Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

ALWAYS A SMOOTH ONE. IT COULD BE SAID THAT IT WAS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OVERALL AU_STRALIA-JAPAN RELATIONSHIP. HIS FIRST REAL ENCOUNTER WITH JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE WAS TRAGIC ... HOWEVER ... MR AUSTIN WAS ONE OF THE FEW WESTERNERS WHO MADE AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND THE WAY THE JAPANESE SOLDIERS BEHAVED. '[HIS] NEXT ENCOUNTER WITH JAPAN ... AS A DIPLOMAT ... DEVELOPED HIS INTEREST IN JAPANESE ART AND ALSO SHARPENED HIS KEEN INSIGHT INTO JAPANESE CULTURE. HIS NEXT INVOLVEMENT WAS OF A COMMERCIAL NATURE ... AND FOR A PERIOD OF 12 YEARS [HE] WORKED IN EXPORTING MINERALS TO JAPAN WHICH HELPED TO PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR THIS SPECTACULAR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF JAPAN. 'MR AUSTIN'S MOST RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS ARE WIDELY KNOWN ... BROADENING THE GALLERY'S ACTIVITIES INTO THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION ... THE ARCO GALLERY OF ASIAN ART ... THE ASIA-PACIFIC TRIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART. 'WHILE ALL OF THESE CONCRETE AND VISIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS ARE EASY FOR ANYBODY TO RECOGNISE, I BELIEVE THAT MANY OF MR AUSTIN'S CONTRIBUTIONS ARE FAR MORE PROFOUND AND DIFFICULT TO DISCERN, AS THEY RELATE TO THE GRADUAL CHANGE IN THE MINDS AND IDEAS OF ALL AUSTRALIANS. '... HE HAS ADVOCATED RETHINKING AND A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE TOWARDS JAPAN THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE, AND MADE SUCH COMMENTS IN NUMEROUS BOOK REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS WITH JOURNALISTS, AND PUBLIC SPEECHES. 'HIS BASIC ARGUMENT IS THAT JAPAN HAS A LOT TO ADMIRE AND MUCH TO ENVY AND EMULATE. IN OTHER WORDS HE SAYS THAT JAPAN IS A GOOD NEIGHBOUR FOR AUSTRALIA TO LIVE NEAR AND CO-OPERATE WITH: 1 After saying a few sentences in Japanese, Richard Austin continued. . . . For the benefit of those unacquainted with the Japanese language, I have just said that it is a great honour to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan; that this is a very special, and indeed unforgettable, occasion for me; and that I wish to thank the Consul-General for his hospitality. I also want to thank the Attorney-General, Minister for Justice and Minister for the Arts, Dean Wells, for his warm and generous words. They do me honour, but even more so does his presence here this evening. I have it on good authority that he should have been at the opening of the Casino, wearing his judicial hats to protect the gambling public from organised crime, and himself winning a fortune. That he has chosen to wear his cultural hat and be.here instead is agreat honour. I think I can safely say that he is here not only as my former Minister but also as my present friend. I am also glad to see here tonight a number of other friends, who have themselves been involved with my own involvement with Japan: • Professor Hugh Dunn, who was a colleague in the Embassy in Tokyo forty years ago; • Professor Alan Rix, who was a fellow member of the Australia-Japan Foundation in the 1980s; 165