I’ve been to quite a few Australian of the Year presentations.
Yes from way back with Alan Bond and the effervescent Big Red, his wife at the time, with the biggest diamond on her finger I’d seen other than the Hope diamond in the Smithsonian, but it takes a bit to get me emotionally involved…..until this year.
How could you go past making a double up of the Aussie cave divers rescuing – with a lot of help of course – those beautiful Thai boys and their coach.
There’s lots that impinges on the success of that rescue and to chat with Dr ‘Harry’ Harris at the social events we circulate before the big announcement was a chance to learn so much of the rescue they didn’t think would succeed.
The winners, and the nominees, were beyond the ordinary and we’d come to know them over the few days of intense socialising and enjoyed their company and stories.
I was sorry Kurt Fearnley and I didn’t get a chance to rip our dress-up clobber off and leap into the Government House pool. We were both keen for a dousing
But Dr Suzanne Packer cuddling her 6 week old grandson at the presentation was heart warming and Reginald Dodd, reconciliation advocate from Maree in South Australia reckons it wasn’t ‘that’ hot.
Loved them all, hope we meet again.
