ECHOES of the past have been audible throughout the Hunter this week. Commemorations of both 80 years since the Japanese submarine attack on Newcastle and 15 years since the storm that sent the Pasha Bulker onto Nobbys beach have been widespread.
These formative moments in the city's history deserve reflection, particularly in times that are perhaps not so different from those that produced these iconic experiences. With conflict raging on in Ukraine and unfriendly interactions with Chinese aircraft, the days of war are perhaps more familiar to most of us here than they have been in the past. At the same time, huge rainfall in recent months likely recalls for some the torrid storms that led to a freighter on the sand.
What makes these moments in our past so memorable are the people who stepped to the fore to ensure that our future would take a more desirable path. The crews who worked tirelessly as the rain and wind buffeted the region in 2007, and those who manned the defences when war threatened our doorstep. Many of us have more peaceful or personal memories of the Pasha Bulker storm than those who marched into the teeth of it to help those who couldn't help themselves as the water kept rising. As in the aftermath of the 1989 earthquake, the efforts to rebuild and repair are almost as vivid as anything else that happened.
The recent high winds offered a reminder that this spirit, the fabric of our region's resilience and endurance, has not faded. State Emergency Service crews were where they were needed as hundreds of distress calls blew in. Likewise, the disastrous bushfires that left the summer before COVID's arrival a hazy memory flicker in the shadows of those who fought them and prevented untold destruction. Certainly our front-line staff who braved the pandemic that left many of us constrained within our homes were acting in that same spirit.
Disasters bring such acts to the fore, but they persist every day. The heroism of medical workers is that they continued their life-saving work even when a pandemic changed every element around them. On the best of days, they still meet people in the worst of moments and try to make them at least a little bit better. If there is one thing this week of commemoration should inspire us to remember, it is that we are all better off for those who step forward when the rest of us need them. Let that message echo on.
