Australia's Sir Charles Court Honored

摘要

Australians' lives are full, rich, and robust in the promise of continued security and prosperity. Yet the fact is already largely forgotten that this wellbeing has risen to such fullness only within the past few decades from some two centuries of adversity and sacrifice. Forgotten also is the fragility of such success, and — if national wellbeing is to be maintained — the lessons which should be learned from the dark passage of sweat and tears to wealth and security. There have been, and will continue to be, many great Australians, contributing to the nation and the world with innovation, courage, vision, and scientific and technical excellence. But such excellence does not long survive if it rests on a narrow social base, or has lost contact with its guiding and founding principles. Australia's founding base is broad and strong in terms of the great extent of toil, teamwork, dedication, and leadership. But Australian society risks its great success by forgetting to absorb into its ethos the lessons of its past; the experiences which developed over centuries the unique identity of its waves of immigrant peoples.