Last week‘s peace festival was quite a revelation. When I think of anything to do with peace I always think about long-haired hippies with hand-knitted beanies sitting around smoking odd vegetation . But the Tamar Valley peace festival was something else again. We happened to meet some of the committee, all women, any one of whom would’ve looked at home in a Liberal ladies luncheon. The person we spoke to most is called Jo Archer and she is a member of the first family of Launceston. The Archers were among the early settlers who were given large land grants, and free convict labour and turned that largesse into a substantial fortune. Their name is still recognised as being important in this area.
But back to Brendan Nelson. As I said he was very articulate and very interesting. Apart from the liberal ladies committee, most of the participants were your average Launceston group who turn up to everything. Brendan and his offsider, and the local liberal politicians were the only ones dressed in suits which is not surprising. Brendan’s suit, no doubt expensive, did him no favours. Modern suits don’t flatter the human figure: often the jackets are too short, trousers are too narrow in the leg and too short so I was not impressed with the way he was dressed. However, he is glossy and that’s what really matters if you’re a politician or the director of a museum seeking public monies.
He spoke about his life in Launceston, going to school at the local catholic school and convincing his mother that he needed to go to a better school if you wanted to get on in life. Even at 12 or 13 years old he decided that the best place for him to be educated was in a Jesuit school, Jesuits being well known for their intellectual rigour and demanding the most of their people. Whatever it was about, it seems to have worked and he went on to do well at university qualifying as a doctor and opening his first practice in Hobart. From here he became interested in the AMA, became president of that organisation and then moved on to politics. Later, he became ambassador to Belgium and the Netherlands. Later he found himself out of a job and became director of the War Museum in Canberra.
He was at pains to say that this was not a sinecure for, in fact, like anybody else he had to apply for the job sit through an interview and then wait for the phone call or letter to arrive to let him know that he was successful. Of course, who knows what was going on behind-the-scenes. People like Brendan would not be out of work for long. There are plenty of cosy government jobs for those who have paid their dues in the various parties and Are now in need of some help.
I was interested to hear what he had to say about the museum. In recent years. When I’ve thought about it, I suppose I’ve become a little concerned about the narrow focus of what the War Museum is commemorating. To me it seems there is too much focus on World War one, especially of the Anzac campaign. Of course I understand that this year is the hundredth anniversary of the end of that war but this has been on my mind for much longer than just this year. It was good to hear Brendan Nelson talk about his wish to give more focus on Sir John Monash and the contribution he made to the battles in Northern France. I happen to have been reading a bit of the history of this time and Monash, who was Jewish, had a terrible time dealing with racism from influential people including Charles Bean who is credited with starting the War Memorial in Canberra and Keith Murdoch who was a respected war correspondent.
Monash was highly rated by other generals from other countries, even the Americans who are very reluctant to pass credit on to other people. However, the tactics he developed in the use of tanks were replicated by the Americans even during the Second World War so he’s a man worth celebrating.
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