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20 August 2005
Victory in the Pacific Celebratory Ball, Guest Speaker
Thank you for your warm welcome this evening.
I want you to know how delighted Michael and I are to be here to join the Caloundra community in celebrating and commemorating the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific.
May I congratulate you Mr Gary Phillips, and your colleagues of the Sunshine Coast Concert Band on your splendid leadership in bringing people from this beautiful area of Queensland together for such a significant occasion.
I know several groups have worked in cooperation to prepare a number of events marking VP day, bringing to our attention the historical significance of Caloundra during WWII - staging and training area for troop movement.
I am told that the Brisbane line crossed though your city but I feel a little cautious about broaching that assertion, as I have recently seen the famous line described as the single greatest misconception in Australian military history - that there was no such thing either on maps or on the ground.
Now there’s a good conversation topic for the evening!
I want to congratulate you too on donating your fundraising proceeds to Legacy – a truly remarkable organization which continues to support the needs of widows of veterans and their children. Legacy in 2005 is strong, enduring, characterized by bonds born of grief, remembering, courageous rebuilding. I am proud to be its Patron and I value my involvement with Legacy care groups.
My friends, during 2005, we have observed several significant anniversaries of great World War II events. And we have done so with a deep respect for our veterans and a clearer understanding throughout our community of what war in the Pacific meant for our soldiers and their families. We are learning from their stories as they are gradually being told - sometimes reluctantly, always modestly, quietly. Stories of valor, humour and courage that our young people yearn to hear.
We cherish our veterans - their safeguarding of our democracy, our freedoms. We honour their sacrifices.
Mr Chairman, you asked me to talk a little this evening about women in WWII. Where to begin?
As Nancy Wake said, “The efforts of Australia’s women at war have been sadly neglected for years”.
Historians are correcting this for us, filling in the gaps in our knowledge, teaching us that women have suffered strengthened and defied fear in extraordinary acts of bravery. They took on a range of responsibilities.
Nurses had gone overseas with the AIF in 1940, but during the early years of the war women were generally unable to make a significant contribution to the war effort in any official capacity.
Labour shortages forced the government to allow women to take a more active role in war work. In February 1941, the RAAF received cabinet approval to establish to Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. At the same time, the Navy began employing female telegraphists, a breakthrough which eventually led to the establishment of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service in 1942.
The Australian Women’s Army Service was established in October 1941 releasing men to fighting units overseas. The Women’s Land Army was established to encourage women to work in rural industries. Urban women worked in munitions production.
I must say it gives me a particular thrill, a special feeling of awe and affection when I meet our ex servicewomen at wreath laying services - their camaraderie shines through a wisdom and a warmth.
Last Sunday in Anzac Square in Brisbane, I listened to Mrs Margaret Harrison OAM, speak about her wartime experiences in Singapore - escaping the bombing on the SS Empire Star as surrounding ships sank; nursing desperately ill prisoners of war. She spoke calmly and very powerfully of those years of risk, deprivation and struggle for survival.
I reflected on how my friends and I at school in the fifties looked to them as our heroines.
We read Betty Jeffrey’s book White Coolies again and again. We never tired of the stories of Betty, of Vivian Bullwinkel, Sylvia Muir, her best friend Pearl Mittelheuser (Mitz) and Joyce Tweddell (Tweedie).
Susanna de Vries in her marvellous book Heroic Australian Women in War writes of astonishing tales of bravery from Gallipoli to Kokoda. Published in 2004, she records their stories through her interviews with them in recent years, revealing how these women were as influential and heroic in civil life as they were in war. Certainly they were much-loved role models for my generation and they always will be treasured.
Ladies and Gentlemen, there is so much for us to think about as we celebrate and commemorate this evening.
Memories in abundance as we pore over our history. The 60-year-old photograph that has inspired our evening - Sir Leslie Wilson, Governor of Queensland (1932 – 1946) in the centre; the lovely debutantes, their partners; the official party.
A joyous atmosphere enhanced no doubt by the fabulous 40s sound of swing. Thank you to all involved for bringing it back to us in 2005.
My friends, I know you will have a memorable evening.
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