IN 1953, I sat up in bed listening to the radio broadcast of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II with my family. It was midnight, and I was 10 years old. Later we stood in the packed Theatre Royal in Hunter Street watching the event in full colour.
The following year the Queen and Prince Philip toured Australia. I was in the colour party holding up my school flag at Newcastle Showground, totally jealous of the captain of Newcastle Girls' High as she presented flowers to Her Majesty.
From 1966-68 I was in London. In July 1966, while working at the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch, I was lucky to join Lyons staff serving at Buckingham Palace garden parties.The mini was everywhere, but our black uniforms were mid-calf, with small white aprons and collar, black shoes and stockings and black pompoms in our hair. We carried a 'Byzantine' tray - huge and heavy. Our job was to distribute cups of tea and rolls, sandwiches and cakes to the guests. Before it started, we could wander the back gardens, taking in flowers, the flamingo pool and the Royal children's play caravan. A highlight was the Queen's tent where she would be served afternoon tea - not by us. Everything was solid gold: plates, cutlery, condiments etc - even the teaspoons were heavy! For the guests (and us) the ablutions block comprised a large white tent with white flushing toilets, ceramic basins, and mirrored dressing tables and seats. We started at 11am, entering the palace ground through 'the electricians' gate. I still have my pass. In 1967 I married one of the Queen's Horse Guards and lived in a flat in their Barracks across from the palace. It was special receiving an invitation to the Trooping of the Colour and the Queen's Birthday Parade. I visited my husband mounted and on duty, no speaking, in Whitehall and at Windsor Castle. It was a pleasant walk to work at The Royal Bank of Scotland, in Trafalgar Square, except in winter. One morning an open carriage with the Queen and the King of Jordan swung around the bank on its way to the palace.
I returned to Australia and was living in Tighes Hill when the Queen again visited Newcastle. Local mums and kids gathered on Industrial Drive to wave as the royal car whizzed past. The children were disappointed it was over so quickly, so, strollers in the boot we all piled into a taxi, one of the mums, and went to Horseshoe Beach to watch the royal party leave on the Royal Britannia. Cars on both sides of the harbour shone their headlights on the boat as it left Newcastle Harbour in the gathering twilight.
Susanne Leask, Belmont
Referendum a big challenge
KLAAS Woldring would like various reforms and updates in Australia's antiquated Constitution of 1901 ('Republican movement needs a rebrand', Herald, 21/9). Unfortunately, Australians have a complacent attitude: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Most of us don't know and don't care that our method of government is broken. Most of us just want to be left alone to get on with our lives.
If King Charles III politicises his reign by expressing personal opinions, as he did when he was Prince of Wales, he may convince Australians that we need to establish an independent Australian republic. But this shouldn't be a US-style republic, providing an opportunity for an inept, narcissistic, rich, loud-mouthed, nepotistic and lying president to exercise inordinate power and trash good government. Nor should an Australian republic be of the 2005 referendum type, in which the president is not directly elected by voters.
Most Australians are unlikely to countenance political reforms such as replacing adversarial parliament with a collegiate parliament since this smacks of dictatorship and one party rule. In any case, such a reform would require a complete change in the 'win at all costs' culture amongst Australian politicians. It won't happen. Nor will any change to our voting system happen. Our two party preferred voting system for geographical seats in the lower house may encourage pork-barrelling. But the replacement of this with a hybrid system involving proportional voting, à la Western Europe or New Zealand, would have its own problems. If we want to remove pork-barrelling, it should be specifically outlawed. Then the law banning pork-barrelling should be enforced by Labor's much-vaunted anti-corruption commission and the courts. Most voters are also likely to shy away from introducing a 'Voice' for Indigenous Australians or any other downtrodden minority, whether or not such a voice is justified.
For their part, our politicians know that Australian referendums are notoriously unsuccessful and expensive. An unsuccessful referendum is a waste of taxpayer money. Five successful Constitutional referendums out of 44 in 121 years are not great odds. For any referendum on a change to Australia's Constitution to succeed it must pass both houses. Bipartisan political support and a successful PR campaign are essential.
The reforms that Woldring mentions are all laudable and are long overdue. But would these changes provide a constitutional lawyers' picnic? How much disinformation would be generated during referendums? Would most Australian voters be able to make informed choices?
Geoff Black, Caves Beach
Tragedies past, present, future
ONCE upon a time I thought the powers that be had prepared a safely maintained future for the world. As a child I vividly remember friends and relatives saying "we must never let war happen again". Sadly, that has not been the result and I want to remind people of the silent war that exists within religious organisations. News has again exposed one of the saddest cases of sexual abuse in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese by a revered (at the time) Catholic priest. There is no end in sight for a future without this conduct. I don't know (amongst many other suggestions of this type of grief) what Queen Elizabeth II could have done to prevent this behaviour. Humanity is not capable or ready to tackle the greatest atrocities and challenges of our time. At the end of my life, I envisage the world suffering horrendous situations unequalled in history. Julie Robinson's questions relating to the ultimate sacrifice for sufferers and their families of sexual abuse will never end in my lifetime, if ever. I attended two thirds of the royal commission and astonishingly the desired result has not been achieved.
Pat Garnet, Wickham
Science and dictation
CHING Ang ('We can't ignore urgency', Letters, 20/9), science is not a "dictate". Science is always debateable. It is politics, religion and the law that dictates, never science. I would request that you stop blaming bad weather around the world on climate change. That claim is simply not backed up by the climate evidence. None of the extreme weather that has occurred around the world in recent years is unprecedented nor is it occurring at any increased frequency when looked at over long time periods. Floods, droughts, fires, storms have all been worse in previous centuries. Australia going through a third La Nina in a row is unusual but it happened in the 20th century. There is no "climate crisis" or climate emergency, climate scientists never use that description.
Peter Devey, Merewether
SHORT TAKES
TO Don Fraser (Short Takes, 24/9), what a disrespectful letter to claim you didn't give the minute's silence a thought for the passing of our Queen and sovereign; and then to denigrate the day of mourning is simply un-Australian.
Bob Watson, Swansea
BROWSING through available jobs in the bay, there's a massive shortage of hospitality, tourism and cleaning staff. It's going to be another poo festival for tourists this season; two hour wait for dinner is not uncommon. The problem won't be fixed because there is nowhere to live even if people wanted to move here for work. Airbnb is to blame and it's an easy fix; tax Airbnb for vacant homes during the down season, then tax the company at 50 per cent of the turnover.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
IN regards to George St John's letter ('Insurance hit punishes drivers second time', Letters, 24/9), you could've disputed the fine you received and it would've been waived because you have had a clean record for 10 years. Unfortunately if you've already paid for it, they're rubbing their hands together.
Shane Dixon, Fletcher
SO, Wollongong wins the UCI World Road Racing Cycling Championships. An estimated audience of more than 200 million watched the second most popular sport in Europe behind only soccer. Over $94 million injected into the NSW economy. Crowds lining the route totalling hundreds of thousands during the event. And what has Newcastle got? Supercars - the benefits of which nobody truly knows.
Daryll Hadfield, Redhead
ACCORDING to reports, most Australians support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. I'm not surprised. The only way to get a majority on anything is to win over a lot of Coalition supporters, and we know why they support it - because the Voice will have no clout. It will merely give advice. It can be ignored by governments. So any Voice has to be made not only Dutton-proof today but future-Howard-proof as well. No, not by having a third house of parliament. The way to do it is to establish a separate voting roll so that Indigenous people can put their own Senators and MPs into the two existing houses. That doesn't require a referendum, and can be Dutton-and-Howard-proofed quite easily. Exactly this has applied in New Zealand since 1867. The sky over there has not yet fallen in.
Grant Agnew, Coopers Plains
COMMUNITY DIARY
HERITAGE of East Lake Macquarie (HELM) will host an official launch for the group's new website today, along with a presentation by Cavalcade of History and Fashion, from Sydney. Bookings for the event - which starts at 11.30am at Swansea RSL Club - are essential and can be made by emailing helm2281@gmail.com or calling Mara on 0438 665 019 or Lindy on 0421 968 512.
