Sydney
25 August 2002

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Inspirations: ‘Courage and strength’

By Damir Govorcin

Former Governor-General Sir William Deane will never forget the courage and strength of the families of the victims who died or were injured in the massacre at Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996.

Thirty-five men, women and children died, while another 20 were wounded in an event that shocked the nation.

Sir William went to Hobart to participate in a Mass to pray for the victims and their families, and had an opportunity to speak with relatives of many of those who had been killed.

“The strength of the families of the victims in their loss and shock was extra-ordinary,” he recalls.

“The awful events at Port Arthur had some important beneficial side effects.

“One was that the aftermath of the tragedy demonstrated the relevance of religion in the life of most ordinary Australians.

“Another was that it underlined the unity of our nation.” During his time as Governor-General (1996– 2001), Sir William was present to comfort the victims following many tragedies such as those at Port Arthur and Thredbo, the Childers backpacker hostel disaster and at Interlaken in Switzerland.

Extracts from 70 of the speeches made by Sir William during his time as Governor-General have been collected and published in a new book, Directions: A Vision for Australia.

He made Australia’s disadvantaged his priority during his term in office and worked tirelessly for meaningful reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians.

During his acceptance speech for an honorary doctorate at Queensland University of Technology in May 1999, he said: “When my appointment as Governor-General was announced, I indicated that my wife, Helen, and I hoped, during my period in office, to do what we could to further the cause of a just and lasting reconciliation between the Aboriginal people and the Australian nation, of which they form such an important part.

“There are, of course, many issues involved.

“There are matters of the spirit and of spiritual healing, which must be addressed if our country’s Aboriginal peoples are successfully to overcome the consequences of past dispossession and oppression.

“On the threshold of those matters is, of course, the basic requirement that our nation, as a whole, honestly and frankly acknowledges the now incontrovertible facts of our history.” During his tenure, Sir William strongly promoted multiculturalism in Australia, and called for the need to protect religious and cultural diversity.

“The challenge and the responsibility to ensure that religious and cultural diversity is a source of advantage, benefit and good rather than a cause of disharmony, conflict and evil lie close to the heart of the quest for happiness, fulfilment and survival of our kind,” he said.

“Clearly enough, both at the international level and on the domestic scene, the key to real success in relation to that challenge and responsibility lies in mutual and genuine understanding, tolerance and respect of and for different cultural and religious traditions, practices and beliefs.” In his final Australia Day speech in 2001, Sir William spoke about his Vision for Australia.

“Looking to the future, let me repeat the theme and vision for our country, which I have sought to convey in each of my Australia Day messages while I have been Governor-General,” he said.

“That theme is one of caring, of mutual respect and acceptance, of concern for true equality, dignity, opportunity and hope, for all Australians.

“And the vision is one of Australians walking together, talking together, caring together, working together, and achieving together.

“If we Australians can consciously adopt that theme, and hold fast to that vision, we can face all the challenges ahead with real confidence that we will meet them successfully and well.”

Directions: A Vision for Australia. (St Pauls Publications, Strathfield $19.95)