Jacqui Peake
Updated
The basketball stadium in Dandenong, in Melbourne's outer south-east, is not one of the usual stops on the tours of international dignitaries.
But this morning, hundreds of members of Melbourne's Burmese community mobbed Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she arrived at the stadium, while teenagers played basketball on one of the courts.
The crowd was mostly dressed in traditional clothing.
They had been waiting since the early morning to catch a glimpse of a woman they idolise.
Sawm Suante is a Burmese refugee.
"I'm very excited to see someone from Burma who is a great leader and supporter of democracy," he said, while he waited for the Nobel Peace Laureate to arrive.
"She is a prominent leader for the Burmese, she's important because she believes in equality, she believes in democracy and she fights for that."
Aye Zaw grew up in Australia, but as a member of the local Burmese community she has grown to adore Ms Suu Kyi.
"We are all here to thank her and to support her so she can become the president of Burma," she said.
Ms Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest while her country was under military rule, intends to run for Myanmar's 2015 presidential elections.
Hau Api moved to Australia three years ago and will closely watch his homeland's election campaign.
He hopes Ms Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy, is successful.
"We need democracy," he said.
Ms Suu Kyi will address a World AIDS Day event at Government House in Melbourne later today in the final leg of her five-day Australian tour.
Topics: foreign-affairs, community-and-society, dandenong-3175, pacific
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