Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

If only, in a different context, Catullus had been ignored: 'difficile est lungam subito deponere amorem' 3 ('it is difficult suddenly to cast aside an old love')-and, instead, Horace had been remembered: '. . . manet sub iove frigido venator tenerae coniugis immemor:" which in James Michie's elegant and evocative translation reads: Underneath the freezing skies Contentedly the hunter lies Oblivious of his sweet young bride. If only those in charge of security at Windsor Casde had known the cry heard in every village in Japan when the wind begins to rise: 'Hi no yojin ... Hi no yojin' ('Watch your fires ... Watch your fires'). And any journalist who knew the story of Actaeon and his terrible punishment might have hesitated before photographing a modern Diana while bathing. But we are venturing into the country of what might have been and, just as in the country of the past, they do things differendy there. In any event, we should now be thinking about the country of what might be. And so it is time for me to sum up. Australia is clearly no longer a part of Europe– but Europe is where our cultural and traditional past lies. Nor is Australia a part of Asia, but Asia is where our economic future is to be found. Australia is a unique country in that it can provide, as no other country can, a real bridge between West and East. We must ensure that this bridge is built and that it is kept in constant repair. Our secondary school curriculum must take these things into account and provide a judicious blend of classicism and orientalism, of culture and pragmatism. If it does not, it may well produce, and the Universities will have no choice but to accept, generations of semi-literate young Australians, whose knowledge of an Asian language will barely be enough to get them to and from the airport, who will find difficulty in writing a paragraph of clear, concise, correcdy spelled and grammatical English, and who will think of Jupiter only as a casino, Poseidon only as a mining company, and Horace only as Rumpole's Christian name. If that happens, we shall, in the manner of Esau, have sold our birthright for a mess of sushi. 2 Speech at the residence of Mr Asao Tsukahara, Consul-General for Japan, on receiving the Order of the Rising Sun (Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon) 15 July 1995 NOTE: RICHARD AUSTIN WAS AWARDED THIS VERY DISTINGUISHED HONOUR FOR SERVICES TO JAPAN-AUSTRALIA RELATIONS. THE ORDER AT THIS LEVEL HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN AWARDED TO ONLY FOUR AUSTRALIANS. RICHARD AUSTIN WAS THE ONLY AUSTRALIAN AMONG A TOTAL OF THIRTY-FOUR FOREIGNERS TO RECEIVE A DECORATION FROM JAPAN AT THIS TIME. MR TSUKAHARA SAID AT THE PRESENTATION THAT 'MR AUSTIN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH JAPAN WAS NOT 164