00:00You guys have given these people a sense of safety and home.
00:07You've done Australia proud and we're really proud of you. We want you to know that.
00:12If you asked John Farnham to come and help, he did. And when this was meted to him by some
00:19entrepreneurs who said, let's go and entertain the troops, it was the first for us to put it
00:24up in the soccer stadium in East Seymour. There would have been 5,000 people just in the mosh pit,
00:30if I could call it that, and up there on the stage, all these magnificent artists.
00:34I have to tell you this, in amongst those thousands of people crowding in, watching
00:40the cream of Australia's artistic talent up there to entertain the troops, there were all these young
00:46East Seymour leaders, kids, too short to see what's happening on the stage, in amongst all the arms
00:53and legs of all these grown-up soldiers. And what the troops did was pick the kids up
01:00and pop them on their shoulders. I can remember vividly sitting up the back of some of the trumps,
01:05and I could see on the big screen, these soldiers standing there while the likes of Kylie Van Hagen
01:12and others were entertaining. And when fun comes on, he starts to see them. He had them in the palm
01:19of his hand.
01:20And I can remember vividly watching when he was doing that wonderful song he would sing, often,
01:26when you walk through a storm hold and head up high. And these soldiers had the children under their
01:32shoulders. And some corporal that had a head on into like a boarding house for him, he was really a
01:39grizzled soldier. And tears were rolling down his cheeks. Because this was Australia, led by fun,
01:45reaching out to all these soldiers. It was a bridge of love coming out of our nation. So, ladies and
01:53gentlemen, I was delighted to be asked to participate in letting you know about the upcoming event.
01:59And I can say as a retired soldier, Chief of the Defence Force in my time, John Farmer, you are
02:07loved
02:08by everybody in the nation's uniform. You are loved. And I might say, as a Governor-General,
02:14this extends to the 27 million of us. We think you're amazing. We can't wait till the tribute that
02:19is planned, uh, is on foot. And I'm delighted to be part of it today. We love you, John.
02:29I'm delighted to be part of it today.
Comments