Gentlefolk,
This post describes our main activities during the month of August 2024.
The contents of this post are in the following sequence:
Photos of our activities during August 2024.
News items which caught my eye in August 2024.
The Paris Olympic Games
Highlights:
The big news from the USA this month was President Biden's decision to drop out of the Presidential election, in favour of Vice President Kamala Harris. Donald Trump was well ahead in the polls, but Biden's decision changed the momentum. But is America ready for a Black/Asian woman? We'll find out on the first Tuesday in November.
Our highlight of August was a visit to Perth/Fremantle in WA, to catch up with old friends. Perth is 3,100km by air from Canberra - the direct flight took 4 hours.
From Perth we flew to Sydney (again 4 hours) to celebrate Andrew's 47th birthday. Followed by my own 78th birthday.
Towards the end of August we did a quick trip to Eden and Merimbula with Tieke & Robin Brown.
On 29 August we were informed that the Pre-Settlement Inspection of our Villa at Halcyon Nirimba would take place on 24 September, with final Settlement about 2 weeks later. Suddenly our move from Canberra north to Queensland is imminent....
 |
| We stayed 5 nights in the Fremantle Port Mill Bed &Breakfast. The old Mill was completely refurbished and now comprises 5 townhouses, one of which has been converted into a B&B. It was a lovely setting, and very well located close to the centre of Fremantle. We chose to stay in Fremantle because it was relatively close to our friends. It is also an interesting city in it's own right which we enjoyed exploring. Captain Charles Fremantle raised the Union Jack here on 2 May 1829, The Swan River Colony was established as a free settlement when HMS Sulphur and HMS Parmelia arrived with 400 settlers a month later. After several difficult years, they petitioned the Govt to bring in convicts as a source of cheap labour. |
The main reason for our visit to Perth was to catch up with friends we hadn't seen for some time.
 |
| Alexandra (Alex) and Sean O'Shaughnessy. Sean and I were classmates at St Pat's Primary School in Cooma way back in the mid-1950s. We've kept in touch over all those years. We had a marvellous degustaion lunch at the Tonic & Ginger Restaurant, located in an old Synagogue. |
 |
| Alex & Vera. |
 |
| Sean & me; 70 years of friendship! |
 |
| Sean in typical pose. |
 |
| Cora & Graeme Stephens. We met them in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1981; Graeme was the manager of an American oil company and I was in the Australian Consulate. We became good friends. They went on to assignments in Indonesia, Malaysia and Colombia before retiring in Perth. |
 |
| Pauline Mau. We met Pauline and her then husband, Paul Barratt, 50 years ago in Canberra. We just missed a significant birthday. |
 |
| Pauline's son Tom Barratt, his wife Anna and son Oscar (12) came to dinner. |
 |
| Diane and Peter Murray, who we met in Jakarta 40 years ago. Peter was the National Bank representative and I was in the Trade Office of the Australian Embassy. |
 |
| We met Alison & Charles Szeligiewicz on the train from Fremantle to Perth and that night met for dinner. We quickly bonded with this lovely couple. |
 |
| The Fremantle Town/City Hall, an impressive building. |
 |
| Statue of John Curtin who represented Fremantle in the Federal Parliament in Canberra. He was the Prime Minister of Australia 1941-5., during the dark days of WW2 when Australia was under threat of Japanese invasion. |
 |
| St John's Anglican Church was consecrated in 1843, the first church in Fremantle. It is located in the centre of Fremantle, near the Town Hall. Nicely refurbished, it still has daily chuch services. |
 |
| The National Hotel in Fremantle is an iconic building, popular today. |
 |
| Sculptor Pietro Porcelli caught my eye - his work can be seen around Fremantle. |
 |
| The story of the Little Creatures Brewery started in Fremantle. It's now a big operation. |
 |
| We did a tour of Fremantle Prison, which served as a maximum security jail from 1887 to 1991. |
 |
| Fremantle Oval , home of Aussie Rules football. |
 |
| We visited the impressive Maritime Museum which features the boat which won the America's Cup. Also checked out the Shipwreck Museum. |
 |
| The entrance of Fremantle Railway Station. |
 |
| We did a tour of Perth's original Town Hall. |
 |
| Fremantle Markets opened in 1897, still going strong. |
 |
| Sean showed us the beach in South Fremantle where he swims 1.2km three times a week. |
From Perth to Sydney for Andrew's 47th birthday
 |
| To celebrate Andrew's birthday we went to a Teppanyaki Restaurant in Newtown. Good fun. |
 |
| Watched Jay play Netball with a school team. |
 |
| Niniek cutting Paul's hair. |
 |
| Andrew and Jay off on a bike around Queens Park, just down the road. |
 |
| Eddie heard that Tom Daley, a champion British diver likes knitting, so he taught himself by watching YouTube tutorials. |
 |
| Everyone loved watching the many Olympic sports on TV. The Men's 100 meter race was super-close with only a fraction of a second separating the Winner and the Second and Third Places. |
 |
| Vera with her "Little Boy". |
 |
| Lunch with some of my former colleagues in Austrade. From left: me, Brendan Dyson; Pat Stortz; Jim Enright; Les Boag; and our convener Geoff McKie. |
 |
| "Sing Book" Concert by John Shortis & Moya Simpson featured Athol Guy of Seekers fame. |
 |
| A special exhibition at the National Library of Australia focussed on immigration. |
 |
 |
| Poster used to attract migrants to Australia. |
 |
| This book told the migrant story. |
 |
| Dinner with John and Diane O'Hara. John's brother, Patrick, died recently. I worked with John in the Dept of Agriculture - he was an excellent colleague and friend. |
 |
| Professor James Curran from Sydney University spoke at the AIIA. His recent book is titled "Australia's China Odyssey - from euphoria to fear". He can't understand why the narrative (intelligence agencies and media) became so anti-China from about 2016; and he lamented our ever-growing reliance on America for security. In the front row: Philip Flood (former Secretary of DFAT); Professor Hugh White; and Gareth Evans (former Foreign Minister). |
 |
| Dinner with Nanik and Adrian Clynes. Nanik is Vera's aunt on her Balinese mother's side. |
 |
| Family celebration for my 78th birthday, with siblings Aniko and Angie (up from Narooma). Aniko is holding the "Brumbies" card from Hannah! Others: Britt with Tui and Lani, Adrienne and Michael, and Richard and Peter Carey. |
 |
| Britt with Tui and Lani. |
 |
| Michael, Richard and Peter (he's just back from shearing at Wee Jasper - 8,000 sheep this year). |
 |
| Guys & Dolls group dinner. From left: Vera, Sandy, Geoff, Paul, Marlene, Nadia, me, and Michael. |
 |
| Tomoko & John Scott, Christine & Logan Brill, and Vera & I. |
 |
| Australia Indonesia Association (AIA) Winter Dinner. Vera won 3 prizes in the raffle!!! |
 |
| Angela and Stuart Valentine visited from Hong Kong. Stuart and I were colleagues in the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1984 -5; he was in the political section, I was in the trade section. Stuart left diplomacy for a distinguished career in HK as a lawyer and company director. |
 |
| We did a quick trip to the Far South Coast with Tieke and Robin Brown. First night in Eden (drove there via Bombala and Cathcart), second night in Merimbula and then back via Cooma. Eden was one of the sites considered for the new Capital of Australia, but it was felt an inland location (such as Canberra, which was chosen) would be more secure. What a pity - opportuntiy missed - a planned city on the shores of Two Fold Bay would have been absolutely amazing! |
 |
| At the Seahorse Inn, Boyd Town near Eden. |
 |
| Tower built for Ben Boyd 1846-7. The stome mason was John Helmrich. An impressive structure, it is 23 metres high, built of sandstone from Pyrmont, Sydney which was shipped to nearby Boyd Town and then transported to site by bullock carts. It was used mainly for whale spotting after the NSW Govt refused permission to operate as a lighthouse. Ben Boyd (1800-51) was a colourful character. A stockbroker in London, he came to Sydney in 1842 and quickly became an important pastoralist and businessman; he was a big investor in the Eden region. Bankrupt in 1849 he left Australia; in 1851 he died in unexplained circumstances in the Solomon Islands. |
 |
| Whaling was an important industry in Eden for a century, until 1930. |
 |
| The Killer Whale Museum in Eden was fascinating. Did you know that Killer Whales would herd other species into Two Fold Bay, where the whalers would kill them? The Killer whales were then rewarded with the victim's tongue and lips. |
 |
| Eden'smost famous Killer Whale, Old Tom. A legend. |
 |
| The Pinnicles Loop Walking Track was fun. |
 |
| The Pinnicles, a striking rock formation. |
 |
| We went to (former) High's Camp Ground where we used to rent a cabin during the summer holidays when I was growing up. It is now up-market. We spent many happy hours/days on this beach and the nearby lagoon. |
 |
| Tathjra Wharf operated from 1862 to 1954. It has been renovated and now features a nice cafe/restaurant. |
 |
| We visited the dairy industry museum of Bega Cheese (founded 1899 and still going strong), a household name in Australia. |
 |
| The desolate tree-less landscape between Nimmitabel and Cooma. Was it always like this, or was the land cleared by farmers??? |
 |
| Cooma Park features flags of the major countries representing workers on the mighty Snowy Scheme. |
 |
| The house at 11 Gerelong Place, North Cooma, which we occupied from 1960 - 1974. |
 |
| I attended Monaro High School, Cooma North, 1959-63. |
......
 |
| Fascinating book on Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, which he re-named "X". There is no doubt that Musk is extraordinary and creative - witness his success with Tesla and SpaceX - but running a social media company is very different from running industrial concerns, as he found out. |
......
News items which caught my eye in August 2024.
($ are US
dollars unless otherwise shown)
|
Global
|
Venezuela: Anti-Madura demonstrations
following his election win. Prisoner swap: Russian detainees for
Westerners. UK: Right wing groups hold anti-immigration
rallies in many cities; 400+ arrested for violence. Bangladesh: Continuing anti-Govt
demonstrations; finally, long term PM Sheikh Hasina fled, interim govt. WTO: EU contributed 31%, USA and China 11.4%
each. WTO budget $205M (600 employees). Austria: Taylor Swift Vienna concerts
cancelled because of terrorist threat. Thailand: Court dissolved the reformist
Move Forward party and jailed leaders for 10 years. Indonesia: National Day (17 August) was
celebrated in the new capital Nusantara in East Kalimantan; Jokowi introduced
electoral changes which triggered big protests in Jakarta. Gold: new record price US$2,531 an oz. Paralympics started in Paris on 28/8. Germany: 350,000 people applied for
asylum in 2023. 1.2M Ukrainians accepted since 2022; A Syrian refugee killed
3 people in Solingen. Canada: announced 100% tariff on imports of Chinese
EVs, and 25% on steel and aluminium.
|
|
Israel – Hamas (Gaza) |
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed
in Tehran by airstrike; Iran threatened response, but calm. Israel killed a Hezbollah commander
in Lebanon; launcedh pre-emptive strikes against missile sites in Lebanon in
anticipation of Hezbollah’s response. Continuing IDF bombardments in
Gaza: now over 41,000 dead and100,000+ injured. WHO announced polio in Gaza, first
case in 25 years, due to poor sanitary conditions; IDF agreed to pauses to
allow WHO to vaccinate children.
|
|
Russian invasion of Ukraine |
Fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant. Ukraine sank a Russian submarine
in Crimea; drone attack damaged Russia’s Proletarsk Oil Storage facility.. Ukraine received first F16
fighters. Ukraine army occupied about 1,000
sq km of Russia’s Kursk Region; destroyed bridges to disrupt Russian supply
lines. Prime Minister Modi visited
Ukraine.
|
|
USA
|
Nov 2024 Election, 9 weeks to go: President Joe Biden stepped back; Kamala Harris chose Tim Walz, Gov of Minnesota, as her running mate; team endorsed by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Momentum swing to the Democrats, polls show Harris as ahead or close to Trump in 6 key swing States. RFK Jr withdrew from race and
urged supporters to back Trump. US inflation in July 2.9%; Fed Res
Chair Jerome Powell hinted at possible interest rate cuts. Concerns that USA economy is
slowing caused stock markets to tumble; but then recovered. Dow Jones Index
hit a record high 41,241 on 27 August. Google search assessed as
violating Anti-trust monopoly law. US Tennis Open started in NYC on
27 August. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) joined the
$1+Trillion club (with Apple, Nvidia, MS, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta).
|
|
Australia |
The price of iron ore, Australia’s
main export commodity, has fallen from $143 to $82 per ton this year
(reflecting slowdown in Chinese construction). Regional carrier Rex Airlines entered
receivership. Head of ASIO Mike Burgess raised
threat level to “probable”. Early Childhood workers granted
pay increase of 15% over 2 years. Alan Joyce, former Qantas CEO, to
receive payout of A$13M. Melbourne City Council voted to
ban for-hire electric scooters. Debate on restricting gambling
advertisements. Indonesian Defence Minister (soon
to be President) Prabowo visited Canberra to finalise the updated bilateral
Security Treaty. NSW Liberal Party missed the
deadline for nominations in some local Council elections to be held on 14
September. Australian Defence Force Academy
suspended all research collaboration with Chinese academics. The Country Liberal Party won a
landslide election in the Northern Territory, ending 8 years of Labor govt.
New Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro. The number of overseas students
has been capped at 270,000 in 2025. PM Albanese attended the Pacific Islands
Leaders meeting in Tonga; he announced the establishment of a training centre
for Pacific Island police in Brisbane. Supermarket giant Coles announced net
profit of $1.1B on sales of $44B.
|
......
Paris
Olympic Games, 26 July - 11August 2024
The 33rd
Olympiad
Final
Medal Count, top eleven countries ranked by Gold
|
Country |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total medals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
USA |
40 |
44 |
42 |
126 |
|
China |
40 |
27 |
24 |
91 |
|
Japan |
20 |
12 |
13 |
45 |
|
Australia |
18 |
19 |
16 |
53 |
|
France |
16 |
26 |
22 |
63 |
|
Netherlands |
15 |
7 |
12 |
34 |
|
Great Britain |
14 |
22 |
29 |
65 |
|
South Korea |
13 |
9 |
10 |
32 |
|
Italy |
12 |
13 |
15 |
40 |
|
Germany |
12 |
13 |
8 |
33 |
|
New Zealand |
10 |
7 |
3 |
20 |
31 new World Records were achieved during the Paris
Olympics, compared to 22 in Tokyo and 27 in Rio.
Actually, I believe that “Total Medals” is a better measure as
many results were incredibly close – sometimes only a fraction of a second
separated the top three competitors. On that basis, the USA was still #1 with
126 medals, and China still #2 with 91 medals, followed by GB with 65, France
with 63, and then Australia (53), Japan (45) and Netherlands (34).
Other ways to analyse results are based on GDP per medal, or
population per medal.
Australia was represented by 460 athletes and 540 support
staff. For a medium-sized country with a population of 26 million we did well,
coming 4th in Gold and 5th in Total Medals. This was our best result
ever: 18 Gold in Paris (2024, 17 Gold in Athens (2004), 17 Gold in Tokyo
(2020), 16 Gold in Sydney (2000), and 14 Gold in Beijing (2008).
13 of Australia’s 18 Gold Medals were won by women. Our Swimmers
contributed most medals: 7 Gold, 8 Silver, 3 Bronze.
New Zealand, a small population country, did very well indeed, ranked 11th by Gold.
Some
Australian Gold highlights:
Nina Kennedy (27) in pole vault.
Saya Sakakibara (24) in BMX.
Arisa Trew (14) in women’s park skateboarding.
Matt Wearne (28) in men’s dingy sailing.
Sisters Jess & Noemie Fox both gold in kayaking.
John Peers & Matt Ebden in Men’s tennis doubles.
Our contestant in break-dancing (‘breaking’), Rachael Gunn
(36, nickname ‘Raygun’) was criticised for not getting a single point in 3
bouts. She explained that she could not compete with younger competitors and so
tried a different approach, which the Judges apparently didn’t like.
I wondered if the Olympics had been superseded by all the
major sports having their own international competitions these days (such as
Soccer’s hugely popular World Cup) but actually I enjoyed the opportunity to
watch many different sports during the two weeks of competition. Sports I
wouldn’t normally see, such as wall climbing; hockey; skateboarding; beach volleyball; high jump; and Pole Vault.
The Men’s Marathon was won by Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia) in
2h6m26s (two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) dropped out at the
30km mark). The Women’s Marathon was won by Sifan Hassan (Nether lands) in
2h22m55s.
......
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
My 30 year career as an Australian Trade Commissioner gave me an interest in matters related to international trade. I subscribe to Bloomberg's excellent daily newsletter "Supply Lines" (former title 'Trade Matters').
......
When you’re 78, like me ….
People call at 8pm and ask “Did I wake you?”
My secrets are safe with friends because they can’t remember
them either.
My joints are more accurate than the BOM weather forecast.
Things I buy now won’t wear out.
I can live without sex, but not without my glasses!
The main topic of conversation is always about our latest
ailments.
We have a party, and the neighbours don’t even notice.
I sing along with musak.
My investment in health insurance is finally paying off.
......
What a difference 50 years make (1973 –
2023):
1973: Long hair
2023: Longing for hair
1973: Acid rock
2023: Acid reflux
1973: Moving to Nimbin because it's cool
2023: Moving to Nimbin because it's warm
1973: The Grateful Dead
2023: Dr. Kevorkian
1973: Going to a new, hip joint
2023: Receiving a new hip joint
1973: Rolling Stones
2023: Kidney Stones
1973: Passing the drivers' test
2023: Passing the vision test
......
That's it for this post.
The next few weeks will be spent organising our move to Queensland. Are we doing the right thing, at our age? Only time will tell. We will keep our apartment in Canberra just in case ....
Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.
Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra Australia
Saturday 31 August 2024
