ANZAC Day Adventures

Yesterday ANZAC day rolled around again. I do appreciate the history and the significance of the day, but I find myself feeling increasingly disturbed by the RSL and the way the carry on all the time. I risk being seen as unpatriotic, but I find many things about ANZAC day that aggravate me and make me mad. In the Hobart newspaper today there is a story of a Tasmanian man who recently moved to Queensland to take up a position with the RSL. After a very short period of time he was sacked and had to return to Hobart at his own expense. I have a hunch he may have been a little too progressive for them. The paper reported his comment, 'I think the RSL has completely forgotten the whole reason they came to exist in the first place'. Tradition, form and ceremony quickly become an end in themselves. Structures no longer serve the people, the people must serve the structures. The issue is not the issue, control is the issue. I can't help but see so many similarities between the RSL and the Church. The excess binge drinking associated with the day is blight on the RSL and the ANZAC tradition. I think of the many pastoral situations I have had to deal with over the years with families affected by binge drinking on ANZAC day. Could you ever imagine the RSL calling for an alcohol free ANZAC day! I'd like to see that.

Well with that out of my system I can get on and tell you about the way we spent the day. Jo and I packed up a BBQ picnic lunch and headed off in the car. We didn't really have destination in mind, but were ready to drive wherever. We headed off up through New Norfolk and keep on going. We passed the site of the OCF camp and continued on even further. The autumn leaves were magnificent. The sunshine was glorious and the mountain peaks were all covered in snow. The further we drove the prettier it seemed to get. We finished up driving to Lake St Clair National Park at the southern end of Cradle Mountain Park. We were of course hit with another admission fee to the park of $20. We paid our money and took out our BBQ gear. We were soon enjoying a fabulous lunch in a beautiful setting. After lunch we walked for an hour or so part way around the lake. The scenery was breathtaking. The lake is the deepest lake in Australia with an average depth of 190 metres.