupils could watch the broadcast.

In Canberra, Aboriginal dancers covered in ochre body paint stood beside suited white businessmen in a crowd that included schoolchildren, dreadlocked students and tribal elders.—AFP