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Coral Sea Commemorative Council 1/3/92 [OA 8332]
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Coral Sea Commemorative Council 1/3/92 [OA 8332]
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13788
Folder ID Number:
13788-014
Folder Title:
Coral Sea Commemorative Council 1/3/92 [OA 8332]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
22
1
6
2
share something else -- the willingness to put our lives on the
line to protect freedom. In the trenches of France and the rice
icy ridges
?
paddies of Vietnam; on the battlefields of Germany, the mountains
of Korea, and the heat-seared desert of Saudi Arabia, Australians
and Americans stood shoulder-to-shoulder throughout this century.
*
Nowhere has this unique friendship been more important than
May
Life
in the Coral Sea in '42. I was 18, about to join the Navy -- an
experience that eventually brought me to the South Pacific as a
June
fighter pilot. I remember hearing of that first momentous
issue
battle, when 2 time-tested friends joined forces to turn back
Usiliance
Japan's advance. I remember hearing of the USS York-town and the
HMAS Hobart in combat and of the "Lady Lex" going to her final
U.S.eab
rest deep off your coast. I remember the victory we forged --
TAUS
and
and the sense of morale it strengthened within us. Above all, I
remember the lives lost from both our homelands.
*
We owe them a debt, those fine young men who died for the
truths our countries were founded upon. You -- the Coral Sea
Council -- are repaying that debt on behalf of all of us. You
remind the world of the full sweep of American-Australian action
ok
in 1942, starting with the Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the
us.
"end of the beginning." And you remind us that the alliance --
Fast
the friendship -- we share is our future.
info
*
My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year.
May God bless our countries -- and the brave sons and daughters
who died to keep them free.
#
#
#
#
#
Staffed copy d FACT CHECK COPY
(Hinchliffe/Nix)
December 18, 1991 1 p.m.
CORAL Draft Two
PRESIDENTIAL TALKING POINTS: CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992 11:20 a.m.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Maturker
*
Thank you, Sir Eric, and special greetings to Ambassador Mel
Sembler. It's great to be in Australia -- I certainly feel at
Australian
home in "Bush Country." Australians have a reputation for warm
hospitality, so on the way over today I told Barbara how moved I
was that all these people were waving to me. "Sorry, George,"
she said. "That's the Australian Wave. It's fly season.' "
*
I'm pleased to have the chance to meet with you. You should
be congratulated by both our nations on the work you're doing --
looking to the future while honoring the past. The fact that, 50
years after the crucial Battle of the Coral Sea, so many
prominent Australians accepted Sir Eric's invitation to join this
Council shows that what young Americans and Australians achieved
together in the defense of freedom has not been forgotten.
some
*
I bring you special thanks on behalf of the over one million
State
last
their
Americans who served in your great and beautiful country during
lives
WWII. I hope many will return here next year for this tremendous
commemoration -- when I go home I'll tell them first-hand of the
Paurle
open, warmhearted Aussie welcome they 11 receive.
Manberra
*
I know you've worked hard to raise funds so today's young
Morkers
Americans and Australians can understand what our countries have
gone through together. We're inseparable allies because we share
Hubassy
a
real friendship; a special bond forged out of our shared roots
of frontier spirit, rugged individualism, free enterprise. We
in
December 20, 1991
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
TONY SNOW
FROM:
BETH HINCHLIFFE
SUBJECT:
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
I. SUMMARY
On January 3, 1992, at 11:20 a.m., in Otway Room No. 1 of
the World Congress Centre in Melbourne, you will speak from
talking points to the 50-member Coral Sea Commemorative Council.
The Council consists of business, government and community
leaders throughout Australia. Council Chairman Sir Eric Neal
will introduce you to the Council's members.
II. DISCUSSION
Your talking points praise the Council for its efforts in
organizing and raising funds for the 50th anniversary of the
Battle of the Coral Sea. Additionally, you recognize the strong
alliance between the United States and Australia -- one that has
carried us through battle side by side five times.
JOKE: Your visit coincides with the advent of the fly
season in Australia. Since Aussies are constantly waving off the
insects, the gesture has been called the "Australian wave."
December 10, 1991
MEMORANDUM FOR BETH HINCHLIFFE
FROM:
MICHELE NIX
SUBJECT:
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE
Per JAG's advance memo: The Australian and US navies fought side
by side to turn back the Japanese military advance in WWII. Five
months after the outbreak of war in the Pacific, the Battle of
the Coral Sea in May 1942 was a crucial strategic victory for the
allies, and the first reverse for the Imperial Japanese Army.
Per the Australian Embassy, the two most important points to make
are:
Thank the Council for its efforts to recognize the memory of
this battle, lives lost, etc.
Call attention to their efforts to help their fundraising
goal.
Recognize this as a tie between U.S. and Australia
Attached is the FAX from the embassy, which includes logistical
info, other objectives for the speech, participants, and talking
points. Also included is background material about the Council
and the Coral Sea Battle.
the
(Hinchliffe/Nix)
December 12, 1991 12 p.m.
CORAL Draft One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Thank you, Sir Eric. And special greetings to Ambassador
Mel Sembler. It's great to be in Australia -- I certainly feel
at home in "Bush Country. "
Australians have a reputation for warmth and hospitality.
So as we were driving over today I told Barbara how moved I was
that all these people were waving to me. "Sorry, George," she
Explain on memo cover
said. "That's the Australian Wave. It's fly season. "
I'm honored to meet with this very special council.
On
a
personal level, the Coral Sea Commemoration has always meant a
his
lot to me. As a 19-year-old Navy fighter pilot in the South
Jestane
Pacific in May 1942, I felt keenly the significance of the battle
how?
why?
itself. And as a somewhat-older Vice President in 1982, I had
the privilege to speak in Sydney at the Coral Sea Ball.
This sornds
Isma
We must remember all the Coral Sea events. In particular,
forced; .
we must celebrate the extraordinary friendship they represent.
imperative mid
need
The United States and Australia are inseparable allies. Our
Joesn work
bounds desperate
countries have always had a special bond -- forged out of our
the
real
shared roots of frontier spirit, rugged individualism, and free
enterprise. As Sir Nicholas Parkinson put it, there is and
should be a "natural alliance" between us.
This century, that alliance has been firmly cemented with
alus
the glue of shared sacrifice
We've fought side by side 4 times
from been for
in defense of the principles we share. There's no greater example
freedent
?! kind of an icky metaphor
-threadicves the years
Ashanff
tormulair
2
of that cooperation than the Battle of the Coral Sea, where we
joined forces to turn back the Japanese military advance.
something
You all know how important that battle was. Our ships took
Marry more of
part in the first major aircraft carrier engagement of the war;
canws can offer
and
more
and in the first naval battle in history in which surface ships
didn't sight each other. Together, we handed Japan its first
makere 41
ships?
reverse -- and together we prevented it from achieving air super-
dynami
iority in the Coral Sea. It was a crucial strategic victory, and
ate
?
it also gave our forces invaluable morale -- enabling the Allies
to never again lose the initiative in the Pacific.
But one of the most significant legacies of the year that
began with the Battle of the Coral Sea is the origin of
our
grea strong that year
942 (bouring) well forg
bilateral alliance.
That's why you outstanding citizens should
sequiting?
be congratulated by both our nations on the work you're doing --
non
for you look to the future while honoring the past.
emproyments
The programs you sponsor will assure that the critical
us
mopes
events of 1942 receive the attention they deserve. The fact that
50 years later so many prominent Australians have accepted Sir
Eric's invitation to join this Council shows that what young
Americans and Australians achieved together in the defense of
freedom has not been forgotten.
I bring special thanks from over 1 million American men and
women who served in your great and beautiful country during WWII.
I hope many of them will return here next year to take part in
this unique commemoration -- when I go home I'll tell them first-
idtrus may
hand of the open, warmhearted Aussie welcome they 11 receive.ents
projections
isdating
protablesco
1942
sounds starite
con rete
3
This
in
I know you've been working hard to raise funds especially
for activities designed to appeal to young Australians.
We
This
attach great importance to the future of our alliance
and
the
ou We
upcoming generations are the ones who will maintain it. We want
our used. been
the young people of both our countries to understand our history,
and to remember and respect the full sweep of American-
Australian military cooperation in 1942 -- starting with the
Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the "end of the beginning."
I'm sure this Council's work will strengthen and sustain our
Alliance -- one that has matured and that is as relevant today as
it ever was. My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative
year. May God bless our countries -- and the brave sons and
daughters who died to keep them free.
#####
16-71-11' 170/ YOJAV.10 LNDS
CCITI G3;# $
REMARKS OF GEORGE BUSH
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AT THE
CORAL SEA BALL AND RECEPTION
WENTWORTH HOTEL
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 1982.
Prime Minister and MIS. Fraser, MI. President, ladies and
gentlemen, friends.
Barbara and I are thrilled to be here in what must be one
of the most beautiful cities in the world.
We're especially thrilled and honored to be with you
tonight for the Coral Sea Ball.
My trip to East Asia and the Pacific began in Tokyo, where
the papers are full of talk about Japan's increased
defense expenditures. Now here I am helping to
commemorate a turning point in the war. Such are the
ironies of a Vice President's life.
I bring to you the greetings of the President of the
United States and the First Lady. They couldn't be here
tonight. Frankly, if they had come, I wouldn't have been
able to. So it turned out fine.
Since I arrived here yesterday, on the very day,
incidentally, that our ANZUS treaty was signed into being
30 years ago, I've been overwhelmed -- is the word --
at the warmth and the graciousness and the hospitality of
my hosts. I understand why there has always been a warm
spot in the hearts of Americans for the Australian people;
and why there should be a "natural alliance" between us,
as Sir Nicholas Parkinson has put it.
You've made us feel very welcome.
Our roots -- the frontier spirit, rugged individualism,
free enterprise -- go back a long way before the events of
the first week of May, 1942. So it was historically
fitting that at the very nadir of Allied fortunes during
world War Two that Americans, Australians and British and
the New Zealancers came together to defeat the most
serious threat this continent has ever faced -- the most
serious threat, we pray, that it will ever face.
CCITI G3;# '/
-2-
This evening we're gathered here to remember the brave
sailors and Navy fliers who, between May 3rd and May 8th,
1942, stopped the Japanese advance on Port Moresby and
thus their advance on Australia.
If they had not succeeded in turning back the Imperial
Japanese forces, the outcome of the war might have been
different. Surely the consequences for Australia, despite
her indomitable spirit, would have been grave, and she
might well have become part of what the Japanese high
command referred to, in one of the greater euphemisms of
this troubled century, as the "greater East Asia
co-prosperity sphere."
But they did stop them, in a bloody and drawn out battle
that forever changed the very nature of naval warfare-in
which carrier fought carrier.
Tactical aspects of Coral Sea aside, it was a battle, like
all other battles, that pitted men against men. The
enouring significance of the battle is that many died SQ
that others would live, demonstrating the kind of courage
that makes heroes out of ordinary men; demonstrating
courage as Chesterton defined it: "A strong desire to live
taking the form of readiness to die."
In their memory, and in their honor, let us bow our heads
in a moment of silence and thanks for those whose
secrifice forty years ago ensured the freedom of the soil
on which we stand tonight, and the eventual allied victory
in the Pacific.
Let me, if I may, offer a few more words on another event
we commemorate tonight: The signing of the ANZUS Treaty.
We signed that treaty during the Cold War, in the face of
a Soviet Union that was consolidating its empire, and
casting an eye on other lands. The Korean War was on.
Tension in Berlin was high. It was a natural extension of
OUT "natural alliance" that we should have formulated our
relationship to assure our security as we faced the
challanges of the post-modern world.
But ANZUS was also a vital element in the construction of
the post-War peace throughout the Pacific; a process that
brought a democratic Japan into a close economic and
political relationship with the three ANZUS partners.
SENI DT.Xerox lelecopier 7021 111-12-91 21:32
062705940-
CCITT G3;# 8
-3-
I don't need to point out that this friendly relationship
has radically changed the attitudes of the past, and has
taken on an enormous importance, even beyond, perhaps, the
vision of those who signed the treaty.
Our interdependence is of an importance which we disregard
only at our peril. Benjamin Franklin put it rather
trenchantly a long time ago when, in an admittedly
different context -- one on which I will not dwell in the
company of so many distinguished members of the British
commonwealth -- he said, "if we don't hang together, then
we are sure to hang separately.'
This is truer, probably, of the democratic nations of the -
world today than it was when Franklin and his fellow
colonists took on great Britain. In these parlous times,
President Reagan is determined to do all he can to
maintain the intimacy between our countries of which ANZUS
thrives.
A wise Australian statesman, Sir Percy Spender, once tolo
our House of Representatives that "so far as it is
possible, it is our objective to build up with the United
States somewhat the same relationship that exists within
the British Commonwealth. That is to say, we desire a
full exchange of information and experience on all
matters, and consultation on matters of mutual interests."
And so do we. The United States, as I've said many times
on my trip, has no desire to dominate this, or any other
part of the world. We do want to be a good and faithful
partner, and a dependable ally. And so we shall.
As partners, we have disagreements, of course. All
partners do. But we also have many common goals, foremost
among them preserving the peace that we fought for forty
years ago. There are those whose reckless international
behavior presents an everyday threat to that peace. Let
them know we are determined to guard the peace, to guard
our freedom; that we have learned from the mistakes of
history and are resolved not to repeat them.
In a letter to William Allen White in 1939, Douglas
MscArthur wrote, "The history of failure in war can be
summed up in two words: too late. Too late in
comprehending the deadly purpose of a potential enemy; too
late in realizing the mortal danger; too late in
preparechess; too late in uniting all possible forces to
resistance; too late in standing with one's friends.
SENT BY-Xerox lelecopier 7021 111-12-91 ; 21:33
;
062705940-
CCITT G3:# 9
-4-
The vitality of ANZUS and our history of standing
together are a tribute to our vigilance and to the degree
to which we cherish our freedom. As partners in the free
world, our alliance holds the line against tyranny, just
as forty years ago those who came before us held the line
then.
Thank you.
-another shrimp on the barbee
-inseparable allies, special bond between countries
Coral Sea Ball
--in this century, we've fought side by side four times in
defense of principles we share
May 1942, "serious threat, if battle turned out differently,
Japan's plan could be different" -- grucial strategic victory for
allies, first reverse for Japan
Battle of Coral Sea -- "hinge upon which the fate of Australia
turned"
--I was fighter pilot in South Pacific
took part in 1982 Coral Sea Ball, in Sydney
--Australian and US navies fought side by side to turn back
Japanese militry advance in WWII
-Battle of Coral Sea, 1200 kilometers off N. Queensland coast;
first naval battle in history in which opposing surface
ships didn't sight each other
first major aircraft carrier engagement of WWII
in order to secure air superiority in Coral Sea for Japan
USS Yorktown, USS Lexington; HMAS Australia, HMAS Hobart
air reconnaissance; dive-bombing, torpedo carrying
aircraft
"Lady Lex" -- 2400 fathoms deep at bottom of Coral Sea
50th anniversary of origins of bilateral alliance
Council formed on initiative of US Ambassador Mel Sembler
--50 of country's most leading citizens
Council events begin with Pearl Harbor and end with Battle of
Milne Bay (Papua New Guinea, August) -- centerpiece is Battle of
the Coral Sea, formally commemorated every year since 1956
--
-thank Council, especially Sir Eric Neal, for efforts to
recognize memory of this battle, lives lost, etc., Council
programs and projects that will commemorate the WWII origins of
our bilateral alliance next year -- especially anniversary of
Battle of Coral Sea;
-thank Council for efforts to help their fundraising goal
--recognize this as tie between US and Australia -- underline
importance US attaches to future of alliance
--acknowledge contributions of thousands of Australians who are
working to develop commemortive activities during 1992
-Friday, January 3, 11:20 alm., Melbourne
--I'm pleased to have the opportunity this morning to thank all
of you personally for your participaiton in the Australia--US
Coral Sea Commemorative Council
The programs and activities you coordinate or sponsor will
assure that the events that shaped the beginnings of our
bilateral alliance -- especially the 50th anniversary of the
Battle of the Coral Sea -- receive the attention they deserve in
1992.
--on their behalf, I also want to convey to this Council and to
all Australians who are developing commemortive programs this
year, the appreciation of the over 1 million American men and
women who served in Australia during WWII
--That 50 years later so many prominent Australians have accepted
Sir Eric's inviation to join this Council is evidence that what
young Americans and Australians achieved in the defense of
freedom here and in the South Pacific during WWII has not been
forgotten
--I share your hope that those veterans, some of them still
living, will return to Australia with their families in 1992 to
take part in the programs, ceremonies, and activities that are
planned. I know they will receive the same open, warmhearted
Aussie welcome that I have.
--I am pleased to learn that this Council is giving looking to
the future of our alliance and will support many activities
designed to appeal to young Australians
--I am sure that the actions of this Council will strengthen and
sustain an Alliance that has matured and is as relevant today as
it ever was.
--My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year
-Ambassador Sembler helped found
-all Coral Sea '92 events
purpose: to strengthen and consolidate the US-Australian
Alliance
look to the future while commemorating the past
Prime Minister Curtin's historic speech "Australia Looks to
America"
full sweep of Am-Aus military cooperation in 1942 be
commemorated, not just the Battle of the Coral Sea
-Battle of Coral Sea -- first serious check to amazingly rapid
eries of Japanese successes in the Pacific following Pearl Harbor
Battle was the "end of the beginning"
morale value unmeasurable to Allies who never again lost the
initiative in the Pacific
(Hinchliffe/Nix)
December 12, 1991 12 p.m.
CORAL Draft One
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Time?
Thank you, Sir Eric. And special greetings to Ambassador
Mel Sembler. It's great to be in Australia -- I certainly feel
at home in "Bush Country."
Australians have a reputation for warmth and hospitality.
So as we were driving over today I told Barbara how moved I was
that all these people were waving to me. "Sorry, George," she
said. "That's the Australian Wave. It's fly season. "
I'm honored to meet with this very special council. On a
personal level, the Coral Sea Commemoration has always meant a
lot to me. As a 19 year-old Navy fighter pilot in the South
Pacific in May 1942, I felt keenly the significance of the battle
itself. And as a somewhat-older Vice President in 1982, I had
the privilege to speak in Sydney at the Coral Sea Ball.
We must remember all the Coral Sea events. In particular,
we must celebrate the extraordinary friendship they represent.
The United States and Australia are inseparable allies. Our
countries have always had a special bond -- forged out of our
shared roots of frontier spirit, rugged individualism, and free
enterprise. As Sir Nicholas Parkinson put it, there is and
should be a "natural alliance" between us.
This century, that alliance has been firmly cemented with
5.
the glue of shared sacrifice. We've fought side by side 4 times
in defense of the principles we share. There's no greater example
trulf
2
of that cooperation than the Battle of the Coral Sea, where we
joined forces to turn back the Japanese military advance.
You all know how important that battle was. Our ships took
part in the first major aircraft carrier engagement of the war;
and in the first naval battle in history in which surface ships
didn't sight each other. Together, we handed Japan its first
reverse -- and together we prevented it from achieving air super-
iority in the Coral Sea. It was a crucial strategic victory, and
it also gave our forces invaluable morale -- enabling the Allies
to never again lose the initiative in the Pacific.
But one of the most significant legacies of the year that
began with the Battle of the Coral Sea is the origin of our
bilateral alliance. That's why you outstanding citizens should
be congratulated by both our nations on the work you're doing --
for you look to the future while honoring the past.
The programs you sponsor will assure that the critical
events of 1942 receive the attention they deserve. The fact that
50 years later so many prominent Australians have accepted Sir
Eric's invitation to join this Council shows that what young
Americans and Australians achieved together in the defense of
freedom has not been forgotten.
change
I bring special thanks from over 1 million American men and
women who served in your great and beautiful country during WWII.
I hope many of them will return here next year to take part in
this unique commemoration -- when I go home I'll tell them first-
hand of the open, warmhearted Aussie welcome they'll receive.
3
I know you ve been working hard to raise funds especially
for activities designed to appeal to young Australians. We
attach great importance to the future of our alliance -- and the
upcoming generations are the ones who will maintain it. We want
the young people of both our countries to understand our history,
and to remember and respect the full sweep of American-
Australian military cooperation in 1942 -- starting with the
Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the "end of the beginning."
I'm sure this Council's work will strengthen and sustain our
Alliance -- one that has matured and that is as relevant today as
it ever was. My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative
year. May God bless our countries -- and the brave sons and
daughters who died to keep them free.
#
#
#
#
#
(Hinchliffe/Nix)
December 12, 1991 12 p.m.
CORAL Draft One
PRESIDENTIAL TALKING POINTS: CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1992 11:20 a.m.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
*
Thank you, Sir Eric, and special greetings to Ambassador Mel
Sembler. It's great to be in Australia -- I certainly feel at
home in "Bush Country." Australians have a reputation for warm
hospitality, so on the way over today I told Barbara how moved I
was that all these people were waving to me. "Sorry, George,"
she said. "That's the Australian Wave. It's fly season."
*
I'm pleased to have the chance to meet with you. You should
be congratulated by both our nations on the work you're doing --
looking to the future while honoring the past. The fact that,
50 years after the crucial Battle of the Coral Sea, so many
prominent Australians accepted Sir Eric's invitation to join this
Council, shows that what young Americans and Australians achieved
together in the defense of freedom has not been forgotten.
*
I bring you special thanks on behalf of the over one million
Americans who served in your great and beautiful country during
WWII. I hope many will return here next year for this tremendous
commemoration -- when I go home I'll tell them first-hand of the
open, warmhearted Aussie welcome they'll receive.
*
I know you've worked hard to raise funds so today's young
Americans and Australians can understand what our countries have
gone through together. We're inseparable allies because we share
a real friendship; a special bond forged out of our shared roots
of frontier spirit, rugged individualism, free enterprise. We
2
share something else -- the willingness to put our lives on the
line to protect freedom. In the trenches of France and the rice
paddies of Vietnam; on the battlefields of Germany, the mountains
of Korea, and the heat-seared desert of Saudi Arabia, Australians
and Americans stood shoulder-to-shoulder throughout this century.
*
Nowhere has this unique friendship been more important than
in the Coral Sea in '42. I was an 18-year-old Navy fighter pilot,
soon to head to the South Pacific. I remember hearing of that
first momentous battle, when 2 time-tested friends joined forces
to turn back Japan's advance. I remember hearing of the USS York-
town and the HMAS Hobart in combat and of the "Lady Lex" going to
her final rest deep off your coast. I remember the victory we
forged -- and the sense of morale it strengthened within us.
Above all, I remember the lives lost from both our homelands.
*
We owe them a debt, those fine young men who died for the
truths our countries were founded upon. You -- the Coral Sea
Council -- are repaying that debt on behalf of all of us. You
remind the world of the full sweep of American-Australian action
in 1942, starting with the Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the
"end of the beginning. " And you remind us that the alliance --
the friendship -- we share is our future.
*
My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year.
May God bless our countries -- and the brave sons and daughters
who died to keep them free.
#
#
#
#
#
VICE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS
FOR THE CORAL SEA BALL
-
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
April 28, 1989
Marilyn and I have only been in your country
for a short time, but we have already been able to
see for ourselves just how much of the Australian
myth is true. During his meeting with me in
Washington, Ambassador Lane personally praised
Australia and its people, and spoke warmly of the
ties between our two countries. Last year's
bicentennial along with the America's cup and
Crocodile Dundee, have brought Australia to the
consciousness of Americans as never before. As
2
more and more of us come to visit, we can go
beyond the stereotypes to form a greater
appreciation not only of the differences between
our two nations, but also of just how much we
have in common.
Our democratic traditions, respect for individual
freedoms, and rule by law are taken for granted.
We are both pioneer peoples, who grew from
rudimentary settlements, marched across
inhospitable terrain, and built modern prosperous
societies. Australians sailed to the American West
Coast in the middle of the last century to take part
in the California gold rush, and soon thereafter
3
Americans returned the favor by coming here to
seek their fortune in gold. The first dependable
system of land transport in Australia was the
stagecoach route of Cobb and company; Mr.
Freeman Cobb and his three partners were
Americans one and all. And the list of influences
on one another during our respective formative
years is a long one.
In this century, we have fought side by side
four times in defense of those principles which we
hold dear. The Coral Sea Ball, an event of
celebration, of course commemorates a much more
4
somber time. There is no question about the threat
posed to Australia in 1942 after the fall of
Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. With the
Japanese poised to move on the Solomon Islands
and Port Moresby, a move against Australia seemed
imminent. In fact, had the battle of the Coral Sea
turned out differently, Japan could easily have
expanded its design for conquest to include
Australia. It was the concerted effort of our joint
task force of HMAS Australia and Hobart, along
with several U.S. vessels including the carriers,
Lexington and Yorktown, that withstood the
5
Japanese attack and saved Port Moresby. The
Battle of the Coral Sea was the hinge upon which
the fate of Australia turned, and marked the
beginning of the allied strategic offensive in the
Pacific.
This may seem like ancient history to some
who, such as myself, were born after the end of
World WAR II. I would remind you, however, that
the President of the United States was a fighter
pilot in the South Pacific, and it is not ancient
history to him. Nor is it to Ambassador Bill Lane,
whom most of you know first met Aussies as a
6
naval officer in the Pacific with Admiral Nimitz and
served with Aussies in convoys. Some of you may
recall that when he was Vice President, George and
Barbara Bush attended the 1982 Coral Sea Ball
here in Sydney. It is second nature to him that the
United States and Australia are inseparable allies
bound together by sacrifices shared in the Pacific
War.
I can assure you that this sense of
steadfastness as an ally of President Bush's
generation is also shared by my own. I have been
impressed by the members of my generation here
tonight. I assure you that dedication to our
alliance with Australia will continue.
7
The real relationship of our two countries,
however, does not rest in history nor in formal
alliances, but in the everyday exchanges,
cooperation, and consultation that are the essence
of the relationship. Certainly important to keeping
that relationship alive on a personal level is the
Australian-American Association. The challenge to
your organization is to strengthen Australian-
American ties, especially among a new generation
whose experiences have not been forged in time of
war.
8
Events like this one give us the opportunity to
have a good time together and perhaps reflect a bit
on our commonality of heritage, interests, and
ideals. Marilyn and I thank you for our invitation
and for the opportunity to show that even after the
bicentennial year, and perhaps all the more
because of the bicentennial, Australia still holds a
key place in the hearts of Americans.
SENT BY:U, S, INFO. SERVICE 10-12-91 ; 3:23PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218:# 2
Events: Meeting with members of the the Australia - United States
Coral Sea Commemorative Council
Time: 11:20 a.m., Friday, January 3:
Place: otway Room No. 1, World Congress Centre, Melbourne
Purpose: To meet with and express appreciation to the Council for
assuring that the 50th anniversary of the origins of the
bilateral alliance is given the prominence it deserves.
Setting:
Approximately 50 members of the Council, distinguished and
influential citizens from many sectors of Australian society,
will be gathered in Otway Room No. 1 when you arrive. The
Ambassador will introduce you to the Chairman of the Council, Sir
Eric Neal, and the Vice Chairman, Vice Admiral Hudson. Sir Eric
will invite you to address the Council. Sir Eric (Rosemary: I am
making this up!) will respond briefly at the end of your remarks
and then introduce you to the committee chairmen and to the other
members of the Council.
Key objectives:
-- To thank members of the Council, especially chairman sir Eric
Neal, for their contributions to Council programs and projects
that will commemorate the World War II origins of our bilateral
alliance in 1992.
-- To focus press attention on the Council and stimulate general
public interest in the cycle of commemorative events planned in
Australia during 1992, especially the 50th anniversary of the
Battle of the Coral Sea.
-- To acknowledge the contributions of the thousands of
Australians who are working to develop commemorative activities
during 1992.
To underline the importance the U.S. attaches to younger
Australians and the future of the alliance.
Participants:
Patrons: Ambassador Sembler (Prime Minister Hawke, also a
Patron, but will not participate)
Chairman: Sir Eric James Neal, Chairman of Westpac Bank
Deputy Chairman:
Admiral Michael Hudson, AC, Deputy
Chairman and Services and Veterans Liaison.
Chairman of Finance Committee: Mr. Richard Pratt, AO, Joint
Chairman and Managing Director, Visy Board Group
Members:
cin Balderstone Chairman. Australian Mutual Provident
Extended Page
2.1
Sir James Balderstone, Chairmen,
Society
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Condous
SENI BY:U. 5. INFU. SERVICE
10-12-91 ; 3:24PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218;# 3
- 2 -
Mr. F.J. Conroy, Managing Director, Westpac Banking Corporation
Sir Robert Cotton, KCMG: communications and Publicity
Mr. Geoffrey Cousins, Chairman, George Patterson Advertising
sir Charles Court, AK, KCMG, OBE
sir Robert Cutler, vc, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE
Mr. Peter Doyle, Chairman, Australian National Maritime Museum
Sir Llewellyn Edwards, AC, c/- Jones Lang Wootten
Mr. Brian Finn, Managing Director, IBM Australia Limited
Brigadier A.B. Garland, AM, National President, RSL of Australia
Mr Patrick Geraghty, Seamen's Union of Australia
Mr. J.B. Gough, AO, Pacific Dunlop Limited
General Peter Gration, AC, OBE, Chief of Australian Defense Forces
Mr. W.J. Hamel, General Motors-Holdens Automotive
Mr. I.R.L. Harper, AM, Senior Corporate Partner, Allen Allen &
Hemsley
Mr. Paul Kelly, Editor in Chief, The Australian Newspaper
Mr J.A. Landels, AO, c/- Caltex Australia Limited
Mr. Phillip Lincoln, Jr., Consul General, American Consulate
General
Mr. Eamon J. Lindsay, RFD, MP, President, Australian-American
Parliamentary Committee
The Lord Mayor of Darwin, Alderman Allan Markham
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Concillor Richard Meldrum
Commodore J.L.W. (Red) Merson, National President, Naval
Association of Australia
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Tony Mooney
Mr. Brian Nebenzahl, Managing Director, Play Pty Limited
sir Arvi Parbo, Chairman, Western Mining Corporation
Mr. J. B. Prescott, Managing Director, The Broken Hill
Proprietary Company Limited
Extended Page
3.1
Mr. Roger Pysden, Boral Limited, President of the
Australian-American Association for NSW: Community Liaison
Rear Admiral Neil Ralph, AO, DSO
SENT DT.U. S. INFO. SERVICE 10-12-91 ; 3:24PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218:# 4
- 3 -
Lady Ramsey
Rear Admiral Andrew Robertson, AO, DSC, RAN (Rtd)
Mr. Frederick Ross, President, Merchant Service Guild of Australia
Mr. J.S. Rowe, AM, Managing Director, Sydney Convention &
Visitors Bureau; Tourism Liaison
The Lord Mayor of the city of Sydney, Alderman Frank Sartor
Mr. William Small, Senior Partner, Price Waterhouse
The Lord Mayor Brisbane, Alderman James (Jim) Soorley, Lord
Mayor's Office
Mr. Kerry Stokes, Goldern West Network
Mr. Robert Sullivan, Federal President, Australian-American
Association Limited
Mr. J.A. Uhrig, AO, Chairman, CRA Limited
Mr. Richard Warburton, Managing Director, Depont (Australia)
Limited
Sir Bruce Watson, Chairman, MIM Holdings Limited
Mr. D.R. wills, Chairman and Managing Director, Coca-Cola Amatil
Limited
Talking Points:
I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to thank all of
you personally for your participation in the Australia - United
States Coral Sea Commemorative Council.
The programs and activities you coordinate or sponsor will assure
that the events that shaped the beginnings of our bilateral
alliance -- especially the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the
Coral Sea -- receive the attention they deserve in 1992.
On their behalf, I also want to convey to this Council and to all
Australians who are developing commemorative programs this year
the appreciation of the over one million American men and women
who served in Australia during World War II.
That fifty years later so many prominent Australians have
accepted Sir Eric's invitation to join this Council is evidence
that what young Americans and Australians achieved in the defense
of freedom here and in the South Pacific during World War II has
not been forgotten.
Extended Page
4.1
I share your hope that those veterans, some of them still living,
will return to Australia with their families in 1992 to take part
in the programs, ceremonies, and activities that are planned.
I know they will receive the same open, warmhearted Aussie
welcome that I have.
SENT BY:U. S. INFO. SERVICE
10-12-91 ; 3:25PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218:# 5
- 4 -
I am pleased to learn that this Council is giving looking to the
future of our alliance and will support many activities designed
to appeal to young Australians.
I am sure that the actions of this Council will strengthen and
sustain an Alliance that has matured and is as relevant today as
it ever was.
My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year.
1
SENT BY:U,S. INFO. SERVICE 10-12-91 ; 3:26PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218;# 6
VS OFFICE Electronic Mail
weanesday
Item Subject: Coral Sea Comm Council II
doc. 0362S
The Australia-U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council
D The Australia-U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council
coordinates and gives prominence to the 50th anniversary
commemorations of the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4 -- 8,
1942). The council was formed on the initiative of U.S.
Ambassador Mel Sembler. The Ambassador and Prime Minister
Bob Hawke are Council patrons.
- The Council, which includes 50 of Australia's leading
citizens, has already raised U.S. $195,000 and set an
initial budget target of U.S. $1,560,000.
-- The Council will coordinate all 1992 Coral Sea events, and
will provide liaison with veterans groups and
organizations in Australia and the United States.
o The Council's calendar of events begins with an Australian
commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor and ends with the
50th anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay (Papua New
Guinea, August, 1992). The centerpiece of its activities
will be the 50th anniversary of the May 4. + 8, 1942 Battle of
the Coral Sea, which has been formally commemorated in
Australia every year since 1956.
D Proposed USG contributions to '92 Coral Sea commemorative
events include: visits by a group of seven USN warships, a
presidential representative, and a CODEL of congressional
veterans of World War II. At the moment, the projected visit
of U.S. warships does not include a carrier or a battleship,
which members of the Council believe is essential if the
commemorations are to have their maximum impact. Council
members may raise this point with the President.
D The Council has approved funding of U.S. $124,000 to develop
a curriculum study unit with supporting videotape on the
defense of Australia in World War II. This would be used in
Australian (and selected American) secondary schools. The
Council is also reviewing other proposals for funding.
D Officers of the Council who might be present at the meeting
with the President include:
-- Sir Eric James Neal, Chairman of Westpac Bank, Chairman
- Vice Admiral Michael Hudson, recently retired Chief of
Naval Staff, Royal Australian Navy, Deputy Chairman
-- Richard Pratt, Joint Chairman and Managing Director Visy
Board Group of Companies, Finance
- Sir Robert Cotton, former Australian Ambassador to the
United States, Communications and Publicity
SENI DT.U.S. INFO. SERVICE
10-12-91 ; 3:33PM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218#17
MEMORANDUM
December 2, 1991
TO:
Ambassador Sembler
THRU:
Marilyn Meyers, DCM
FROM:
Lewis R. Luchs, CPAO
SUBJECT:
Background on the Founding and Mission of the
Australia-U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council
Attached is a draft briefing paper on the Coral Sea Council for
your review.
USIS:LRLUCHS:pv
12. 09. 91
09:07
PM
Dept of State
P19
UNCLASSIFIED
MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF THE AUSTRALIA-UNITED STATES
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
SCENESETTER
PURPOSE
The purpose of your meeting with members of the Australia-U.S.
Coral Sea Commemorative Council will be to express appreciation
to the Council for assuring that the 50th anniversary of the
origins of the bilateral alliance is given the prominence it
deserves.
SETTING
Approximately 50 members of the Council, distinguished and
influential citizens from many sectors of Australian society,
will have gathered in Otway Room No. 1 of the World Congress
Centre. The Ambassador will introduce you to the Chairman of
the Council, Sir Eric Neal, and the Council Vice Chairman, Vice
Admiral Michael Hudson. Sir Eric will then invite you to
address the Council. Following your remarks, Sir Eric will
make concluding remarks and introduce you to the Committee
Chairmen and to the other Members of the Council.
KEY OBJECTIVES
==
To thank members of the Council, especially chairman Sir
Eric Neal, for their contributions to Council programs and
projects that will commemorate the World War II origins of
our bilateral alliance in 1992.
-- To focus press attention on the Council and stimulate
general public interest in the cycle of commemorative
events planned in Australia during 1992, especially the
50th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
-- To acknowledge the contributions of th thousands of
Australians who are working to develop commemorative
activities during 1992.
-- To underline the importance the U.S. attaches to younger
Australians and the future of the alliance.
Attached is a list of participants.
UNCLASSIFIED
12. 09. 91
09:07 PM
P20
UNCLASSIFIED
POINTS TO BE MADE WITH THE AUSTRALIA-UNITED STATES
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to thank
all of you personally for your participation in the
Australia - U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council.
-- The programs and activities you coordinate or sponsor will
ensure that events which shaped the beginnings of our
bilateral alliance -- especially the 50th anniversary of
the Battle of the Coral Sea -- receive the attention they
deserve in 1992.
-- I also want to convey to this Council and to all
Australians who are developing commemorative programs this
year the appreciation of the over one million American men
and women who served in Australia during World War II.
-- The participation of so many prominent Australians on this
Council is evidence that the defense of freedom here and in
the South Pacific during World War II by Australians and
Americans has not been forgotten.
-- I share your hope that many of our veterans will return to
Australia with their families in 1992 to take part in the
activities that are being planned. I know they will
receive the same open, warmhearted Aussie welcome that I
have received.
-- I am sure that the actions of this Council will strengthen
and sustain an alliance that has matured and is as relevant
today as it ever was.
-- My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year.
UNCLASSIFIED
Dept of State
R'crd 12/10
DRAFT
UNCLASSIFIED
MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF THE AUSTRALIA-UNITED STATES
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
SCENESETTER
PURPOSE
The purpose of your meeting with members of the
Australia-U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council will be to
express appreciation to the Council for assuring that the
50th anniversary of the origins of the bilateral alliance
is given the prominence it deserves. In addition, the
meeting provides an opportunity to (1) thank members of
the Council, especially chairman Sir Eric Neal; (2)
stimulate general public interest in the commemoration;
(3) acknowledge the contributions of the thousands of
Australians who are working to develop commemorative
activities during 1992; and (4) underline the importance
the U.S. attaches to younger Australians and the future of
the alliance.
SETTING
Approximately 50 members of the Council, distinguished and
influential citizens from many sectors of Australian
society, will have gathered in Otway Room No. 1 of the
World Congress Centre. The Ambassador will introduce you
to the Chairman of the Council, Sir Eric Neal, and the
Council Vice Chairman, Vice Admiral Michael Hudson. Sir
Eric will then invite you to address the Council.
Following your remarks, Sir Eric will make concluding
remarks and introduce you to the Committee Chairmen and to
the other Members of the Council.
Attached is a list of participants.
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
POINTS TO BE MADE WITH THE AUSTRALIA-UNITED STATES
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL
I am pleased to have the opportunity this morning to thank
all of you personally for your participation in the
Australia - U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council.
-- The programs and activities you coordinate or sponsor will
ensure that events which shaped the beginnings of our
bilateral alliance -- especially the 50th anniversary of
the Battle of the Coral Sea -- receive the attention they
deserve in 1992.
I also want to convey to this Council and to all
Australians who are developing commemorative programs this
year the appreciation of the over one million American men
and women who served in Australia during World War II.
The participation of so many prominent Australians on this
Council is evidence that the defense of freedom here and in
the South Pacific during World War II by Australians and
Americans has not been forgotten.
I share your hope that many of our veterans will return to
Australia with their families in 1992 to take part in the
activities that are being planned. I know they will
receive the same open, warmhearted Aussie welcome that I
have received.
I am sure that the actions of this Council will strengthen
and sustain an alliance that has matured and is as relevant
today as it ever was.
My best wishes to you throughout this commemorative year.
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
CORAL SEA COMMEMORATIVE COUNCIL MEETING
PARTICIPANT LIST
Patrons: Ambassador Sembler (Prime Minister Hawke, also a
Patron, will not be present)
Chairman: Sir Eric James Neal, Chairman of Westpac Bank
Deputy Chairman: Vice Admiral Michael Hudson, AC, Deputy
Chairman and Services and Veterans Liaison
Chairman of Finance Committee: Mr. Richard Pratt, AO, Joint
Chairman and Managing Director, Visy Board Group
Members:
Sir James Balderstone, Chairman, Australian Mutual Provident
Society
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Steve Condous,
Melbourne, Victoria
Mr. F.J. Conroy, Managing Director, Westpac Banking Corporation
Sir Robert Cotton, KCMG: Communications and Publicity
Mr. Geoffrey Cousins, Chairman, George Patterson Advertising
Sir Charles Court, AK, KCMG, OBE
Sir Robert Cutler, VC, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE
Mr. Peter Doyle, Chairman, Australian National Maritime Museum
Sir Llewellyn Edwards, AC, C/-Jones Lang Wootten
Mr. Brian Finn, Managing Director, IBM Australia Limited
Bridagier A.B. Garland, AM, National President, RSL of Australia
Mr. Patrick Geraghty, Seamen's Union of Australia
Mr. J.B. Gough, AO, Pacific Dunlop Limited
General Peter Gration, AC, OBE, Chief of Australian Defense
Forces
Mr. W.J. Hamel, General Motors-Holdens Automotive
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
(Participant List - Page 2)
Mr. I.R.L. Harper, AM, Senior Corporate Partner, Allen Allen
and Hemsley
Mr. Paul Kelly, Editor in Chief, the Australian Newspaper
Mr. J.A. Landels, AO, C/-Caltex Australia Limited
Mr. Philip Lincoln, Jr., Consul General, American Consulate
General in Sydney
Mr. Eamon J. Lindsay, RFD, MP, President, Australian-American
Parliamentary Committee
The Lord Mayor of Darwin, Alderman Alann Markham
The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor, Concillor Richard Meldrum
Commodore J.L.W. (Red) Merson, National President, Naval
Association of Australia
The Lord Mayor, Alderman Tony Mooney; Townsville, Queensland
Mr. Brian Nebenzahl, Managing Director, Play Pty Limited
Sir Arvi Parbo, Chairman, Chairman, Western Mining Corporation
Mr. J.B. Prescott, Managing Director, the Broken Hill
Proprietary Company Limited
Mr. Roger Pysde, Borai Limited, President of the
Australian-American Association for NSW: Community Liaison
Rear Admiral Neil Ralph, A, DSO
Lady Janet Ramsay, Widow of Sir James Ramsey, Former Governor
of Queensland
Rear Admiral Andrew Robertson, AO, DSC, RAN (Rtd)
Mr. Frederick Ross, President, Merchant Service Guild of
Australia
Mr. J.S. Rowe, AM, Managing Director, Sydney Convention &
Visitors Bureau; Tourism Liaison
The Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney, Alderman Frank Sartor
Mr. William Small, Senior Partner, Price Waterhouse
The Lord Mayor Brisbane, Alderman James (Jim) Soorley, Lord
Mayor's Office
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
(Participant List - Page 3)
Mr. Kerry Stokes, Goldern West Network
Mr. Robert Sullivan, Federal President, Australian-American
Association Limited
Mr. J.A. Uhrig, AO, Chairman, CRA Limited
Mr. Richard Warburton, Managing Director, Depont (Australia)
Limited
Sir Bruce Watson, Chairman, MIM Holdings Limited
Mr. D.R. Wills, Chairman and Managing Director, Coca-Cola
Amatil Limited
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN TITLES:
AC
Companion of the Order of Australia
AK Knight of the Order of Australia
AM Member of the Order of Australia
AO Officer of the Order of Australia
CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire
DSC Distinguished Service Cross
KCMG
Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and
St. George
KCVO Knight Commander of the Royal Victorial Order
MP
Member of Parliament
OBE Officer of the Order of the British Empire
RAN Royal Australian Navy
RFD Reserve Force Decoration
RSL Returned Services League
Rt. Hon. Right Honorable
VC Victoria Cross
UNCLASSIFIED
10. 31. 91 02:25 PM
PO2
O
ffice
of the
United States Department of State
H
istorian
Bureau of Public Affairs
HIGHLIGHTS IN RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES AND AUSTRALIA, 1792-1989
1792: The merchant ship Philadelphia was the first American
ship to call at Port Jackson in New South Wales.
May 20, 1836: James H. Williams of Boston was appointed the
first American Consul at Sydney. He served until 1858.
August 20-September 18, 1908: The U.S. Navy's "Great white
Fleet" received an enthusiastic welcome when it visited Australia
during its round-the-world cruise.
May 27-30, 1918: Prime Minister William M. Hughes met with
President Woodrow Wilson in Washington en route to wartime meetings
in London. Hughes was the first Australian Prime Minister to visit
the United States.
July 4, 1918: The first U.S.-Australian military cooperation
took place when elements of the U.S. 33rd Division joined Australian
troops in the capture of Le Hamel, France.
September 1918: Trade Commissioner Mark Sheldon became
Australia's first official representative in the United States.
July 9, 1935: Prime Minister John A. Lyons met with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt during a visit to the United States. They
discussed prospects for reducing trade barriers.
January 8, 1940: The United States and Australia announced the
establishment of diplomatic relations. Australian Minister Richard
G. Casey presented his credentials on March 5, and U.S. Minister
Clarence E. Gauss did BO on July 17.
December 22, 1941: The first U.S. Army personnel arrived at
Brisbane. With most of its armed forces serving in the
Mediterranean, Australia was obliged to rely primarily on the United
States for its defense during the war in the Pacific. Nearly
500,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Australia during
World War II.
may 1942 Battled Corol sea
March 17, 1942: General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia
six days after leaving the Philippines. As Supreme Commander of the
Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), MacArthur maintained his headquarters
in Australia until October 1944. Australian General Sir Thomas
Blamey commanded SWPA's ground forces. U.S. and Australian forces
fought side by side in the Southwest Pacific, notably in New Guinea.
10. 31. 91
02:25 PM
P03
2
September 3, 1942: The United States and Great Britain signed
an agreement providing for Lend-Lease aid to Australia.
July 9, 1946: The United States and Australia raised their
Legations to the rank of Embassies. Australian Ambassador Norman J.
O. Makin presented his credentials on September 11; U.S. Ambassador
Robert Butler did so on September 25.
October 1950: Australian troops began serving with the British
Commonwealth Brigade in the Korean War. The last Australian
military personnel left the U.N. Command in Korea in August 1957.
September 1, 1951: The ANZUS security treaty between Australia,
New Zealand, and the United States was signed at San Francisco.
September 8, 1954: Australia was one of the signatories of the
Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty (SEATO).
March 9-14, 1957: John Foster Dulles became the first U.S.
Secretary of State to visit Australia when he attended a SEATO
ministerial meeting in Canberra.
February 25, 1960: The United States and Australia signed an
agreement establishing tracking stations used in manned space flight
programs.
not
May B. 1963: The United States and Australia signed and
notabe
agreement establishing a U.S. naval communications center
June 1965: The first Australian soldiers arrived in South
Vietnam. The last were withdrawn on March 1, 1972.
October 20-23, 1966: Lyndon B. Johnson became the first U.S.
President to visit Australia. In December 1967 he returned to
attend memorial services for Prime Minister Harold Holt.
July 27-29, 1976: Prime Minister J. Malcolm Fraser made the
first of several visits to the United States. He and President
Gerald Ford stressed the need for continued cooperation between the
ANZUS countries.
May 1, 1982: Vice President George Bush visited Australia to
commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty.
July 15, 1985: Secretary of State George P. Shultz and
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Bill Hayden issued a joint
statement in Canberra reaffirming the importance of the ANZUS Treaty
and expressing hopes for full cooperation between all its
signatories 1988-89 Australian alimated bricentenning of European settlement
June 24-27, 1989: Prime Minister Robert Hawke made his fifth
visit to Washington and met with President George Bush.
PA/HO 10/23/89
U.S.
funds for an imerica
Gallery at the wat.
Maritime Museum in
Tony
December 14, 1991
Michele,
Further information regarding Australia's participation in the
Vietnam War:
Three years before Australia and New Zealand combat troops were
committed to Vietnam in 1965, there was a small Australian
military presence comprised of volunteer regular ground forces
but no draftees. In 1964, the Australian government
reintroduced conscription by using a lottery system that made
nonvolunteers eligible to serve overseas. Once conscripts
started to go to Vietnam in 1966, public debate over
Australia's involvement in the war grew increasingly
contentious.
e
At its height of commitment, the Australian military prsence in
Southeast Asia reached 8,000. The costs in casualties were
high (there were 500 killed) and financial expenditure was
great (4 percent of Australia's GDP at the peak of Australia's
involvement; outlays now are around half that).
Brian Woo
EAP/ANZ
44
Australia at a Glance: A Chronology
45
1804 Hobart Town and Port Dalrymple penal settlements (united in
Australia at a Glance:
1812) are established in Van Diemen's Land, and the Aborigi-
nes are gradually wiped out.
A Chronology
1809-1821 Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales, establishes
the basis of the modern city of Sydney with the help of convict-
architect Francis Greenway (who earned his freedom through
his designs).
c. 28,000 BC First Aboriginal settlers reach Australia-perhaps when it
1813 Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson, and William Charles
was still connected to Asia.
Wentworth discover a route through the Blue Mountains, open-
c. AD 150 Claudius Ptolemy, Roman astronomer and geographer, hy-
ing the way for westward expansion.
pothesizes existence of a southern "Terra Incognita" (Un-
1823 New South Wales is named a Crown Colony.
known Land).
1824 Moreton Bay Penal Colony (Queensland) was established by
c. 1500 Following rediscovery of Ptolemy's Geography, "Terra Austra-
Governor Brisbane (for whom the site was later named) to in-
lis" (Southern Land) appears on some world maps.
carcerate the worst convicts from New South Wales.
1606 Willem Jansz of the Dutch East India Company touches New
1825 Van Diemen's Land becomes a separate colony; free settlers be-
Guinea and Australia (Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland), but
gin to arrive.
thinks they are a single land mass; the Spaniard Luis de Torres
sails through the strait between Australia and New Guinea,
1829 Western Australia is annexed and becomes Australia's first
now the Torres Strait, also without recognizing a new conti-
free colony, but later receives convicts to relieve labor short-
age.
nent.
1616-1619 En route to the Dutch colony at Batavia (Indonesia), Dirk
1835 John Batman and John Fawkner establish claims at Port Phillip
Hartog and Jan Houtman discover and explore the southwest-
(Victoria).
ern coast of Australia, then known as New Holland.
1836 Melbourne is laid out. South Australia is declared a separate
1642 Commissioned to explore New Holland by Anthony van
colony.
Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Abel Tas-
1839 Captain J. C. Wickham of HMS Beagle discovers a harbor on
man sails around Australia without sighting its coast. Instead,
the northern coast, which he names Port Darwin, after Charles
he discovers New Zealand and a land mass he names Van
Darwin.
Diemen's Land (now Tasmania).
1840 Last convicts are sent to New South Wales; free settlers arrive
1688 English pirate and adventurer, William Dampier, lands on the
in Queensland.
northwestern coast. He touches on this coast again in 1699;
Swift and Defoe make use of his accounts in Gulliver's Travels
1842 Copper is found in South Australia.
and Robinson Crusoe.
1849 Last convicts are sent to Queensland.
1770 James Cook (1728-1778) anchors HMS Endeavour in Botany
1851 Victoria is proclaimed a colony; gold is discovered at Ophir in
Bay. He continues north along the coast for several weeks, nav-
New South Wales. Over the next decade 400,000 settlers flock
igating the Great Barrier Reef and completing the map of New
to New South Wales and Victoria for the Gold Rush.
Holland. Claiming the area for England, he calls it New South
1853 Last convicts are sent to Van Diemen's Land, renamed Tasma-
Wales.
nia in 1856.
1779 Joseph Banks, who accompanied Cook on the Endeavor, recom-
mends to the House of Commons the establishment of a penal
1854 Miners' rebellion erupts over licensing fees at the Eureka
colony at Botany Bay.
Stockade near Ballarat (Victoria).
1788 Captain Arthur Phillip lands the first fleet of convicts at Bota-
1859 Queensland is proclaimed a separate colony.
ny Bay, but finds Banks's account of its salubrious climate to be
1868 Last convicts are transported to Western Australia.
exaggerated. Nonetheless, he formally takes possession of
eastern Australia as the colony of New South Wales and lays
1869 Darwin (Northern Territory) is surveyed.
out a village to be named Sydney, after Viscount Sydney, the
1873 Ayers Rock, the world's largest monolithic rock, is sighted by
British Home Secretary.
William Gosse in central Australia and named after the gover-
1796 Spanish Merino sheep, with their highly prized wool, are intro-
nor of South Australia.
duced.
1880 Bushranger Ned Kelly, a notorious highwayman, is captured
1798 Matthew Flinders and George Bass discover that Van Diemen's
in a shootout at Glenrowan, Victoria. He is hanged and be-
Land is an island; New South Wales claims it for Britain.
comes a folk hero.
1803 Risdon Cove settlement is established in Van Diemen's Land;
1892-3 Gold is discovered at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie (Western Aus-
settlement at Port Phillip (now Melbourne) is attempted.
tralia).
Portraits of Australia
46
47
1901 Federal Commonwealth of Australia is established; Melbourne
Bush Pubs: A Window
becomes provisional capital.
1911 Australian Capital Territory is ceded from New South Wales;
onto the Outback
Walter Burley Griffin of Chicago wins competition to design
new capital city of Canberra.
1914 Australia enters World War I and experiences heavy losses in
the Gallipoli campaign (1915).
by Tony Horwitz
never miss a pub," Bill Gillholey says by way of intro-
1920-32 Sydney Harbour Bridge is built.
Tony Horwitz is
duction. "No chance." I am in the Northern Territory,
1927 First Federal Parliament meets in Canberra.
an American who
on a motorized pub crawl from Tennant Creek to
quit his job as a
Wauchope to Tea Tree to Alice. Each settlement a pub, each
1929 Railroad reaches the town of Alice Springs (Northern Terri-
journalist in
pub a snort or two of blue [Foster's beer]. Then back on the
tory).
Sydney to
road, like two men in a canoe, weaving down a river of beer.
1939 Australia enters World War II; Darwin is severely bombed by
hitchhike through
"Europe, it has the culture," Bill says, holding the steering
the Japanese in 1941-42.
the Australian
wheel in one hand and spilling a beer with the other. "Aus-
1950 Australia enters the Korean War.
outback. In this
tralia, Australia it has the pubs."
extract from One
1966 First contingent of Australian troops arrives in Vietnam.
for the Road, a
Bill left his native Hungary after the Communist takeover
1967 Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming off
book he wrote
in the 1950s. He opposed the new regime and couldn't find
Victorian coast and is believed drowned.
about his
work as a mining engineer. Bill hasn't found engineering
1974 Cyclone Tracy destroys most of Darwin.
experiences,
work in the Territory either, but he's stayed, laboring as a
Horwitz describes
handyman on outback stations and moonlighting as a pub
1975 Governor General Sir John Kerr, the Queen's representative in
Canberra, summarily dismisses Prime Minister Gough Whit-
the journey to
crawler of Olympian dimension. He even adopted the sur-
Alice Springs in
name of an Irishman he met over a green can somewhere in
lam, provoking a constitutional crisis.
the red heart of
Darwin. At the Top End, it seems, beer helps cement the
1978 Northern Territory becomes self-governing.
Australia.
ethnic mosaic together.
1986 Australia Act ends power of the United Kingdom to affect Aus-
Beer is also the lifeblood of the Territory's road traffic.
tralian law.
There is one central artery, the Stuart Highway, running
1988 Australia celebrates its bicentennial.
from Darwin to the South Australian border. Smaller ves-
1990 Prime Minister Bob Hawke wins fourth electoral victory for
sels feed into it all along the way, carrying goods and traffic
the Labour Party.
from the body corporal into the greater flow. It is at the
junctions that the roadhouses appear to pump and prime
the system with gas and beer.
There is nowhere else to stop along the hot dusty drive
down "The Track," as Territorians call the Stuart High-
way. So the same faces appear at every pub. Travelers
drink and nod at one another, then move in a convoy to the
next hotel. By Alice Springs, I will know everybody at the
bar.
If I don't lose consciousness. Pub crawling with Bill makes
me realize how much I still have to learn about Australian-
style drinking. Americans don't necessarily drink less but
they do drink differently. A beer or two after work. Cock-
tails before dinner. Maybe a blow-out at the weekend. Like
everything else in the United States, drinking is done at
prescribed times, for a prescribed purpose. And there are
still "dry counties" in the Bible Belt where drinking isn't
done in public, at least not legally. Elsewhere, there is a
growing rebellion against anything caloric or intoxicating:
"lite beer" and diet cola are the products of a lingering Puri-
tanical strain.
48
Bush Pubs: A Window onto the Outback
49
Portraits of Australia I discovered, this toehold of discipline specific
Now it's the road traffic that must be resupplied. Not that
In Australia, Drinking soon is done at all times, for no no wor-
anyone will emerge from the pub to pump fuel.
doesn't exist. Down a drink at an 11 AM press conference, and head straight
"I have a rule-never go out to serve petrol," says the pub-
purpose. back bottle of wine at lunch it's there.
lican, Lance Pietsch. "If you've got some competition, then
ries. Knock work. Drain a the hotel minibar, just because else it is
you have to do something. But Barrow Creek? If they don't
back Don't to let a little grog get in the way of whatever
fill up here they're stuffed. And if I don't come out, they
come in. Then I've got them drinking beer, buying pies and
you're doing. I drank and learned and drank without some more. bot- I
T-shirts. That's where I make my quid."
So for a year bad form to make a social visit it's a your
It is the first clue to Pietsch's proprietary thinking. The
learned that still it's more gauche to leave the pub before to the pub
second is a photograph of himself hung crooked behind the
tle in hand; a round. I even accustomed myself opener"
bar. Pietsch is a big-shouldered bloke with the broad chest
turn to the shout corner from my Sydney home, an beer "early before their
and thick arms of a butcher. But no harm in making himself
around where the dockworkers gather for a quick
even more picturesque by turning the portrait askew.
shift begins. At 6:30 in the morning.
"I hang everything crooked," he says. "Gives the place
is graduate education. Bars can be crowded between
character."
The Territory any my day of the week. The distinction And as
at any bar, hour, saloon, and lounge dissolves the altogether. atmosphere be-
T
he entire establishment is an essay in calculated
kitsch. There's a pet kangaroo hopping around behind
public become more isolated, feature.
the bar, an emu somewhere out the back. And the
the roadhouses bizarre. Aviaries and ZOOS are a common about out-
walls at Barrow Creek make the artwork I've seen in
comes more the wildlife is just a camel or emu milling as well. Other
Queensland pubs look like cave paintings. Nude photos and
Usually sometimes the animals wander inside settlement at
rude bumper stickers are the main adornment. Then
side, but host special events. The tiny cricket match
roadhouses for instance, holds an annual of
there's a row of tattered stationmasters' hats hung like
Wauchope, world. The home team has an advantage, challengers
headstones in a medieval cathedral: Telecom Tom, Shim
Ree, Tossa Reidy. Each man remembered by his hat, and
against course; Wauchope's the SO remote that it's difficult for
by a short epitaph.
to field a team.
B the key schooner, to or a pot; it's "a handle." yourself be-
ut it is of outback roadhouses. Again, etymology glass of
the heroic drinking that is the distinguishing is
"Been there-done that," says the writing beneath Tossa
Reidy's crumpled hat. "Has a very short fuse and prolific
swearer."
feature Territory thinking. A ten-ounce Apparently,
And beside Telecom Tom's: "Just passing through, 1952.
beer isn't a is what's needed to get a handle on to take away a
Been here ever since."
ten ounces to the road. Just don't forget next hotel.
fore six-pack returning of blue tubes to hold you until the
And he still is, a crinkled, khaki-clad figure perched atop a
bar stool marked by a plaque that says: "Reserved for Bar-
is just for back-up," Bill explains, emptying Wauchope
row Creek superannuated citizens." In a community of
"The esky, Foster's it into his cooler outside the pub. No
fourteen people, he is the only one.
roadhouse. carton of "Even if I'm loaded up, I never miss a
Tom once took part in a dingo cull. He was paid by the num-
ber of ears he turned in as proof of having killed the wild
chance." particular. South of Wauchope, in the middle road sign of
dogs. Tom put a few ears on top and filled the rest of the bag
One pub in sun-bleached desert, there is a "Barrow
with dried apricots. "No one ever bothered to look too
sandblasted, painted on the trailer of a capsized road train:
close," he says with an impish grin. "The smell's too revolt-
ing."
Creek Hotel-21% km."
appears two tinnies [beers] farther plain on doesn collec
The hotel's pièce de résistance is a tapestry of dollar notes
The pub that but outback pubs rarely do; blocks. a The real
hanging on a wall behind the bar. It's called the "bush
look like much, and timber, piled onto concrete windmill and
bank," and there are smaller branches at several other Ter-
tion of iron Creek consists of a few houses, a station for the
ritory pubs. Drinkers can plan their financial future by
of Barrow that housed a repeater built be
signing a note-$2, $10, even $100-and pinning it to the
old building Telegraph. once When the telegraph was Morse code
wall. Then, when passing through at a later date, drinkers
Overland and Darwin in the 1870s, So outpost
can simply make a withdrawal by reclaiming their note, and
tween Adelaide than 200 miles at a time. the dots
keep on drinking. Foreign currencies are also accepted.
couldn't such as Barrow leap more Creek were set up to keep
dashes moving along.
50
Portraits of Australia
Bush Pubs: A Window onto the Outback
51
The bush bank is obviously a liquid investment, but not a
pector at Cloncurry) and carry its wealth with me back to
foolproof way of saving money. Most of the depositors are
the city.
station hands or oil workers who return to Barrow Creek
infrequently, if at all. When there is a run on the bank, the
Travel rarely pays out in that fashion, least of all in Austral-
money usually lasts about as long as chips at the roulette
ia. The civilization is too far-flung to allow for many genera-
table. "I've never seen a bloke claim his money without
lizations. And in the outback, home and work life is usually
spending it before going out the door," Pietsch says. "The
sealed away from view, way off in the scrub.
house always wins."
The lonely roadhouse offers a window into this remote soci-
Sometimes the drinkers don't make it out the door either;
ety. And peering blearily through it, I see an irreverence
they collapse on the wooden floor instead. One binge during
and whimsy that intrigue me: if not the real Australia, at
an annual horse race went on for five days. "Blokes just fell
Sydney. least something more exotic than the international gloss of
off their stools, woke up and started drinking again." Most
days, though, the hotel stays closed between about mid-
night and 7 AM. Eight of Barrow Creek's fourteen inhabitants
work at the pub, filling beer glasses or making beds. The dead
of night is their only break between shifts.
"But if a bloke needs a beer real bad at 4 AM, he'd probably get
served," Pietsch says. "Bush rules."
After all, it's about 60 miles to the next pub. Only a heartless
publican would exile a man into that much desert empty-
handed.
Barrow Creek's isolation helps Pietsch escape another hazard
of his trade: the regular drinkers. Pietsch hates them. "In
South Australia they'd come in every day for six years and say
'How's it going, Lance?' They couldn't even remember being
carried out the door the night before."
t Barrow Creek, the only face he sees on a regular
A
basis is Telecom Tom's. Almost everyone else is
passing through. Myself included. I deposit a two-
dollar note at the bush bank, just in case, and head out into
the desert with Bill again.
"Europe, only Europe, you find a Prado, a Uffizi, a Jeu de
swallow of beer. "But tell me. Where in Europe you find a
Paume," Bill says, becoming more grandiose with every
Barrow Creek Hotel?" He puts his tinnie between his legs,
presses the tips of his thumb and forefinger together and
kisses them. "Nowhere." For Bill, Barrow Creek is the
Louvre of outback pubs.
It is in a beer daze somewhere south of Barrow Creek that
the scattered images start coming together. Tattersall's
Hotel at the border of New South Wales and Queensland.
The Blue Heeler Hotel in Kynuna. And now the pictur-
esque watering holes of the Northern Territory. They are
kin to one another, but kin to nothing else I've ever seen.
At first I regarded these pubs as eccentric outposts on the
way to the Main Event. Somewhere "out there," I subcon the
sciously supposed, a scene or character would bound off
horizon screaming "This is it, mate! Fair dinkum Austral
ia!" I would stumble across the gem (like the mythical pros
52
The Great Barrier Reef
53
The Great Barrier Reef
cate, lacking the stony outer walls commonly associated
with hard corals. They live only in areas of free-flowing
water-particularly on the outer Reef edge-for, unlike
hard corals that have tentacles, they must rely on water
ven from an airplane, the Great Barrier Reef is an
movement to bring them the plankton they need for food.
by Sharon Cohen
E
amazing sight. Fringed by brilliant turquoise and sea
They are also most likely to be found at lower depths, some-
times as much as 46 meters (150 feet) down.
Sharon Cohen is
green, tiny islands and coral cays lie scattered along
a travel and
the ocean like a broken string of pearls. In the north, the
It's hard corals that are responsible for the architecture of
natural history
necklace is clustered tightly; in the south, the pearls are
the Reef. When hard coral dies, its skeletal residue fuses
writer, and the
flung haphazardly. Astronauts looking down upon the plan- it
with existing sand grains and other debris to form a lime-
author of The
et from outer space can readily identify the Reef, as
stone structure, no more alive than a human fingernail. The
Outdoor
sprawls over 200,000 square kilometers (80,000 square
skeleton is created with the assistance of an algae (zooxan-
Traveler's Guide,
miles) of the South Pacific.
thellae) that lives within the coral's cells, secreting calcium
Australia.
as a natural by-product of photosynthesis (that's why the
On the ground you can see even more, for at low tide, water
coral needs sunlight). One coral polyp on its own could do
levels drop as much as 3 meters (10 feet), revealing a multi-
very little to build a reef, but in combination with thou-
tude of invertebrate life. With a sturdy pair of walking
shoes and perhaps a tall stick (for balance, not prodding),
sands of other polyps, dividing and multiplying as they
grow, a giant skeleton is amassed in the shallow water. At
you can walk along the clean white sand at the sea's edge,
first glance, a large coral head looks like a moon boulder,
peering into pellucid shallows lit by a direct stream of tropi-
barren of all life, but upon closer inspection, a diver can see
cal sun. But to see the Reef in all its glory, you must go un-
thousands of tiny coral polyps, tentacles withdrawn, lining
derwater (either snorkeling or scuba diving), where you
the whole surface.
will encounter an astonishing variety of forms, colors, and
textures, continually alive with shifting shadows, darting
T
hrough simple cellular division, a coral extends itself
fish, and langorously swaying tentacles, fronds, whips, and
and its limestone structure. There is a second type of
grasses. The blue water is marvelously unpolluted and
reproduction as well, which intersperses species
clear, and it's rarely more than 60 meters (200 feet) deep— of
throughout the area, creating the reefscape's dizzying va-
which is the secret of its success, for coral requires plenty
riety of shapes and colors. One night every November just
following the full moon, when the water temperature is
sunlight to thrive.
perfect and the tides are high, almost every coral on the
It may overwhelm the imagination to realize that this huge,
Reef "gives birth" within hours of each other. It's the most
rocky structure is alive-one giant conglomeration of liv-
extensive mass orgy in the world! Waters whirl with coral
ing organisms, extending over 1,932 kilometers (1,200
sperm and coral eggs trying to meet; tiny encasements al-
miles). It runs all the way from the northerly Torres Strait,
ready containing both add to the frenzied swim. The waters
which divides Australia from Papua New Guinea, down to
look like one of those souvenir plastic snow scenes you turn
the Capricorn Bunker Group east of Gladstone, tracing
upside down, as a blizzard of newly formed polyps drifts
along most of Queensland's long eastern coast, across the is.
down to the ocean bottom to anchor onto hard sub-
Tropic of Capricorn. Wrapping and fringing around
stances.
lands, or running like ribbons alongside large land masses,
the Reef changes daily as it continues to grow. Pocketed
In some areas of the Reef, particularly the outer edge,
boulders of intricate shapes and sizes are actually a calcare-
wave action is powerful, and that constant flow shapes the
ous skeleton secreted by the coral; yet within that curved
coral. Where currents are too strong, polyps cannot secure
and crenellated mass live millions of tiny coral polyps,
themselves to the ocean bottom, leaving "coral-free" zones
feeding and reproducing and protecting themselves against
-sandy patches of ocean floor often used by burrowing
their underwater enemies. Fish dart about in the caverns
crabs or passing nurse sharks. Yet no section of the Reef is
and crevices formed by the coral; sponges, algae, sea ur-
unoccupied-there is a continuous flow of life. The opaque
chins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, mollusks, clams, and dell-
tentacles of an anemone stretch out to clutch passing fish
cate anemones cling to its surface. It's an entire universe,
and inject their poisons, while an inch-long anemone fish,
with an architecture unlike anything we know on land.
naturally immune to this venom, darts in and out of the ten-
tacles. Wedged into the top of the coral, a giant clam opens
While thousands of different coral species live in the Recl
the colorful zigzag mouth of its shell ever so slightly, ex-
(with such metaphorical names as brain, staghorn, moon,
pecting food to come its way. Beneath an overhang of the
elkhorn, organ pipe, and table), there are basically two
Reef, a moray eel bobs its head back and forth, razor-sharp
kinds-hard and soft. Soft corals appear to be-more deli-
teeth bared, its thick body barely seen within the hidden
Portraits of Australia
54
The Great Barrier Rcef
55
recesses of the structure. Sections of the boulder seem to be
out by a giant wave or two. The ones we map are the survi-
furred by a microforest of colorful lilliputian Christmas
vors, those that managed to form during periods of calm.
trees, but as you approach they retreat at the sudden move-
Once cays are established, it is not long before teams of
ment: They are not plants but animals. Thousands of color-
birds land, depositing guano filled with fertile seeds from
ful sponges rhythmically suck in water, filter out any tasty
plants on other islands. Pausing to preen feathers, the
morsels, and flush out the rest. On the shallow ocean floor,
birds also shed the sticker seeds that have hitchhiked along
small conical-shape shells called cones or volutes encase
with them. These seeds take root in the sand and begin the
creatures with powerful poisons that can be fatal to humans
process of vegetation, and in a few years the cays are full of
who step on them or pick them up.
trees, as you can see on popular Heron and Green islands.
The birds-terns, boobies, herons, and gulls-continue to
The thousands of fish species that inhabit the Reef include
live on the coral islands, too. On Heron Island, the very
hussars, hawkfish, sweetlips, damselfish, surgeons, but-
pisonia trees that were given life by the black noddy terns
terfly fish, Maori wrasses, and soldier fish, flitting in and
also claim the birds' lives: When a noddy gets too close to
out of the coral labyrinth like luminescent flashes of hot
the pisonia's sticky fruit, its feathers become damaged and
neon. The fish almost seem to take on human personalities
it soon dies at the base of the tree its ancestors brought to
-the showy parrot fish and harlequin tuskfish, the big fat
the island.
potato cod, and the magnificent but venomous lion fish.
Like devoted servants, tiny cleaner shrimp work at remov-
Herons are found along the Reef's edge during low tide,
ing parasites (their favorite food) from these larger fish.
when a good deal of it is exposed. Herons also time their ar-
Eagle rays arch their giant wings in unison, moving with
rival on the beach to the hatching of sea turtles' eggs-a de-
amazing grace, and with one powerful flap, disappear into
lectable treat, indeed! As the baby sea turtles hatch, they
the dimensionless blue.
crawl out of their buried nest in the sand and, if they can
evade the predatory herons, gulls, and crabs, scamper into
Many divers expect the area to be filled with sharks, but, in
the sea. Little is known of the turtles' subsequent life, until
reality, sharks are shy, and humans are not their favorite
a surviving female returns 40 or 50 years later to lay her
food. Only a juvenile would be foolish enough to get close to
eggs on the same terra firma.
a human-or, perhaps, a very hungry tiger shark, drawn
Visitors are warned against disturbing the Reef in any way,
by a smell of blood.
for although it appears tough as rock, in truth it is a fragile
y far the biggest creatures near the Reef, humpback
ecosystem, easily injured. Just brushing alongside a huge
whales are regular visitors, lured by warm waters
coral head could kill hundreds of coral polyps, opening up an
perfect for their blubbery calves. Despite their large
entire section of the Reef to disease and destruction. Step-
size (and visibility), little is known about these creatures,
ping unwittingly on an anemone destroys not only the in-
for they stop here only during early September. Observa-
vertebrate, but also the home of its resident fish. To protect
tion has shown humpback whales to appear with infant
this awesome living organism from human abuse, the
calves near Hervey Bay, a southern section of the Reef,
Queensland government passed the Great Barrier Reef Ma-
which leads researchers to believe that their birthing area
rine Park Act in 1975, declaring 98% of the Reef a national
is not far away.
park. Thanks to this forethought, the Reef still stands as
The Great Barrier Reef is believed to be only 8,000 years
one of the greatest natural resources in the world, filled
old-a mere baby, when you consider that Australia sepa-
with what is, perhaps, the most incredible array of life
rated from Gondwanaland 50 million years ago. After the
found on this planet.
island continent drifted north to its current position, only
15 degrees south of the equator, warm waters from its new
neighbors, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, carried coral
polyps down the eastern and western coasts. The shallower
waters of the northeast, with their plentiful sunshine and
nutrients from Antarctica, proved to be prime breeding
grounds for coral. The growing reef formed a natural barri-
er against the surrounding sea, trapping drifting particles
and feeding its wildlife.
Over the centuries, pounding waves broke coral boulders
into fine sand, which in some areas built up into small sand
islands, or cays. Even today, cays are continually forming,
peaking above the surface of the ocean only to be flattened
SENT BY:U. S. INFO. SERVICE
11-12-91 ; 7:40AM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218:# 3
The founding of the Australia-United States Coral Sea
Commemorative Council arose out of Ambassador Sembler's desire
to assure that the 50th anniversary commemorations of the
Battle of the Coral Sea are effectively coordinated and given
the prominence they deserve. The Ambassador also wished to
draw to Australia as many American veterans and their families
as possible to participate in Coral Sea commemorations. The
Ambassador and Prime Minister Bob Hawke, who has responded to
Coral Sea commemoration plans with enthusiasm, are patrons of
the Council.
The other key figures in the formation of the Council are Sir
Eric Neal, Chairman of the Westpac Bank, and Vice Admiral
Michael Hudson. In a few weeks Sir Eric gathered 50 of
Australia's most influential citizens from every state and
territory and from organizations which had traditionally
sponsored annual Coral Sea commemorations for the first meeting
of the Council in Sydney on October 9, 1991.
The Council agreed at this first meeting to establish a
secretariat and appoint an executive director; to keep a master
calendar of all Coral Sea '92 events; to coordinate the
activities of the various organizations planning Coral Sea '92
events; to raise funds and to select projects for funding that
further the Council's objectives; and to provide liaison with
veterans groups and organizations in Australia and the United
States.
At its first meeting the Council also established policy
guidelines, raised 250,000 dollars A, set an initial budget
target of 2 million dollars A, and named chairmen for five
committees (Service and Veterans Liaison, Finance,
Liaison). Communications and Publicity, Community Liaison, and Tourism
It was agreed that the purpose of the Council's activities is
to strengthen and consolidate the Alliance. The Council sees
the cycle of 50th commemorations of 1942 events as an excellent
opportunity to educate Australians who have no memories of
World War II on the foundations and continuing importance of
the U.S. - Australian Alliance. It is the wish of the Council
to look to the future while commemorating the past and to pay
particular attention to involving younger Australian audiences
in the Council's messages and programs.
The centerpiece of the Council's support activity is the May
4-8, 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea, formally commemorated in
Australia every year since 1956. For older Australians Coral
Sea has become the major symbol of U.S.- Australian cooperation
in World War II,
The Council's calendar of events, however, begins with the
attack on Pearl Harbor and ends with the 50th anniversary of
the Battle of Milne Bay in August 1992. It is the Council's
view that the major events of 1942 (the attack on Pearl Harbor,
the Fall of Singapore, Prime Minister Curtin's historic speech
("Australia looks to America"), the Battle of the Coral Sea,
SENT BY:U. S. INFO. SERVICE :11-12-91 ; 7:41AM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218;# 4
the Battle of Midway, etc.) are inextricably linked and the
Council's wish that the full sweep of American-Australian
military cooperation in 1942 be commemorated, not just the
Battle of the Coral Sea.
USG contributions to the '92 Coral Sea commemorations will
include visits by a group of seven USN warships, a presidential
representative, and a proposed CODEL of congressional veterans
of World War II. The projected visit of U.S. warships does not
include a carrier or a battleship, which members of the Council
believe is essential if the 50th anniversary commemorations are
to have their maximum impact. This is an issue Council members
may raise with President Bush.
The Council has appointed Lindsay Hamilton, formerly a senior
executive with Westpac, as Executive Director of the Council's
secretariat. He is assisted by SBLT. John Renwick, seconded by
the Royal Australian Navy to assure effective liaison with the
RAN and to assist in the coordination of all programs.
The Council has approved funding of 160,000 dollars A to
develop a curriculum study unit with supporting videotape for
use in Australian (and selected American) secondary schools on
the defense of Australia in World War II, and is reviewing
other proposals for funding.
The officers of the Council are:
Sir Eric James Neal, A.C., Chairman of Westpac Bank, Chairman.
Vice Admiral Michael Hudson, A.C., recently retired Chief of
Naval Staff, Royal Australian Navy: Deputy Chairman and Service
and Veterans Liaison:
Board Group of Companies: Finance.
Richard Pratt, A.O., Joint Chairman and Managing Director Visy
Sir Robert Cotton, A.C., former Australian Ambassador to the
United States: Communications and Publicity.
Roger Pysden, President of the Australian-American Association
for New South Wales: Community Liaison.
John Scott Rowe, A.M., Managing Director Sydney Convention and
Visitors Bureau: Tourism Liaison.
Note on honorary titles: An A.C. is a "Companion of the Order
of Australia"; an A.O. is an "Officer of the Order of
Australia"; an A.M. is a "Member of the Order of Australia".
SENT BY:U. S. INFO. SERVICE
11-12-91 ; 7:39AM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218:# 1
United States Information Service
USIS
National Press Club Building
16 National Circuit
Barton, A.C.T. 2600
Tel. (06) 270 5872
(06) 270 5966
FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION
TO:
Michelle Nix
President Speech Writing Office
The White House
FAX: 0011-1-202-456-6218
FROM:
Lewis R. Luchs, Counselor R for Public Affairs
U.S. Information Service, Canberra
DATE:
December 10, 1991
SUBJECT:
Coral Sea and Australian Center for American
Studies
Here is the background material on the Coral Sea Council and
phone. the new Australian Centre for American Studies we discussed by
NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDED COVER SHEET ( 31 )
SENT BY:U. S. INFO. SERVICE
11-12-91 ; 7:39AM ; CANBERRA AUSTRALIA-
001112024566218;# 2
MEMORANDUM
December 2, 1991
TO:
Ambassador Sembler
THRU:
Marilyn Meyers, DCM
FROM:
Lewis R. Luchs, CPAO
SUBJECT:
Background on the Founding and Mission of the
Australia-U.S. Coral Sea Commemorative Council
Attached is a draft briefing paper on the Coral Sea Council for
your review.
USIS:LRLUCHS:pv