GIRT BY SEA

In the Australian national anthem “Advance Australia Fair,” the phrase “girt by sea” refers to Australia’s geographical location as an island nation surrounded by water. The line emphasizes Australia’s unique position as a continent and an island, highlighting its natural beauty and maritime identity. This phrase evokes a sense of pride in the country’s landscape and environment.

I’m lucky enough to have spent a lot of my life in, on or beside the sea. Much of my early childhood was spent at Sorrento on the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. I still regard this area as my spiritual home. On one side of the peninsula is the relatively sheltered waters of Port Phillip whilst the other side forms the northern edge of Bass Strait which has a well earned reputation as a notorious waterway. 

How lucky we are as Australians to have these wild and beautiful places – still relatively close to major hubs of civilisation.

The sand dune areas with their hardy vegetation conditioned to relatively low rainfall and high winds provide an accessible wilderness close to home. There is no better place to shake off the burdens of modern city life. The harshness of the environment and the many different conditions that come with it creates an immediate connection for the visitor to the natural world. 

Whether I am on, in or by the sea, I lose my sense of confidence. I always feel small – insignificant – a minute part of the natural world. The security that comes with being a part of modern civilisation is removed which provides the opportunity to see us humans as being just a part of a greater universe. I’ve had a couple of close calls when I have been surfing and sailing so I have a heightened sense of respect for the power of the sea. Feeling humble in the presence of nature is an important element for human happiness.

My favourite animal is the dolphin. Since 2015, I have been lucky enough to be the custodian of a Tasmanian crayfishing vessel built in 1958 which has been restored to provide a vessel for ocean voyages. It’s always a special time on board when a pod of dolphins join us to play in the bow wave. As they dart back and forward, they roll and make eye contact with the human spectators looking at them over the bow. I always get the sense that they are saying “hello friend, come and play in our beautiful sea”.

Dolphins on the port bow
Refuge Cove - Victoria
Bathurst Channel – Tasmania

AN UNEXPECTED INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE – PART 2

Having had an introductory couple of weeks in Melbourne, our young indigenous visitors decided that they would stay in Melbourne for the rest of the year, play footy with the St Kilda City Junior Football Club under 16 team and attend a local school. There are not nay words in that statement but putting it all into practice was a significant but rewarding task.

The first issue was accommodating the young fellas. During the initial part of their stay, they were camped in the rumpus room at our place. This was okay for the short term but was not workable for an extended stay. Oscar, our eldest son was 15 at the time and in year 10 and our youngest son was about 3. There were no spare bedrooms. Rolling out mattresses each evening was becoming tedious as well as a lack of space for storage of clothing for the oncoming Melbourne winter. 

The generosity of the parents of the playing group at St Kilda City Junior Football Club was overwhelming. A message went round asking if any of the families would be prepared to host one of the young fellas for the remainder of the year. A number of families committed to doing so and a workable solution arose where there was a main host family and a couple of supporting host families who provided secondary accommodation when the main host family was unable to do so – or just for a change of situation for all concerned.

The funds to support the fellas and the host families came initially from the St Kilda City Junior Football Club Families and supporters. 

But this couldn’t continue for any length of time and so I decided to formalise the arrangements by establishing a charitable trust called the Kajji Foundation. With the structure of the Foundation in place, I was able to secure some funding from the federal government. But we still relied heavily on donations from families and friends which were now tax deductible.

The support from local schools could not have been bettered. I made contact with the headmaster of St Michael’s Grammar School where my son Oscar was a student. It took perhaps 10 or 15 minutes for me to explain the circumstances (pretty much as I have set out in these blogs) and for the headmaster to make a commitment to provide schooling free of charge to both Shane and Nathan. St Michael’s Grammar went above and beyond by appointing a teaching assistant to give the fellas a hand with some areas of their education where they needed some help to come up to the standard of their local schoolmates. The fellas were celebrated within the school and I think there was a genuine exchange of cultures. The natural sporting ability of the young fellas assisted their entry into school culture with Nathan winning the sprint races at the inter-school athletics carnival in bare feet on the famous Olympic Park track.

One of the art teachers at St Michael’s took particular interest in the young fellas who had no inclination towards painting at all. She had spent quite a bit of time with indigenous groups studying and learning their artistic techniques and used this knowledge in teaching her art classes. It took quite a bit of effort to engage the young fellas but the effort was worthwhile. By the end of the year she had extracted a first painting from each of Shane and Nathan which were gifted to me and remain on display at our home. See the photos accompanying this blog.

Following the first year at St Michael’s Grammar School, Shane and Nathan and subsequent students attended CBC St Kilda. The generosity of CBC St Kilda and the Catholic Education Office was equal to that provided by St Michael’s. CBC provided the more practical VCAL courses which were a more suitable academic and practical program for the available employment opportunities when the fellas returned to their homes in the Northern Territory. Skills and qualifications in carpentry and electrical work are always welcome in the NT.

All in all it was a formative experience for both the young fellas and the families involved. Looking after an indigenous young man from a remote community has its challenges but our family was far richer for the experience.

I almost forgot about the footy. It was a cracker of a year and one of the most memorable seasons of junior sport that I’ve been involved with. The young fellas brought a bit of magic to the team and to the South Metro under 16 competition in general. They play the AFL game in the expected indigenous style –  joyous, attacking, exciting and very watchable. There were far bigger than usual crowds at most of the games.  The St Kilda City under 16 team were the dominant team all year and won the premiership convincingly. 

Standby for the next instalment.