Awards for ANZAC Light on the Water

The biggest round of applause at the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Australia Day Awards went to the Young Citizen of the Year Jay Dohnt, 19, Ferryden Park swimming champion, who won the Bronze Medal in the 400m freestyle final as a Paralympian in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

According to Jay, who has also won a Pride of Australia Courage Award, there is no such word as ‘can’t’.

Despite losing both legs below the knees and four fingers on his right hand to meningococcal disease two years ago, he has plunged head first into his future.

After surviving the deadly disease he decided to draw up a list of goals – starting with scuba diving.

Now Jay has his scuba diving ticket and regularly competes with the Parks Swimming Club and in 12 months Jay won six gold medals, one silver and received an encouragement award with the Club.

It was a humbling experience for me to be in the company of such a hero and a reminder of the courage and tenacity of others who were nominated for Australia Day Awards.

I was honoured to be awarded the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Australia Day 2009 Citizen of the Year Award for community work for Semaphore, Semaphore Street Fair and Port Adelaide events and projects including ANZAC Light on the Water and Merchant Navy Day.

And for the Merchant Navy Association SA to receive the City of Port Adelaide 2009 Community Event of the Year Award for ANZAC Light on the Water and Merchant Navy Day.


Federal and State politicians, Councillors, Council Executives and other VIPs were at the Awards Ceremony at Sunnybrae Function Centre, along with families and individuals from families and individuals from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and UK who were awarded Australian Citizenship in a special ceremony conducted by the Mayor and Council CEO Harry Wierda.

Local Federal Member Mark Butler MP gave a special address in which he welcomed all of the new citizens and congratulated those who received the Australia Day Awards.

Our photos show: Jay Dohnt, Merchant Navy Association Secretary Keith Ridgeway with local MP Mark Butler and myself and Harry Weirda, Mayor Gary Johanson and Mark.

Community Event of the Year

ANZAC Light on the Water has been awarded the City of Port Adelaide Australia Day 2009 Community Event of the Year Award.

The framed Award Certificate will go on permanent display in the Seafarers Centre in Port Adelaide.

Federal and State politicians, Councillors, Council Executives and other VIPs were at the Awards Ceremony at Sunnybrae Function Centre, along with families and individuals from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and UK
who were awarded Australian Citizenship in a special ceremony conducted by the Mayor Gary Johanson and Council CEO Harry Wierda.

Local Federal Member Mark Butler MP gave a special address in which he welcomed all of the new citizens and congratulated those who received the Australia Day Awards.

World commemorates start of World War Two

This year, as the world commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the start of World War Two, people around Around Australia will focus on two significant events in Port Adelaide.

On ANZAC Eve, Friday April 24, the third Light on the Water on the Port River will commemorate the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur in a year when Veterans Affairs marks the World War Two 70th Anniversary with a major focus on the role of women at war.

Eleven Australian Army nurses were among the 268 Australians who perished when the Centaur was struck by a deadly Japanese torpedo off the coast of Queensland on May 12, 1943.

Australian Merchant Navy crew, medical staff and men of the 2/12th Field Ambulance and 44 others made up the rest of those killed.

See video including interview with Sister Ellen Savage who survived the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur.

http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/waratsea/


Merchant Navy Day March on same day

Australia's second Merchant Navy Day march in Port Adelaide on September 3 will be on the very day that World War Two started and a large number of veterans are expected to march.

The first casualty of World War Two was the British merchant vessel Athenia on September 3.

German U-boat Commander, Oberleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp sighted the ship 250 miles off the coast of Ireland.

He maintained radio silence to achieve surprise and surprise is what happened because the British had just declared war that day of September 3, 1939.

Just under 12 hours later, Lemp ordered his men to fire on the ship and four torpedoes crashed into the side of the unarmed passenger ship.

The ship exploded immediately killing all but 112 people.

Lemp later claimed that the sinking of the Athenia was an accident, and that he didn't know it was unarmed and believed it was an armed merchant ship.

German command told Lemp to forget about it, and destroy all evidence he had of the sinking including diaries, papers, and any other article mentioning the sinking.

The Germans were then going to blame Winston Churchill for the sinking of the ship by stating that Churchill had ordered the ship to sink to get the U.S. into the war.

The U.S. and British of course did not believe this story.

Story of Athenia sinking:

http://library.thinkquest.org/26742/batat.html
Battle of the Atlantic