With the fire on and the flag of Brunei flying out the front, The Lodge played host to the final official engagement for the Sultan of Brunei before he left the capital.
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Fresh from launching the defence white paper, Prime Minister Julia Gillard greeted Hassanal Bolkiah at her official residence on a crisp autumn morning in Canberra.
Ms Gillard told the sultan she had just launched the white paper and he congratulated her as they posed for photographs.
While the federal government has confirmed it will be paying for the domestic costs of the sultan's visit because he was a guest of the government, a spokesman for Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the ACT did not have to stump up for any of the expenses. The billionaire visited Canberra for three days at the invitation of Governor-General Quentin Bryce, who visited Brunei last year.
The sultan and his entourage flew out of Canberra from Fairbairn on Friday afternoon.
