THE Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall's royal tour takes them to Flemington today for the Melbourne Cup.

The Duchess will present the lauded cup just after 3pm, before an expected crowd of more than 100,000, while Prince Charles will award the Diamond Jubilee Plate.

The royal couple's six-day Australian tour across six states and territories is focused on advocacy - from promoting wool to healthy eating to osteoporosis awareness.

Clarence House assistant press secretary Eva Omaghomi said the theme of the Diamond Jubilee is 'Service to Others'.

While in Melbourne, Prince Charles will meet aspiring young cricketers from Cricket Victoria's Harmony Program, before later visiting the National Rugby League's "Dream Believe Achieve" program in Sydney for indigenous youths.

The duchess, whose mother Rosalind Shand died aged 72 from osteoporosis, will also visit a Melbourne reception for Osteoporosis Australia.

Yesterday the Prince was sporting an Akubra he received at the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame.

Prince Charles told 300 guests at a community barbecue in Longreach of the fond recollections he has of the country, particularly the outback.

He said memories of funnel-web spiders, kangaroos and scorching heat on cross-country runs are still vivid from his time at Geelong Grammar School in Melbourne in 1966.

Charles said the "bonza barbie" was a great way to start the Australian leg of his Pacific tour with wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall after arriving in northern Queensland on Monday afternoon from Papua New Guinea.

"Even though . . . I'm so jetlagged that I feel a few sausages short of a barbie, it is a great joy to be back in Australia again," he said to raucous laughter.

But he said a lot had changed since he first travelled to Australia, particularly attitudes.

"In those days . . . the place seemed to be full of people rushing headlong into bars to down whole lines of schooners before early closing," he said.

"Now the latest figures reveal Aussies attend more cultural events than any head of population, than any nation on earth, and they also read more books."