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SYDNEY — This is the moment Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was dragged from a Canberra restaurant by her security team after it was surrounded by furious Aboriginal rights protesters.

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Ms. Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were stranded in The Lobby restaurant on Thursday as dozens of demonstrators from a protest against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of British settlers in 1788, converged on the hotel.

Losing a shoe in the rush to safety, Ms. Gillard and Mr. Abbott were dramatically escorted through the crowd by security agents and riot police brandishing shields, and the visibly rattled Ms. Gillard tripped and fell during the rush.

She later made light of the incident, saying she was “made of pretty tough stuff and the police did a great job.”

Ms. Gillard had been presenting medals to emergency services workers when the protest erupted and said, “The only thing that angers me is that it distracted from such a wonderful event.”