Perth-fect Ponderings: Advance Australia Fair

Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We’ll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who’ve come across the seas
We’ve boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.

In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.

Happy Australia Day!

This IS the life!

You had Martin Luther King Day weekend in the Polar Vortex last weekend, and we had Australia Day weekend this weekend. Australia Day commemorates the landing of the British ships in Sydney Cove in 1788. It's a day of all things Aussie: swimming, barbecues, beer and fireworks.It's a day of Australian Pride, and Australians sure are full of pride.

But January 26th is also a day of invasion for the Aboriginals. Thus in the park next the blue, white and red of Australia Day was the black, yellow and red of Survival Day.

Traditional Aboriginal Dance

It's also a day when citizenship is conferred. I literally ran into a citizenship ceremony in the morning. I decided to be ceremonious and stopped to watch them raise the flag, play the Australian national anthem, and watch the jets flyover (Don't worry Mom, I'm not planning on becoming a citizen...yet). Even with the strong patriotism, Australia day does serve as a reminder and welcome to immigrants and foreigners (or maybe that part just speaks to me as a fish out of water). As I was running around the river, people were already setting up tents to guarantee their place in the action (and the few places under the shade of a tree).

The dedicated masses staking out their territory on the north foreshore.

Luckily, my apartment is prime location for the festivities which included a circus, aerial shows, and even a polo match.

This would make you tihnk there may be cowboys around ;), but nope, it was a polo game in the middle of the park.

One of the many flyovers of the day.

We enjoyed the airshow from the comfort of my balcony where we could see just enough of the river and the jets racing by. We also partook in Australian cuisine including kangaroo burgers, meat pies, Tim Tams and Lamingtons (coconut dessert cake things).

All of this was in preparation for the 30th annual Skyworks Firework display. Now I was raised on world famous Grucci fireworks. As a result, I became a bit of a fireworks snob. I'll never forget the first "regular" fireworks I saw in Cody, Wyoming on the 4th of July. Sitting there watching the 10 minute show, with one firework at a time, I remember thinking, "So this is what the rest of the world thinks is a firework show." Saying I was a bit disappointed would be an understatement. So when I heard that Perth's Skyworks was a "big" firework show, I didn't get my expectations up.

We walked down to the foreshore about 15 minutes to the start. Despite people setting up and camping out since 8am, we were able to find a patch of cement just one row of people from the river. Talk about front row action. Instead of the Grucci's 3 barges setting off the rockets, there were 8 cannons in the river to launch the TNT. Plus lasers and water fountains (which were probably both unnecessary but bonus points to Perth for creativity). Being on the backside of the southerly wind, the north shore of the river, where we were, did get a bit of "salty river juice" from the fountains and you could hear the mass moan when the fountains turned on. I like to consider it part of the live action.

With low expectations, I was mightily impressed. The show lasted 30 minutes and choreographed to music (even if we couldn't hear it so well we did hear the drone of the bagpipes for the finale). I'm sure that my eyes reflected the magical light illuminating the night.