Indian Ocean Invasion - 25. IOI Chapter 25

The audio-visual company had two cameras to record and broadcast the event, and they were located at each side of the first row of chairs, with the audio and visual controller sitting in the bar area, as crowds began to arrive at 5.30pm, with the local State Emergency Service appearing, in their distinct orange overalls, to assist with crowd control. Making it easier to ensure that all the seats are filled.

At 5.45pm, the first of the officials arrived, with the two politicians, and Mr Logan met them and directed them to their seats on the front row, and they were soon followed by the local government officials, while the twins and I and the planning team remained in the main entry foyer just behind the main hall.

As it neared 6pm, I took a look through the door, and the meeting hall was already full and overflowing to outside, so I exited the building and walked around to the front that faces the oval, and saw a large crowd gathering outside, looking at the two big screens, which are currently just showing the empty 4 chairs at the very front.

“Good evening, we will be commencing in one minute, can you please get settled in your chairs or on the ground if you are outside, later in the evening we will have a question time, and there will be two microphones available for those outside, to ask questions” I heard Mr Logan say through the loud speakers, and I walked back the way I came and entered the hall and sat down next to Michael Logan.

I smiled at the twins, who were also seated along with all the officials, and I was shocked to see that there were also 6 armed police officers inside and at the doors. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I was talking to the organiser of this meeting earlier, questioning, if we would get a big enough crowd to just fill the chairs, but I was clearly mistaken” Mr Logan said, and there was a small amount of laughter at that comment.

“My Name is Michael Lotan, I am the Director of Town planning for the Shire of Northampton, which includes this beautiful coastal town. I wish to acknowledge the Honourable Commander Lewis Shaw, VCO,who was recently appointed Administrator of Christmas Island.

The Honourable MLC for the Agriculture District, the Honourable MLA for the Moore District, the Shire Council CEO, Councillor Adams, President of the Shire Council, Councillor Jackson, Vice President of the Shire Council, Councillors Neville and Yardley for this ward, and Mr Louis and Mr Joachim Wagner, from Wagner Family Corporation” Mr Lotan said to kick start the meeting.

“We have called this meeting this evening, to put to the Kalbarri community a number of proposals, some of which will be very beneficial to the community, to start with explaining this I will now hand you over to Commander Shaw” Mr Lotan said and he backed away from the podium, and sat down in the empty seat behind him.

“Thank you, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I had originally been asked by Wagner Family Corporation to assist with managing this project in Kalbarri, but unfortunately, due to vice royal commitments, I will be flying to Christmas Island in a few weeks, to begin service on the island, to assist the community there to get back to a normal and beneficial routine for all on the island, after what has happened there over the past few months.

As all of you know, and probably seen, due to unusual circumstances, we have a tall ship stranded at Wittacarra Creek, just south of town, and it was Wagner Family Corporation who purchased the stranded ship from the previous owners.

Since then the state Environmental Department have deemed the ship as an environmental hazard and have ordered for it to be removed within twelve days, which expires in a few days’ time.

Wagner Family Corporation would like to keep the tall ship here in Kalbarri, as a tourist attraction and additional accommodation in town, to do that we would like the community’s blessing for this to happen. In the meeting room behind us, is a scale replica of the tall ship, and a description of what it has onboard.

In brief, the ship has 4 officer’s cabins, a captain’s cabin, 16 guest cabins, and 8 crew cabins, all which can be used for guest accommodation. The ship has two living areas, a dining room, the main, helm and forecastle decks, the Corporation has purchased severalproperties in the town recently, and it is on one of these blocks of land that we would like to place the ship.

The property is 144 Grey Street, on the corner of Cotworthy Street, just opposite the Kalbarri Beach Resort, and in return for your blessing to allow this to happen, the corporation is prepared to invest heavily in the town” I said.

There were a few minutes of quiet talk amongst the crowd, before Mr Lotan call the meeting back to order, “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is very simple, if you allow the corporation to keep the tall ship in town, on the mentioned block of land, we will be extremely generous in return.

One of the other properties that was purchased recently, was the six old cabins, known as the Riverfront Budget Cabins, we plan to have those demolished and cleared away, to make room for a shady public park, we own the land behind that on Hackney Street, and we will consider building additional holiday accommodation, if the demand calls for it.

In addition to that, we will build a 504 seat-grandstand, with 12 rows of 42 seats, that includes four disability access spaces, on the north east side of the football oval, directly across from the football clubrooms.

This will include additional player and officials changerooms, two public bathrooms, with disability access ramps on both ends of the stand, 2 rear access equipment stores and a curved roof that will cover 2/3rd’s of the spectators seating area” I said, and the Power Point presentation started above me, as I spoke.

“In addition to this, the corporation will build two extensions to the Football Club building, with the first being to the west side, to provide an additional function room, and six viewing suites for corporate groups, plus two bathrooms, and above that an open viewing area, with half walls on the side and back, front balustrade and a high roof, that can be doubled as a stage for community concerts.

The second extension would be to the back of the existing and new building, that will be big enough for 2 full size basketball courts or 4 badminton courts, plus two sets of changerooms, an officials’ office, and upstairs, a total of 5 rows of 24 seating area for 120 spectators. In all the corporation will be spending 16.2 million dollars to the benefit of the Kalbarri community, and no there are no conditions to this offer” I said.

One of the councillors stood up from his seat, and a microphone was handed to him, “Sir, you mentioned that time was almost up to have the tall ship removed from the creek, where do you plan to put the ship while the place is being prepared for its new proposed location?” the councillor asked.

“Thank you for your question councillor, we are hoping to have the ship lifted back into the water by a heavy crane, and motored up the coast and into the river, where we are hoping to have it moored at the south side of the service jetty opposite the Kalbarri Beach Resort, so it can be opened to the public for tours.

When the block of land is ready, then we will lift it by crane out of the water, and onto a low flatbed trailer and taken around the corner to its planned resting place.

I might add, that this property is the only location available to have the ship located, as there are no restrictions for access due to power lines, as most who have visited the ship down at the creek know, it has some mighty tall masts, that are virtually impossible to lower. Does anyone outside have any questions?” I responded.

After a bit of a delay, a question came through the speakers, “Sir, how long do you expect the building process to take for the sports centre extensions and the grandstand?” the questioner asked.

“Thank you for the gentleman outside for your question. If the council gives the approval for the plans, which have already been drawn up, we can commence building as soon as building companies can be found to build them.

I would like to add that the Wagner Family Corporation, is an International corporation, based in Switzerland, but it has a few connections in Australia and particularly in Western Australia.

They have several properties in Claremont, Toodyay and Albany, plus for those who may recall, they have a supply ship, called the Southern Explorer, that was based here in Western Australia, while completing twice yearly circumnavigations, to supply remote islands and research stations with supplies, with Albany as its home port.

When I have completed my duties on Christmas Island, I am planning to return to Kalbarri to make it my permanent home, but in the meantime, while I am away, both Mr Joachim and Mr Louis Wagner will be managing the project, during its construction period” I replied.

I was surprised to see a young boy, aged about ten, put his hand up in the air, and I stepped forward and squeezed past a few guests, to reach the boy in the fourth row from the front, and four seats in from the centre aisle. “Yes, young man, what would you like to ask?” I said to him and I placed the microphone near his mouth.

“Excuse me sir, but what are all those letters after your name?” the boy asked, and the crowd chuckled at the question, “That is a very good question, let me get back into the aisle, so I can explain it to everyone” I answered, as I made my way back to the front.

“Although I do not like talking about it very much, I really don’t have a choice, since a lot of my past work has been made public, with my work in the Indian Ocean before. My full Name is Commander Lewis Shaw CVO, because I have won an award, but the rank of commander is alsoa Naval rank that I hold.

I am a Commander of the Victorian Order, which is one rank below a knighthood, that was given to me for the work I have done as a Vice Regal for the Chagos Archipelagos, when you get home or at school maybe ask them where it is located on a map, as most who have followed the story in the news, the Chagos Archipelago is now an Australian Indian Ocean Territory, just like Christmas and the Cocos Keeling Islands,

As I mentioned before I am a Naval Officer, and I have recently beendischarged on medical grounds, due to me being injured while on overseas service,” I explained, and there was sudden applause coming from outside, which soon spread to inside. I waited till the applause died down before continuing, “thank you for that, but I was only doing my duty” I said as I sat down again, feeling embarrassed by all this attention.

Mr Lotan stood up, and asked for order again, and as it quietened down, a man half way down the hall stood up, and a microphone was taken to him. “Mr Lotan, as a Kalbarri resident, small businessman and rate payer, I move that Commander Shaw’s proposals be accepted with thanks, and that the council accept the plans for the proposed buildings for the community, so construction can start as soon as possible” the man said.

As he ended his comments, someone shouted out, “I second the motion”, and the first gentleman added, “All in favour of the motion?” and almost every hand went up into the air, both inside and outside. “Itis good to see that the community is in favour of this proposal, but as was just stated, we will have to wait until the council deliberates on this matter, once it has been tabled” Mr Lotan said.

“Already done, Mr Lotan, it will be discussed at the council meeting in two days’ time” the Shire Vice President said, and the audience cheered. “Very well, that is settled, is there any other questions for Commander Shaw, the Wagner Corporation or the Shire Council” Mr Lotan asked.

“If I may please” the MLC member of parliament said as he stood up and stepped towards the podium. “As you may be aware, I am your elected representative in the Upper House of WA Parliament, I wish to thank Mr Shaw and his team, who presented an interesting proposal, that I hope will benefit the Kalbarri community for many years to come, and I look forward to returning to see the outcome of the building project, when completed.

On behalf of my parliamentary colleague, I wish to thank the Local government elected officials and staff, for their hospitality this evening, and thank you to all who came here tonight, to what has been the biggest public community meeting I have seen in a long time, goodnight” the politician said.

I stood up to the microphone stand one last time, “Thank you all for coming, as I mentioned before there is a scale model of the tall ship and of the proposed plans, in the small meeting room, if you wish to have a look at them, goodnight” I said, and sat back down.

With the meeting room having a door at each end, a line soon developed for those wanting to see the models, and I retreated to the foyer, with the twins, and the planning team. “Well that went a lot better than planned” Louis stated, “Yes, thank goodness we organised the extra equipment for broadcasting outside, or we would have a lot of unhappy people outside” Joachim added.

After meeting the two politicians, and the rest of the local government councillors and staff, I decided to retreat to the apartment, and the twins decided to do the same. Once there, we ordered some takeaway to be delivered, as we were tired and hungry, even with the meeting lasting only 45 minutes.

Two days later, while the twins flew back to Perth, as a matter of interest, I went to attend the Shire Council meeting, which started at 4pm, and I was surprised to see that the public gallery was full, so I had to stand along the back wall along with many others.