Re: The Spoken Word in Bush Poetry
Posted: Thu Jun 08, 2023 7:38 am
For interest.... (I hope)
Although the initial FBook post topic was about West Australian Of The Year 2023 (Mrs. Gina Rinehart) enough people were chiming in about Australian of the Year (which of course is separate) for me to record my post which I might reproduce here.... about Karen Christensen.
"Australian of the Year should be awarded to the talented Karen Christensen of Queensland who has voluntarily devoted the last eight years of her life to producing a vast number of magnificent displays for the Australian Cultural Centre Project. She has worked 18 hour days forever (she has trouble in actually sleeping) and fanatically too in order to proudly enshrine all things Australian before they become lost or deliberately overwritten.. as everyone knows is happening.
What Karen Christensen has done permanently for us Australians just defies belief.
Motivated not by money, one gets poorer by doing this, but driven solely by a profound and unwavering love of Australia that is unsurpassed by absolutely anyone else in this country! Not ephemeral speeches, posts or arms length cheque-writing. She has (and is still dedicating) what precious little time she has on this planet (and partially her health too) to OUR country.
Look, I have no problem with people being wealthy. Good luck to them. I wish I was wealthy.. however I am not. Karen frets about small things like the cost of cartridges for the printer which is not a worry if one is wealthy I suppose.
But if you choose to talk Australian Of The Year... the hard yard... working tirelessly and physically solely for the benefit of current and future generations, then that is the REAL meaning of it surely.
Wealth and Power always engender respect in others, regardless. It may be the yardstick for some people .. and that is fine for them.
BUT patriotism, tears, getting financially poorer and enormous self-sacrifice for one's country are MY yardstick. The true measure of the person. All work being done with no certainty that everything will not be literally put in the trash-can by a distracted and uncaring country. Living with the risk that years of your work to enshrine things truly Australian may all be for nothing. That perhaps in the end your country (the people in it I mean) will betray and forsake you... while effectively treating those folk who "made Australia", past and some present, with contempt too.
Accordingly if you want to talk Patriotism and Australian of the Year....and not images or fawning .... then there is only one candidate.
This post is probably quite pointless... likely nobody cares two hoots about Real Australians... but there it is anyway."
The real Australian Of The Year award is quite openly Political of course as one might expect...with criteria such as sex, age and race(!) weighed in. (Karen is not aboriginal so deduct points there, but is female so add points). I am not into that superficial, minority vote-chasing stuff, but I know Karen would enjoy at least some solid recognition.
I wish I could find some for her.
If the term "Great" belongs to anyone; someone who is effectively giving their life to promote and preserve the things that are proudly Australian .. in literature (our bush balladists), music, art, theatre, architecture (brilliant modelling), sport, even the natural world of celebrated flora and fauna, Etc Etc ... anything recognizably Australian... then it belongs to Karen Christensen.
If there is any hierarchy in the hereafter, even in the humble cemetery, then Karen will sit on the throne above the people who have the wherewithal to make it all happen for their fellow Australians.. and elect not to.
As John O'Brien said :
When at last the books are balanced in the settling-up to be,
And our idols on the rubbish-heap are hurled,
Then the Judge shall call to honour - not the "stars," it seems to me,
Who have posed behind the footlights of the world"
To me, Karen Christensen is forever one of the true unheralded stars and at least to me, she shines in the Southern Cross at night.. as the very top star!
Gary
Although the initial FBook post topic was about West Australian Of The Year 2023 (Mrs. Gina Rinehart) enough people were chiming in about Australian of the Year (which of course is separate) for me to record my post which I might reproduce here.... about Karen Christensen.
"Australian of the Year should be awarded to the talented Karen Christensen of Queensland who has voluntarily devoted the last eight years of her life to producing a vast number of magnificent displays for the Australian Cultural Centre Project. She has worked 18 hour days forever (she has trouble in actually sleeping) and fanatically too in order to proudly enshrine all things Australian before they become lost or deliberately overwritten.. as everyone knows is happening.
What Karen Christensen has done permanently for us Australians just defies belief.
Motivated not by money, one gets poorer by doing this, but driven solely by a profound and unwavering love of Australia that is unsurpassed by absolutely anyone else in this country! Not ephemeral speeches, posts or arms length cheque-writing. She has (and is still dedicating) what precious little time she has on this planet (and partially her health too) to OUR country.
Look, I have no problem with people being wealthy. Good luck to them. I wish I was wealthy.. however I am not. Karen frets about small things like the cost of cartridges for the printer which is not a worry if one is wealthy I suppose.
But if you choose to talk Australian Of The Year... the hard yard... working tirelessly and physically solely for the benefit of current and future generations, then that is the REAL meaning of it surely.
Wealth and Power always engender respect in others, regardless. It may be the yardstick for some people .. and that is fine for them.
BUT patriotism, tears, getting financially poorer and enormous self-sacrifice for one's country are MY yardstick. The true measure of the person. All work being done with no certainty that everything will not be literally put in the trash-can by a distracted and uncaring country. Living with the risk that years of your work to enshrine things truly Australian may all be for nothing. That perhaps in the end your country (the people in it I mean) will betray and forsake you... while effectively treating those folk who "made Australia", past and some present, with contempt too.
Accordingly if you want to talk Patriotism and Australian of the Year....and not images or fawning .... then there is only one candidate.
This post is probably quite pointless... likely nobody cares two hoots about Real Australians... but there it is anyway."
The real Australian Of The Year award is quite openly Political of course as one might expect...with criteria such as sex, age and race(!) weighed in. (Karen is not aboriginal so deduct points there, but is female so add points). I am not into that superficial, minority vote-chasing stuff, but I know Karen would enjoy at least some solid recognition.
I wish I could find some for her.
If the term "Great" belongs to anyone; someone who is effectively giving their life to promote and preserve the things that are proudly Australian .. in literature (our bush balladists), music, art, theatre, architecture (brilliant modelling), sport, even the natural world of celebrated flora and fauna, Etc Etc ... anything recognizably Australian... then it belongs to Karen Christensen.
If there is any hierarchy in the hereafter, even in the humble cemetery, then Karen will sit on the throne above the people who have the wherewithal to make it all happen for their fellow Australians.. and elect not to.
As John O'Brien said :
When at last the books are balanced in the settling-up to be,
And our idols on the rubbish-heap are hurled,
Then the Judge shall call to honour - not the "stars," it seems to me,
Who have posed behind the footlights of the world"
To me, Karen Christensen is forever one of the true unheralded stars and at least to me, she shines in the Southern Cross at night.. as the very top star!
Gary