Civic Welcome for Australian Ambassador
Issued : Sunday 24 July, 2011
Address from Cobh Mayor on the Occasion of a Civic Welcome awarded to The Australian Ambassador to Ireland HE Mr. Bruce Davis on 24 July 2011
Distinguished Guests,
Is mór an onóir agus an pribhléid dom céad míle fáilte a chur roimh an Ambasadóir Astrálach Bruce Davis agus a bhean céile go dtí Baile an Chóibh chun páirt a ghlacadh sa lá speisialta seo a chuirimid “Cobh’s Australia Day” air. Ní hé seo bhur gcéad cuairt ar ár mbaile álainn agus is ábhar mór bhróid dom agus do mhuintir an Chóibh gur tháinig sibh ar ais i mbliana. Mar is eol daoibh, tá ár ndoras, nó ár ndroichead, i gcónaí oscailte romhaibh!
It is both an honour and a privilege to welcome The Australian Ambassador, His Excellency Bruce Davis, and his wife Ms. Meg Johnson to the town of Cobh to be part of this special celebration which we like to call “Cobh’s Australia Day”. This is not your first time visiting our beautiful town and it is a great source of pride to both myself and the people of Cobh that you have returned again this year. As you know, our door, or our bridge, is always open to you both.
Today is not of course the actual Australia Day which is celebrated on 26 January. But I wouldn’t be putting “shrimps on the barbie” in January around here!!! So we decided that July in Cobh would feel a little bit more like Australia!
On a serious note, however, there is an appropriate poignancy to celebrating our Australia Day today. On 26 January 1788, Captain Arthur Philip sailed into Sydney Cove with what is famously called the First Fleet, the first fleet of 11 ships carrying convicts to Australia. That event marked the beginning of a new modern era of Australian history and in September 1791 Ireland’s relationship with Australia had begun with the arrival of the first Irish convicts. Of course, Cobh has a very special link with this story of transportation, with so many of those convicts incarcerated on Spike Island before they were transported to Australia. I look forward to bringing His Excellency and his wife to Spike Island this afternoon where Cllr. Martin will give us a guided tour and the historical narrative of the island.
Today, we welcome an Australian ship to Ireland and to Cobh with the arrival of The Dawn Princess. And even though the circumstances are much happier it is, nevertheless, a poignant reminder of a difficult time in our history. We are all aware, of course, of the minor misdemeanours for which many of these men and women were transported thousands of miles away from their homes and families. However, this story also became one of achievement and triumph - the triumph of the Irish will and determination in terms of the role that the Irish in Australia played in the shaping of that great country. Evidence of this achievement can be seen throughout Australia.
I recently watched an interview with renowned Irish poet Eavan Boland, where she spoke of the transportation of Irish women to Australia and stated that up to recent times the transportation of women got lost in the afore mentioned story of heroic triumph. And of course, she was right, as for many years Irish women were transported in the most horrendous conditions and subjected to deplorable treatment when they arrived in Australia. These women also left an invaluable economic and cultural legacy.
It is, therefore, incredibly fitting that we remember the plight of these women also. We will do so on the Deep Water Quay today, with the backdrops of our beautiful town and the magnificent Dawn Princess, when we remember these women by participating in the “Blessing of the Bonnets” ceremony which was created by Australian artist Christina Henri.
Christina Henri’s “Roses from the Heart” project was created to commemorate the 25,266 convict women who were transported from Ireland and Britain between 1788 and 1853 and we will hopefully continue Cobh’s participation in this project into the future.
Over the years, however, the journey to Australia changed from one of punishment to one of hope. Australia has provided hope for Irish emigrants during times of economic hardship, in more affluent times it provided travel, work and life experiences for many young Irish people who took time out to broaden their horizons and again today, in these difficult times, Australia once again is providing hope for many young Irish people who can not find work at home. For these opportunities and for this hope, we as a country are very grateful. Throughout the centuries since the beginning of transportation, the Irish Diaspora in Australia has continued to grow. So much so that in the 2006 Census 9%, almost 2 million Australians claimed Irish ancestry and over 50,000 respondents were born in the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Diaspora in Australia makes up a bigger percentage of the population than they do anywhere else in the world.
Of course it is easy to see why Irish people settle in Australia as a home from home as the similarities between the Australian character and attitude to life have always been well documented. Sporting rivalries have also flourished over the years, especially with the growing status of the International Rules Series. Given Ireland’s defeat this year- I probably shouldn’t have mentioned that, but having been drawn in the same pool, we will be hoping to get revenge in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup in New Zealand! Even though, I do hope Australia qualify from the pool as well!
Regardless of the difficult economic times we live in, our town is defying the national picture and much of this is due to the continuing development of our tourism product. The presence of The Dawn Princess in Cobh today and our Australia Day celebrations are ample evidence of this. The number of visiting liners continues to grow and we are extremely proud that Cobh won two awards in this year’s annual World Cruise Awards in “The Best Destination Welcome” and “Best Destination Experience” categories. I would take this opportunity to express the congratulations and appreciation of Cobh Town Council and the people of Cobh to the Port of Cork for their continued investment in, and development of, Cobh as a liner destination.
I would also like to express both congratulations and appreciation to The See You in Cobh Committee and Cobh Tourism Ltd. for their organisation of the events of Australia Day and its continuing success. Without the voluntary contribution of such groups our town would be a much lesser place. I would also take this opportunity to congratulate the Cobh Tidy Towns Committee and volunteers for their tremendous work which I’m sure the Ambassador and his wife have already noticed and will notice further as the day goes on.
Finally, I welcome you again Mr. Ambassador and Ms. Johnson to our beautiful town. I would like to thank you on behalf of Cobh Town Council, all the organisers of Australia Day and the people of Cobh for taking time out of your busy schedule to share in today’s events. I wish you a very enjoyable day and I would like to present you both with mementos of your visit.
