Photo gallery: Meghan Markle stuns in de la Renta gown at Australian Geographic dinner in Sydney

Meghan Markle stunned guests at the Australian Geographic Society Awards dinner in Sydney last night wearing a beautiful black and white Oscar de la Renta gown.

No tag was left on this dress fortunately, after the Duchess had earlier suffered a fashion faux pas in Tonga, where accidently leaving the tag on the strikingly red self-portrait designed dress.

Last night's  ceremony in Sydney started at 6pm but Harry and Meghan didn't arrive until 2 hours later due to a minor drama with their flight from Tonga.

The pilot had to pull up seconds from landing due to another plane on the runway, but they landed safely.

Dates and itinerary of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip to New Zealand

The Duke and Duchess presented awards at the ceremony to Young Adventurer of the Year and Young Conservationist of the Year.

Sophia Skarparis, 15, won the Young Conservationist of the Year Award for her work campaigning to ban plastic bags.

Sophia told news.com.au Meghan said she was an "inspiration".

"She congratulated me and told me to keep the hard work up and I thanked her for that," Sophia said.

The awards are Australia's longest running awards for adventure and conservation, and Prince Harry has a personal connection to the prestigious event.

He gave a passionate speech advocating for action on climate change - calling on governments to follow advice "rooted in science and fact" and preserve the "most valuable resource we have- our planet".

The Duke and Duchess arrive in Wellington tomorrow and will visit Abel Tasman National Park, Auckland and Rotorua.