Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I turn last, but not least, to the man who is going to open the exhibition, Mr Richard Woolcott, an Officer in the Order of Australia. It gives me special pleasure to introduce him, because we have been friends for almost fifty years, and colleagues for some part of that time. He has just retired as Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade after forty-two years of distinguished service, and during that time he has had as wide– ranging a career as any Australian diplomat I can call to mind. In his earlier years, he served in Russia twice, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and West Africa. Later, when based in Canberra, he accompanied successive Prime Ministers-Sir Robert Menzies, Mr Holt and Sir William McMahon-on official visits to the United States, Central America, Europe, Russia, China, Japan and South-East Asia, so there are not many countries he has not seen. He had a slight problem with one of those Prime Ministers who was a squash player who liked to win, because no matter how hard he tried to lose, he always kept beating him. 1 Later, he was our Ambassador to Indonesia and the Philippines, and finally-and perhaps most importantly in tonight's context-Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. During his New York years he became a Trustee of the American Friends of the Australian National Gallery, so he is not new to the art world. His interest in things American is indicated by the fact that he has just been appointed Adviser to Coca-Cola. Of course, if he has to prove his bona fides by drinking the product of that Company, he may find the transition from the 'cocktail circuit' to the 'Coca-Cola circuit' a hard one to make. He was one of the first of our senior diplomats to recognise that Australia's future was inextricably linked to our northern neighbours. Last month, Time magazine ran an article about his life and achievements entitled 'A Lasting Affair with Asia', in which he was described, rather charmingly I think, because he has always been a great Australian, as 'a wattle proud patriot'. For the benefit of those of you who are not versed in our unique flora, let me explain that wattle is a variety of acacia, closely related to what, in the northern hemisphere, is called mimosa. I don't suppose a 'mimosa proud patriot' would have, in America, the impact that a 'wattle proud patriot' has in Australia. Here, I assure you, it means a lot. And so I now have great pleasure in calling upon our 'wattle proud patriot', Mr Richard Woolcott, to address us and open the exhibition. 13 Speech at the opening of 'Secret Treasures of Russia: One Thousand Years of Gold and Silver from the State History Museum, Moscow', 16June 1992 NOTE: THIS WAS AUSTRALIA'S FIRST CULTURAL EXCHANGE WITH THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT RUSSIAN FEDERATION. THIS WAS ALSO THE FIRST EXHIBITION OF RUSSIAN DECORATIVE ART TO VISIT THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE. THE EXHIBITION COMPRISED 295 OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF RUSSIAN GOLD AND SILVER CRAFTSMANSHIP FROM THE VAST COLLECTIONS OF RUSSIA'S LARGEST AND OLDEST 77