ALL THIS recent political bureaucratic polly twaddle about what to build for the 2032 Olympics reminds us of the happier, less stressful times of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, in Brisbane.
Back then, the highlights of each day’s play were compressed into sixty minutes of wonderful sporting entertainment and were flashed onto British telly at 8am, just as the kettle came to the boil.
And it coincided with the holidays.
With it came a veritable treasure chest of sporting and other memories from our state capital.
What about the opening ceremony involving thousands of Sunshine State children ‘still calling Australia home’ followed by synchronised bouncing on about 50 trampolines.
Then the crowd sang ‘Waltzing Matilda’ but, by far the most abiding memory, the one that sticks indelibly in the mind and sums up the Australianness of the occasion, was of course the cheeky wink of the giant wallaby.
Quite naturally, the Aussies made their usual splash in the pool but the name of the athlete who stood out was Robert de Castello.
We were honoured to witness his finest hour running through the Brisbane streets.
There can have been few occasions when a marathon runner demonstrated more confidence in their own fitness level as Deek, when he allowed the African runners Ikangaa and Shahanga to disappear into the distance, building up a commanding 58 second lead by the 30km mark.
Deek just knew he would catch them.
Then, sure enough, he reeled them in, one by one, as steadily and certainly as an angler on Lake Proserpine dealing with a recalcitrant barramundi.
By the time they reached the QE11 the Aussie had netted the gold medal, hook, line and sinker.
I can hear the perspicacious reader commenting on the absence of news on the women’s marathon, but those were different times.
There would be no female marathon until 1990.
We would also have to wait for women’s competition in 5km, 10km, steeplechase, pole vault, hammer, and triple jump.
Apparently, these events were deemed to be too tough for the female of our species. Such arrogant misogyny.
What would the Matildas have to say about this?
Fast forward half a century, to Brisbane’s Olympics, and the cost of building new sporting and accommodation facilities seems to be the most controversial issue, especially with our country in the middle of a housing crisis with a grave shortage of builders.
Maybe that cheeky Australian sense of humour will see us through.
Flannelled Fool
PHOTO
The giant wallaby’s cheeky wink at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, in Brisbane, has been replaced with infighting over infrastructure for the 2032 Olympic Games.
