THE IMPORTANT PEOPLE I NEVER MET

There are a number of people whom I have never met who, despite this, have deeply influenced my life. It’s a sorry fact that it often takes their death to remind me just how much their life, work and words mean to me. Some of them were important in the sense of being famous, and others were important because of how they shaped my thinking and life. These past few weeks have seen the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, singer / songwriter Archie Roach, singers Olivia Newton John and Judith Durham, and actor Uncle Jack Charles. I never met any of these people but I, along with many, many others, have grieved their passing and reflected upon how their lives have influenced mine or, more disconcertingly, how their lives and work did not influence me.

I was just a babe in arms when my mother took me to see the Queen pass by during her Royal Tour in 1954. While I don’t remember it, the Queen was to be a constant figure throughout my life. Overseeing the breakup of the British Empire, turbulence in the world at large, including two World Wars, and as matriarch to an at times dysfunctional Royal family, the Queen has served as a stable leader, devoted to her life of public service for her country and the Commonwealth. As a Republican, I had difficulty with her being Queen of Australia but there was no doubting her resilience and dedication to her role.

I’ve been feeling a bit like a fish out of water because I feel disconnected from so much of the public grief that is swirling around people like the Queen, Judith Durham and Olivia Newton John. I see and hear the grief of others and feel mildly guilty that I don’t feel grief in the same way as many others.

As a teenager in the mid-1960s, it was the music of some other people I never met: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan that shaped my attitude to life. Judith Durham and Olivia Newton John just didn’t do it for me. And the Queen seemed irrelevant to the politics of our involvement with the USA in the Vietnam war. JFK, LBJ and Nixon seemed far more important to what was happening in Australia at the time. It wasn’t until the Queen’s representative in Australia, the Governor General sacked the Whitlam Government that the Queen’s role in Australia became important, although in a negative way.

Conversely, I am quite affected by the deaths of Archie Roach and Jack Charles. Not because they were Aboriginal, but because through the 1990’s and noughties the songs of Archie Roach spoke to my trauma, anger, and slow recovery as I dealt with my loss of identity following the breakdown of my marriage and my being forced out of ministry. Archie’s songs speak to many who have lost their way and seek to find meaning, hope and healing, whatever their background.

Archie Roach's song 'Took The Children Away' became an anthem to the children and families of the Stolen Generations and created an awareness and understanding for the rest of us of the brutality of previous Government policies. Archie Roach said "…my song had become a healing song. I can understand that, because every time I sing this song I let a little bit of the pain go, and I have been singing it for a long time now. One day, maybe soon, through the healing power of music, I will let it go."

Similarly, Jack Charles was a role model of redemption and recovery when many would have said it was too late. After years of drug addiction, alcoholism, crime, and prison, he turned his life around. His compassion, gentleness and joy were an inspiration to all who think they have left it too late to change and start again.

My grandchildren came to visit for a couple of days during the recent school holidays. One night I produced an old hurricane lamp that I had hanging at the back door. I put some kerosine in it and, despite it not having been used for over twenty years, I lit it and proceeded to take the children on a walk in the dark with this old light. To my surprise, they knew what it was but called it by another name. To them it was a “Minecraft lantern”, Minecraft being a popular online video/strategy game.

Unlike a modern torch, a hurricane lamp shines in all directions, the holder may only be interested in the light that shines on the path ahead, but the light shines indiscriminately. In the dark of the night, it appears to the holder that the light is weak, and only illuminates the path a few feet ahead but if you find yourself quite a considerable distance away, even though the light from the lamp is too weak to illuminate your way, it is still visible and can act as a guide or beacon.

Jesus was another person I never met but as a Christian he remains the benchmark for me of what it is to be truly human. His word and his life continue to inform, confound and shape me. There is a very short parable that Jesus told, ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’ (Matt 5: 14-16) I encourage you to live your life knowing that what you do and say influences others, some who you will never know. This is the gospel, and it’s good news.

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Lots Of Laughs At Tatura Primary School

We were excited to help renowned comedian, Damian Callinan, prepare for his role as the ‘Mayor of Tatura’ last week. Damian visited Tatura PS to share his experiences as an author, actor, and comedian. He reflected on the journey from planting the seed of his book ‘Weird School’ with a publisher- through to its final production and launch. Our students were enthralled by the anecdotes and snippets from the book.

They were also given the opportunity to help Damian with his campaign towards becoming the ‘Mayor of Tatura!’ They produced placards with ideas that ranged from having some real insight into the needs of the town to being weird and wacky.

As Principal of the school, I was proud to see our students’ work highlighted at the comical production at Victory Hall this week. See the attached photos for some of our students’ great ideas!

- Susanne Gill, Principal

1b – Neil Armstrong

2b – Kingston Rule

3d – Africa

4c – Palmerston

5b – Charlotte Bronte

6a – The Congo River

7c – 12

8a – Copernicus

9d – Bulgaria

10a – Pup

Scoring.

0–2. Struggle Street. Good on you for having a go! On the ladder of life, it is people like you that everybody else stands on, often blissfully unaware that you’re even there. However, without you, all the people on Bland Street would have nobody else to look down upon.

3-5. Bland Street. I see you hiding in the middle of the ordinary, unexceptional majority. You have avoided the tall poppy syndrome quite well and nobody is actually jealous of your score so you’re also safe from the Facebook trolls. If you were any blander you could qualify for ‘Where’s Wally?’

6-7. Above Average (sort of). As you’re better than the average lump of humanity, this makes you abnormal, which, I believe, is something to be celebrated. So, when someone accuses you of not being normal you can treat it as a compliment.

8-9. Smarty Pants. Well done, and I’m sure that with a bit of luck you could have made Genius level, although perhaps you already used up your luck getting this far.

10. Genius. Great work on getting all ten questions correct! Scientists reckon that a million monkeys with a million typewriters could write ‘Macbeth’ just by pressing random keys. You only had to correctly pick one out of four each time. I’m backing you over those monkeys.

Museum Musings

A welcome email was received at the Museum last week informing us that we were successful in receiving a grant of $40,000 for conservation. The Program is an initiative of the Victorian Government which supports the repair and conservation of ‘at risk’ heritage places and objects identified as being of State significance and included in the Victorian Heritage Register under the provision of the Heritage Act 2017. The funded works includes conservation treatment for 15 items most at risk as assessed by a team of professionals from the Grimwade Conservation Services of the Melbourne University. All items are part of our Internment Camp collection The actual work will take up to 9 months to complete. “The Tatura Internment and P.O.W. Camps Artefact Conservation Program”, is supported by the Victorian Government through the Living Heritage Grants Program”.

George Ferguson Tatura Museum