In the news

The 6th February 2022 was the 70^th anniversary of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, being proclaimed Queen. She was a young married woman of 26 years of age, born in 1926.  March 6^th is not the date that she was crowned. The coronation would come later, 2^nd June 1953 in Westminster Abbey. Her first visit to Tasmania occurred in February 1954 when she was invited to open the Tasmanian Parliament. The Queen was accompanied by her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.

The Queen was the first child of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. She did not expect to become monarch so soon, if ever.  She was third in line, after her uncle, Edward, The Prince of Wales and her father, the Duke of York.  She and Philip married 20^th November 1947 at Westminster Abbey.  The Duke died 9^th April 2021, three months shy of his 100^th birthday. Who could forget the lonely figure, clad in black, mourning alone?  The Queen had been informed that it was not necessary, but she chose to adhere to the same regulations that had been imposed upon her people.  We have seen it was not the case for many politicians obeying the same rules which they themselves decreed.

What dramatically intervened in her life was the Constitutional crises involving Edward the Prince of Wales and Mrs Wallis Simpson. The affair ended in controversy when Edward, the king, but not crowned, abdicated in 1936. This meant that his younger brother George had the throne forced on him, a role he had not preferred to have inherited. It was Shakespeare who said, “some have greatness thrust upon them”. The reluctant Prince, then known as Albert, proved to be a great king.

The King did not enjoy good health and underwent an operation and afterwards appeared though weak, fitter. His illness continued and it was obvious he was dying of cancer. At this time Princess Elizabeth and the Duke had two young children, Charles and Anne. For a number of months the King prevailed. On the 31^st January 29t 1951 the King waved goodbye to his daughter and son-in-law from the London Airport. They were off to a tour of East Africa.  In the small hours of 6^th February 1952 the King died.

The young couple were enjoying a stay at a hunting lodge, a wedding present from the inhabitants of Kenya, when the news of the death of her father, was received. She had planned to move on to Australia and New Zealand, but she immediately drafted apologies herself. One vital chore she had, as now monarch, was to declare as Queen, how she would be known. Her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra May.  Her title would now be Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

In 2022, she is also the Queen of 14 Commonwealth Countries and Head of the Commonwealth of Nations.  He has the title, “Defender of the Faith”.

By the time of her crowning in June 1953 she was the celebrated monarch of nearly a quarter of human beings then living on earth.  She was crowned against the setting of Handel’s, Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet.

Australia’s first l visit of the royal couple was when they arrived into Sydney 3^rd February 1954 and later, on Saturday 20^th February 10:30 am, the royal yacht Gothic berthed into Hobart where their hectic and extensive tour of Tasmania began. Upon arrival they were met and addressed by the Lord Mayor of Hobart, Sir Richard Harris and Lady Harris, at the Town Hall. It was on the Monday that Her Majesty opened the fifth session of the 30^th Parliament of Tasmania, which was followed by a Garden Party at Government House. The media on the day said that 150,000 people lined the city streets as the royal couple proceeded from Parliament House to Government House. On the way in Stoke Street, a little Dutch girl, Jeltje Folkerts, in national costume, was waiting with a bouquet of roses as a tribute of loyalty from the New Australians.  The Queen’s car halted, the Queen leaned over and accepted the bouquet with a warm smile.

On the Tuesday they departed from Cambridge aerodrome to fly to Wynyard and from there visited, Burnie, Ulverstone, Devonport and Launceston.  They flew out of Western Junction aerodrome to Essendon, for Melbourne and for elsewhere.

It was part of a six month tour, so that the new Queen could meet her people world-wide.

The Queen is now 95 years old.  Her reign has seen dramatic changes throughout Australia and the world.  She has served faithfully for 70 years, making her not only the longest serving British monarch, but the longest serving monarch in the world.

Many of the years have not been easy for her, but she has endured through the ability to see things through, to sacrifice herself and dedicate her life to her people, not to governments, but to her people.

• Reg A. Watson is a Tasmanian author and historian and Tasmanian Convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.

Pic:  Author of the article, Reg Watson, with a “”Opening of Parliament by The Queen” (1954) brochure published by the Tasmanian Government. It was presented to him by the late Dr George Howatt, an American political scientist who made his home in Tasmania.  Dr Howatt was the world’s leading expert on the voting system of the Hare-Clark.

Australia in the year 2021. A police State. A country where our freedoms have been taken away. This is the new RESET. It is a country where those in charge, Police Commissioners, so-called health experts, advisors and Premiers instruct us to inform on our fellow citizens – all for our own good; all in the name of fighting the spread of Covid-19. We now have a two tiered citizenship, those who are vaxxed and those who are not vaxxed. Perhaps the latter should go around with a yellow star sewn to their breasts. The country is hopelessly in debt which grows by the day.

The Premiers have become power drunk; show no compassion, no understanding, lie and are corrupt. Our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, does nothing. He does not lead when he should. Is he just too weak or is he a willing part of the whole rotten system? When the Australian Constitution is abused he says not a word, other than “there’s nothing I can do” even though he can use the High Court. That is what it is there for. Interpreting the Australian Constitution.

I never thought I would see Australia come to this. We live in a world that is beyond imagining a few years ago. A country where police brutally bash fellow citizens while being selective on who can hold demonstrations and who cannot. Compare the treatment between the soft approach to Black Lives Matter and the brutal repression of the Freedom Marches and Workers. The police too are drunk on their new found power. They have forgotten their oath and have become nothing but agents of the government – governments who are corrupt and sinister.

I wonder what those who sacrificed their lives in war would think of the new Australia. What would they think of the mediocre creatures that control our lives called politicians? To be fair a few are standing up for the people, like Pauline Hanson, Mark Latham, Craig Kelly, Campbell Newman, George Christensen, Eric Abetz and Malcolm Roberts. Too few in number. The majority will do what their Party tells them to do. This is the weakness of the Party Political system. Why do we keep voting for the same old parties? Liberal/Labour/National and Greens? After all they are the ones who have destroyed this nation of ours. They are all globalists, believing in the One World Government. They have been taken up on the mountain and have sold their souls to the devil. In the meantime the people suffer, suicides are up, mental health is up, bankruptcies are up, businesses closing down and people struggle financially. Kids can’t play in the parks. Curfews. What nonsense is this? And we are all forced to have the jab. Families cannot visit each other, cannot attend funerals and children are separated from their parents. People cannot attend religious services. This is crazy and callous.

What was it that ex-President of the USA, Ronald Reagan said, “the most dangerous ten words in the English language is, I am from the government, I’m here to help you’’ Governments are not here to help us, they are here to entrench their own power, which is always at the expense of the people. Remember the section in the bible, when the people screamed and demanded to have government run by mortals. It was the prophet Samuel who warned them of the dangers awaiting them. (1 Samuel 8). Fellow prophet Jeremiah was to write, “The heart is wicked above all things, who can know it?” (17:9). And so it is with human nature – not to serve, but to be served. Our Premiers, little people who have no souls, fulfil that status.
In my humble opinion and I hope I am wrong, but Australia is (to put it crudely) “stuffed”. But there is something more here than just Australia – it is a world-wide phenomenon that is going on. Repression throughout the western world. It’s working to an agenda. Those in charge are evil in the extreme.

Much of the mainstream media are co-operating in this, mouthing the government line that we all need to give up our freedom for the betterment of all, but with no clear indication when those freedoms will be given back – which will be never. We have entered a new era, a dark era, when thuggery and brainwashing is the order of the day. Sadly most people comply, but there are the few who will lead, who are brave, and who believe that we are free individuals. God has given us our freedom, not governments. We can choose how we live. All this cannot be happening by accident. It is by design. Premiers, Prime Ministers, even Presidents are just puppets serving those behind the scenes, the cabals who are calling the shots – the billionaires the bankers, financiers and corporate giants. And as for the ordinary politician? He or she are again just puppets, but lower down on the chain, while the useful idiots are the brainless robots that implement their will without knowing it in every facet of society.

But there is hope. There is always hope. The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. There is an in-built passion within human beings for freedom. We have seen tyranny come and go throughout history and freedom reasserts itself. It comes at a price usually by the few sacrificing themselves for the benefit of many. I believe Good will prevail in the end. I do recall that line in the movie “Never Ending Story “when the young boy confronted the savage, horrible beast (and is there a hidden message here?), who said “I am just a Messenger,” adding, “when people believe in nothing they are easier to control.” That’s where we are at now, isn’t it? Our beliefs, our heritage, our religions are mocked and discarded. People do not believe in anything anymore. Thus they are easier to control with myths like global warming and that we all going to die because of the virus if we do not do as we are told. They are superior beings, the political elite. Yet, we are “all in it together” which is just sheer nonsense and hypocritical.
Stand firm. Do not compromise. Keep your faith and trust, attributes that will lead to victory. Whereas wen the people are constantly being fed a message of fear; just remember that is because the political elite fear the people.

3rd September this year is the 120th anniversary of the Australian National Flag, which dates from 1901. It was on that day Prime Minister Edmund Barton announced the winners of a competition who had designed a flag for Australia. A large flag, 5.5metres by 11 metres, was then flown over the dome of the Exhibition Building, Melbourne. At that time the flag was known as the Commonwealth blue ensign; later, the flag became known as the Australian National Flag. It was not until 1953 with the passing of the Flag Act that it was proclaimed definitively the Australian Blue Ensign as the National Flag and the Red Ensign as the proper colours for merchant ships registered in Australia.

The origin of the Australian National Flag is more than interesting, because our flag was chosen as a result of a nation-wide competition.  Indeed, as far as I am aware, Australia is the only country where this has happened. One per cent of the entire population of Australia responded with an entry.  Therefore it was the PEOPLE who originated our flag, which is a wonderful achievement and we should be proud of that

Those who judged the flag entries did so with the guidelines in mind of history, heraldry, distinctiveness, utility and the cost of manufacture.  It was Lady Hopetoun, wife of the Governor-General, who opened a display of the entries in the competition. Sir Edmund Barton announced that five entrants, who had submitted similar designs, were to share the honour of being declared the designers of Australian National Flag.

It is important to know that the designers were given a free rein on ideas, so there was no cohesion or any enforcement of what was expected.

It is said one of the winners of the competition, Ivor William Evans, who was born in Melbourne that his father, a flag maker, may have influenced his son’s design. Mr Evans senior would have been aware of the Australasian League Flag, the symbol of the anti-transportation movement of colonial times and which is held in that city.  The flag is very comparable to the national flag and preceded it.

Ivor was 14 years old when he submitted his entry.  But what was his motive?  Was it because his father suggested it to be similar to the historic one in Launceston? There is no record of this; rather Ivor believed that the flag of the United Kingdom, Great Britain had a place on Australia’s flag because of the historical links between our island continent and the British Isles. Ivor believed that it had an “Honourable place” on the Australian flag and he recognised this fact – a new nation paying respect to its origins. Ivor made a flag that he filled with symbols of his hope for the nation’s future. 

If we project ourselves back a hundred and twenty years at the time of federation, pride in the new nation was strong and we had adopted our own national Constitution.

The Southern Cross as displayed on our flag has great meaning. It tells the world geographically where we are situated and it also shows whereas we have a British heritage we are different and we are a separate nation to the Mother Land. Another reason for Ivor’s choice of the Southern Cross was Dante’s poem when he wrote about four bright stars which symbolised the four moral virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude – principles that Australia should live up to.

We possess a beautiful flag which was displayed with great enthusiasm at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.  Down through the 120 years it has been displayed through adversity (war and natural disasters) and national and personal successes. It was first flown after its origins in 1901. I have a photograph of it draping Harry (Breaker) Morant’s grave in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War when he was executed on the 27^th February 1902.

All Australians are encouraged to fly or display the Australian National Flag and to celebrate Australian National Flag Day on 3 September each year. Australian National Flag Day was proclaimed in 1996.

Here are some ideas to help celebrate Australian National Flag Day: Conduct a flag-raising ceremony. Business and organisations which don’t have a flagpole may wish to display the Australian National Flag in the public areas of their buildings, such as foyers. Fly from your own home.  Display from your car. We have a most beautiful and one of the most impressive and recognizable flags in the world. Every display should be befitting the national emblem. There is no restriction in flying the flag as stated by the then Prime Minister, Ben Chifley in a press statement of 1947. Let’s safeguard it and be proud of it.

Reg A. Watson is a Tasmanian author & historian.  He is also President of the Australian National Flag Association (Tas)

December 3^rd 2020 is the 45^th anniversary of the Tasmanian flag. Indeed Tasmania was the first state to proclaim its own state flag.

The history of flags in Tasmania goes back to November 1642 when the explorer Abel Tasman raised the Dutch flag at Blackman Bay near Dunalley.  In September 1803 Lt John Bowen RN raised the Union Jack at Risdon Cove, the site of the first British settlement of Tasmania.

Tasmanian received a bi-cameral system and Responsible Government in 1856 together with a name change from Van Diemen’s Land to Tasmania. On August 7 of 1869, Queen Victoria ordered colonial governors to fly the Union Jack with the arms or badge of the colony emblazoned in the centre, following the suggestion of Tasmanian Colonial Secretary, Thomas Reiby.

He stated, “The distinguishing flag or ensign of the colony for vessels belonging to or permanently employed by the Government of Tasmania shall be a Blue Ensign with a Lion Passant red on a white shield in the fly”.

It was not, however, until September 25^th, 1876 by proclamation from the governor, Frederick Aloysius Weld, did the colony receive a flag.  Then there were three official flags, they being the Governor’s flag, the Tasmanian vessel flag and a Tasmanian merchant flag.  Up until 1856 the Union flag and the British Ensign was primarily used on state occasions.

Between the years 1876 and 1975 the blue ensign flag containing the Union Flag (better known as the Union Jack) in the left top corner with a Lion Passant (sideways walking past) red on white shield on the fly, was used when representing the state.  This was, as we have learnt, the original Tasmanian Government vessel flag.

On December 3^rd, 1975, the Governor Stanley Burbury issued another proclamation officially recognising the Blue Ensign with a Lion Passant red on a white shield on the fly as the State Flag.  The Labor Premier, Mr William (Bill) Neilson endorsed it.  As said, Tasmania was the first state to officially recognise its flag.  It was also the first state to authorise the flag for general use.

The proclamation read: “Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia acting with the advice of the Executive Council of the said State do by this my Proclamation declare that the Blue Ensign with a lion Passant red on a white shield in the fly thereof being the flag or ensign more particularly described in the Schedule hereto shall be the distinguishing flag or ensign of the State of Tasmania and shall be known as the Tasmanian Flag.” It was dated 3^rd December 1975.

Consequently it only has been of recent times that Tasmania has had its own official state flag which can be flown by all, including individual burgesses.

The Union Flag of course, tells of the origin of our state as a British colony.  The Lion Passant represents the connection and loyalty to the Crown, Tasmania being a Constitutional Monarchy as recognised in the Tasmanian Constitutional Act of 1934, an Act which had its origins back in 1854. Indeed Tasmania was the first colony to adopt its own Constitution.

The Lion Passant has strong heraldic meaning, at least going back more than a thousand years to William the Conqueror, possibly a great deal more. For instance the Lion Passant was a symbol of the ancient House of Judah.

Our state flag can be flown on state government buildings, municipality flag poles and by businesses, clubs, societies and by private individuals. If the Australian National Flag is flown as well as the state flag, then the national flag takes precedence over all other flags, including other national flags.  The national flag must be flown on the left of the observer facing the flag or if three flags are flown, the national flag should be flown in the centre.  All flags, however, are to be flown at the same height.

Tasmania has led the nation in many instances end being the first state to proclaim its own flag is just one example.  It may be that some Tasmanians do not even know we have our own flag, so perhaps it should be flown more than what it is.

Remembrance Day is exactly that – to remember. To remember those who went away, leaving their families, their community and country, to serve in war zones, risking their life and limb. Most were young and many were to die young. Nations call upon their youth to answer the call, while the older men, either military or civilian, direct their destinies. For many it was a call to adventure or let’s be frank, an opportunity to get away from an unpleasant love affair, a boring job or financial trouble.  No doubt many too, enlisted because of patriotic reasons.

Remembrance Day is to remember those who served during World War I and is perhaps over shadowed by ANZAC DAY which has become increasingly popular.  But on this day 11^th November all those wars and conflicts our nation has been involved in, even before federation and after world war one, are also embraced.

So why do we remember and who do we remember? Remembrance Day for me is to remember those ordinary folk who served in our military forces and our nurses who gave so much. We remember the families whose sons, brothers, grandsons, friends and cousins who were thousands of miles away and they, not knowing what their fate was to be, suffered anguish.  Remembrance Day should not be exclusively recalling the feats of those in charge like Generals Monash, Chauval, Birdwood, Blamey, etc, albeit worthy they were, but the young soldier, sailor and airman who plodded the jungles, the marshes, the seas, the skies, the deserts, the arctic ice and whatever for they were really the ones who sacrificed themselves on behalf of others. We remember the privates, the stokers, the able seamen, the air crew, the non-commissioned officers, the lieutenants and captains who led troops while at an incredibly young age and the rate of fatalities of the latter two, per ratio, was very high. We remember those who served in the merchant navy and our nurses should also be remembered because of their unflinching call to duty, their sense of obligation and too, their sacrifice. These are the people what Remembrance Day is all about.  The generals have their medals, their awards, their exclusive clubs, with books written about them revealing their exploits on how great they were. But it was young Johnny that really fought and made the sacrifice and if he came home at all, often he did without an arm or leg(s) or perhaps a mangled burnt face as did our fighting airmen and certainly all with jangled nerves.

Mind you, one of my greatest heroes was a general – Sir General John Gellibrand, the highest ranking Tasmanian officer in WWI.  A sign of a good general is one who looks after the welfare of his troops and Gellibrand was one of them.  His concern was so great that during WWI he clashed constantly with superiors and in one incident, General Monash actually apologised to him, admitting he was right.  Gellibrand’s concern for the men continued after the war, founding what was then called the Remembrance Club, later to become Legacy.

Gellibrand would not be easy to get on with.  In civilian life he clashed constantly with those with whom he worked, but always, always, his concern was with the returning servicemen. On ANZAC DAY he marched with the men in civilian uniform much to chagrin of Monash and Chauval. In my eyes, Gellibrand was a great man who would not suffer fools easy.  Oh, how we need such in these grim days – fearless and righteous leaders!

They are the ones who should not be forgotten.  Many of them nameless.  Many in unmarked graves in Western Europe and elsewhere, buried at sea or shot down over enemy territory. How much did their mothers and fathers, grandparents, their brothers and sisters and all those who loved them, grieve? How many ladies in black were to be seen in the streets of our cities after World War One? Three thousand young Tasmanians died in that war, not to mention the 6,000 who returned wounded.

They went away to fight for their country, their family and freedom, from the Boer War to Afghanistan and in between. We have seen, however, how fragile freedom is.  It can be taken away without a flicker by the whims of those in charge, backed up by State authorities. Yes, they went away to fight for the continuation of freedoms which we enjoyed in Australia to the extent of fighting off an invading, brutal enemy – but freedom can be taken easily away.  It is important, nay, imperative that we remember those who went before us to battle on our behalf and that we cherish what they believed in; freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and freedom to make our own choices. We must never, never give it up so easily as it seems to have happened in this modern era.

Remembrance Day.  To remember those who left our shores and as distance in time increases there is the possibly that it will grow dim in our memory.  To do so would be selfish in the most extreme.  Today and next year and the years after, let us pass the lantern to those who follow.