Saturday 1 March, HMAS Perth (I) Memorial Opening
We still haven't got the hang of Perth time yet, and are both waking up early, but managed to get through to about 6am eventually. Taxi pickup was 8.30am, so we had plenty of time. Ken had arranged replica medals for Mum to wear, and she wanted to put them on early in case it was tricky to get them right with the 6 inch pin on the back. It turned out to be quite simple, so she was able to impress everyone in the dining room at breakfast. Several others in the hotel were attending the memorial opening, and we ended up chatting with them. We met a lovely chap whose father had also been lost on the Perth, and he and his 'party' travelled with us in the taxi van to the Memorial.
Guests had been invited to be seated by around 9am for a 10am start, so that we could all appreciate the (tightly scheduled) arrivals of the dignitaries. Rows of seats were all set up by the time we got there, and a small brass band was warming up under the tree on the other side of the road. Coloured stickers indicated who could sit where, and the organisers had done a good job of estimating the crowd size. As each named dignitary arrived, the car would drop them off by the memorial and they made their way to the 'saluting dais' for a short song from the band. Ahead of the ceremony proper, the MC gave a brief history of the process of having the memorial set up. For the most part, it seems to have been privately done, with a highly organised and motivated committee focused on making it happen.
The whole ceremony was extremely well organised and run, beginning with a flyover from the RAAF at 1000. Various groups and governments were represented and each had a chance to speak, but the speeches were very short. Service booklets had been handed out by the Navy Cadets before the service so we were able to follow along with the proceedings. The Naval hymn and anthems (US and Australia) were ably led by a young woman with a very sweet voice. The weather was perfect, although it did get pretty warm in the sun after a while. Luckily we had hats, umbrellas and sunscreen. We were joined at the ceremony by Ken's sons Jeffrey and Peter, and and Peter's wife Dale. It was really nice to meet more new cousins, and lovely to see these adult men standing with love beside their dad.
After the ceremony, Mum and I placed a photo of John/Jack (officially John, but known as Jack!) by the wreaths and sang a song, as per Mum's wishes. Just this evening I spotted the photo in the brief video montage of the day on the HMAS Perth (I) Memorial facebook page (around 1m30 if you want to look it up). https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18W7jpnsCV/ Mum was pleased and proud to see him featured! We took a few family photos but decided not to stay for morning tea, rather headed back to the hotel, now a group of eight, for coffee.
After Jeffrey, Peter and Dale left to head back to their respective homes, we wandered up the road a block or two to the Fremantle Markets. It was packed and pretty chaotic, and there were a few anxious moments when we were separated into two groups and couldn't seem to reconnect. Eventually we found everyone and sat down for lunch. The markets are very touristy, lots of interesting and quirky stalls, but mostly not really the kind of thing you would buy very often, so the busy-ness felt a bit surprising. However there was a big area of fresh fruit and veges, and a large number of interesting food stalls, so that might be what brings the locals back regularly.
Todd and Lesley headed out for a longer walk to Target, Ken went back to the hotel and Mum and I did a full lap of the market before we also came back to the hotel for a nap.
We met Ken for dinner at the hotel just after 6, and were joined by Todd and Lesley a bit later. The massive Amway conference group (young, slick, suits) we had spotted earlier in the day were gathering for a 7pm power dinner, and it became much more pleasantly quiet after they had disappeared back into their conference area.
Tomorrow Ken is heading back to his home in Duncraig, and Mum and I will spend the day with Todd and Lesley, possibly checking out Perth's top tourist attractions. Our flight out departs at 10.55pm tomorrow night - hopefully we will be able to make it to that time without a nap!
Looks great Linley catching up and meeting some of our Aussie cousins. Enjoy the shops and sights of Perth before the long trip home.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely for Jan to be able to wear those medals to honour her father's memory. A very special day, and doubly special to be able to share it with family. Hope you manage to get some sleep on the plane ride home. x x
ReplyDelete