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Sunday was time for kicking back a bit, getting blogs up to date and posted, a drive to Mays Bend, and a one hour trip on the Paddle Vessel "Jandra" and then back to camp to get ready for ”Poetry on a Plate”. In a special area of the park, there is a big circular fire pit set under trees, with a corrugated iron hut.
Around 6pm, we packed up our food bowls, spoons and forks, wine and rum, picked up our chairs, and headed off to this little open air campfire auditorium under the stars. We sit and chat to others around us for 10 minutes until we are warmly, humourously and genuinely welcomed by one Andrew Hull, poet extraordinaire! He entertains us with his own poetry, accompanied by quiet strums on his acoustic guitar, his words flowing from his experiences of being Bourke born and bred; taking us from quiet sadness, to hope for the outback, from the explorers of old and the hardships of settlers to the heroes of now and their hardships and grit and determination. Between poems, he recounted the stories which inspired his poems. All stories delivered with much humour, elevating to hilarity. An hour later, 'intermission' was called and we are served up big helpings of rice, slow cooked beef casserole and vegetarian casserole in our food bowls.
Hully (of course he isn’t called Andrew) continues with his poems and story telling, whilst we finish our dinner and continue supping wine! Dessert is handed out, amazing lemon curd tarts, and after another hour of incredible story-telling either by verse or not, it was all over. A totally enlightening and, at times hilarious, insight into the lives of those living in the outback. An amazing night.
Tomorrow is Anzac Day and I am pretty excited to be here in outback Bourke for a dawn service.
I have a story! I can hear Kylie now, “not another story Mum”! But I am telling it anyway.
When I left school I went to work for an accountant. He had a friend, and client, by the name of Frank Dunne. Now Frank was grey-haired and probably around 55ish and in insurance, but not your usual insurance guy. However he was a dapper chap, tall, well-heeled, definitely a gentleman and a real character! Frank was Australian – yes I know, unbelievable! Haha. He was the first person who told me of explorers Bourke and Wills and the town of Bourke and the saying “back ‘o Bourke”. Frank was also President (I think) of the Australian Imperial Forces Returned Services in NZ, and used to organise the Dawn Service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. My boss allowed me to do some typing work for Frank, to help in the organisation. I would type letters of invitation to all VC recipients in NZ and help arrange their travel. I then volunteered my time outside of work and for about 4 years helped Frank pull off these amazing ceremonies. There was much work involved for about 4 months before the 25th April. The most exciting part was having to be in the Museum at 3am on the morning of the 25th. With very few lights on, we had to pass through numerous exhibits and corridors to open doors, meet and greet people and get the old chaps in position for the ceremony. It was hellishly spooky in that museum with just 2 or 3 of us wandering inside. Not much of a story really, but being in Bourke brought back all those memories of when I was 17 and how good it felt to be part of the Dawn Service and it felt special to be in this place.
We were told the service would start at 6:30am which I thought was a bit late so we got to the designated park around 6am just in time to hear the mayor (I think) thank everyone for coming and announcing a parade would take place around 11am. We asked a local what time it started and he said about 5:45am and it lasted for 15 minutes. Mmmmmm. A bit of a disappointment. Not sure what I expected but it wasn't exactly this! Not to worry, there’s always next year, somewhere, where I will pay my respects and remember those who gave up their tomorrows so we could have our todays.
- comments
Gary so cool
Graham We were at Villers Brettonneux for the dawn service this year. The French still hold the ANZAC's in such high regard. A contrast to your time in Bourke - it was freezing and we arrived at 2am. So many 'remembering' around the world - "Lest We Forget".I do recall some of your story (about Frank) but not all of it.