Australia Day 2010

On 26^th January Tarneit Skies celebrated Australia Day.

At about 11:00 am many groups, like the one below could be seen making their way to the Community Centre.



We started with appetisers and drinks and plenty of talk as you can see, and hear in the video below (you might need to turn down the sound of your computer).



Meticulous effort had gone into setting up the dining room.




Residents were seated and many investigated the contents of their show bags which included: a Tarneit Skies pen, words to the National Anthem, some Australian humour cartoons, quizzes, recipes, puzzles, definitions of Aussie terms, a bookmark, calendar, reminder dates and useful local phone numbers.



At the end of the video above, you can probably hear Pat Hickey, the organiser of the day, getting people's attention, after which he welcomed residents and described how the day would proceed ...



... which was followed by the National Anthem.



After the entrees were served and consumed ...



... the gumboot and thong throwing competition began.

Some residents had difficulty finding the range ...



... some were very close ...



... one (Jackie) had an original throwing style ...



... and two hit the target (although I only succeeded in recording one successful attempt) ...



... and the achievement of the winners (John and Max) was publicly recognised by Pat.


The main meals (Beef Wellington and Lamb) were served and eaten with relish.



After desert Liz Holtrop thanked Pat for his efforts over many months in organising the day ...



... and many door prizes were awarded, including a BBQ set to Les Clark ...



... and the mystery prize to Liz Holtrop (what could possibly be in that big box?)



Eventually Liz found a jig saw puzzle piece - could the prize really be a one piece jig saw puzzle?



Of cause not. Max Crane (the village jig saw puzzler extraordinaire) unveiled the framed puzzle ...



... can you see the location of the missing piece in the photograph below?



Photographs of the event can be found at this link, or alternatively watch
the slide show below:



A personal reflection

Less than two months after Margaret and I entered the Village, Pat run the 2008 Australia Day celebration. Margaret and I were blown away with the quality of the event. Before leaving for the 2010 celebration, I looked back on my pictures and write up of 2008 which can be found here and here.

As the 2010 event progressed I noticed some interesting comparisons with 2008.

As you can see from the video below the Gumboot and Thong throw occurred in the "Dining Room" which wasn't complete. It is also clear that the "Bar Guys'" brilliant idea was months in the future.



Both events involved "firsts" for the Village. The 2008 Australia Day was the first function that we held in the Community Centre, and the 2010 event included the first meal that was cooked in the community Centre kitchen.

Although there were differences between the events there was one great similarity, the attention to detail and brilliant organisation of Pat Hickey!