From the moment we touched down for
our new life in Australian you have been
completelyapartofmy lifeandan important
personwhohashelped to formmy identity.
Myearliestmemoryof you ishazy, but Iwas
4 years old, visiting Perth from PNG and
we were at a folk festival you were singing
at, where Imetmy belovedRachel. In that
hazymemory there’sanenergeticand loving
singing man with a beard, and an ethereal
princess of an aunt who was pretty much
the pinnacle of perfection for a small girl to
aspire to
I think of my childhood weekends and get
a floodingmemory of yourHighWycombe
house, where I spent the weekends with
Rachel, climbing out her window and
pickingmandarins, singingnew songs you’d
written in your recording room (and feeling
like a complete rock star whenwe’d record
different harmonies on different tracks and
then hear them played together!!!), being
flipped upside down (and dropped on my
head once) by you, seeing that grown-ups
can love glow-in-the-dark stars as much
as kids (the night sky in your room was
amazing!!!), and of course, babyMary who
was thecentreofmyuniverse!
As an older child you were our children’s
class teacher and studying the Fire Tablet
sticksout inmymind there.Youguyshosted
my 15th birthday party at your home, in
fact, I just found the photo of my signing
my re-affirmation card and yes, there you
are, witnessing my re-affirmation! Most of
your head is obscured by a vase of flowers
thoughso there’snopointputting thephoto
in here . Of course the choir (whichwas
somuch fun that I chose to come to choir
insteadof going to aU2 concert in year 11!!)
was an essential part of youthful service,
communityandsocialisation.YouandAunty
Mal (and 4yr oldMary) were the facilitators
of thefirstPerthCollisFeatherstoneProject
intake I attended, which was such a major
partofmyyouthful serviceand identity, and
I continued to serve on the Collis intakes
and eventually the organising task force as
theyearswenton. As a teenager yourhome
waswhere I ran towhen Ihad the inevitable
teen disagreements with my mum… as a
mummyself I’ve found myself spending a
LOTof time inyourhouse!
I remember making a spur of the moment
decision to come to Albany in the moving
truckwhen you guysmoved down, helping
tounpackandsetupthekitchenspecifically.
Then when Hods and I moved into our
own house you told us “don’t waste your
money on movers, we’ll hire a truck and
do it ourselves!” and so we did. After that
you’dpop in randomlywhile out and about
for work, and have cups of tea. My tea was
clearly inferior to your standards and one
timeyou toldmeemphaticallynot tousemy
tea bags but touse “these” and youpulled 2
ofyourownteabagsoutofyourshirtpocket.
UncleGreg…GUGGY…. Theoden
king…PresidentBartlett…
WOW!!We’vebeenonan
ADVENTURE!!!!
