Sat 21/3: Harmony Day

Today is Harmony Day.  It's a day to remember and celebrate the diversity of our nation.  A day to respect and acknowledge our First People.  A day to value the individual cultural contributions of all who call Australia home.  We own a shared history, together.

 

I would like to share a couple of poems with you that have been created especially for Harmony Day this year.  The first is from my work colleague Meredith:

 

Harmony Day is with us in our daily lives.

Especially, we hope, between husbands and wives.

It is within music, three or four notes at a time

And in the lines of a poem, with its melodious rhyme.

 

Harmony is all around us every day,

From under the sea to the Milky Way.

With this our traditional owners are aligned,

But unfortunately, many of us are somewhat behind.

 

Let us work together hand in hand

So that our children can understand

The meaning of …

Harmony.

 

An harmonious bunch:

 

Busy - but harmonious - on the beach:

 

Getting to The Point.  The overcast day shows the beautiful green and blue colours of the water, dispersed with pink caps!

 

Happy Birthday!

 

This poem is from my 12 year old niece, Eva:

 

Harmony is a flock of many different birds

A tree made of branches

A sentence made of words

 

Each piece is needed to make the whole

The links in a chain

Emotions in one's soul

 

Every part is just as important as the rest

The pieces in a puzzle

The sticks in a nest

 

Harmony is a world of difference races

Different cultures

Different faces

 

You are one

I am one

We all are one

 

Shining in unity

Brighter than the sun

 

As B&Bers we see harmony in action every day in our underwater aquarium:

 

Spot the cuttlefish hiding under the rock:

 

I cannot swim down very far so I enlisted the help of a willing participant to take the following shot - thank you Deon!!  Sarah told me there are some squid eggs on a fish transponder.  Look at this:

 

Here's Deon being at one with the fish:

 

Underwater aurora! ;-)

 

Yellowtail:

 

 

A final word from me:

 

Harmony is when rain droplets form an ocean,

They mould together and move in motion.

 

Harmony is a house that is made of bricks,

Each block is valued when added to the mix.

 

Harmony is taking turns for penguins on ice,

Let responsibility be shared and fairness suffice.

 

Harmony takes more than metaphorical verse,

Let's celebrate our similarities and being diverse.

 

Thanks for reading!

Anna Bananna.

 

Stats:

180 swimmers

8 newbies

22.7 degrees

 

Important Notice

There has been a suspected case of illegal shark fishing within Cabbage Tree Bay and concerning shark finning practices. One of our swimmers found a shark fin on the footpath on Friday morning in Victoria Pde just before the swim. It was fresh, and looks like it could be from a Dusky whaler This has been reported to fisheries who have collected the fin for analysis.

 

If anyone has any information about people fishing in Cabbage Tree Bay or cutting fins off sharks and throwing the shark back in the water alive, please get photographic evidence (including number plates as well) and contact fisheries to report illegal fishing on 1800 043 536.