The PR Blog

When I was a lad in Western Australia, the 5th of November used to be an eagerly awaited event. 

That was Guy Fawkes Night, commemorating the apprehension in 1605 of conspirators who plotted to blow up the British Parliament and were hanged and quartered.

Just the sort of thing a young Flysa could get excited about. 

The Catholic conspirators led by Fawkes, placed thirty-six barrels of gunpowder in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords in order to assassinate the Protestant King James 1 during the opening of Parliament, and place his young daughter Elizabeth on the throne as a puppet Queen.

Of recent days, it has come to my attention that being thrifty is something that is not much admired these days. And it all started with a teabag..... 

There’s a razor-thin line between prudence and being, well, a miser.

And it got me thinking about the leprechaun ... Leprechauns, with their legendary pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, seem to be poster figures for hoarding wealth. But are they truly misers, or are they just exceptionally prudent?

So here we go down a Shaydee rabbit hole all about Leprechauns, teabags and misers.... 

Let’s be real: Leprechauns don’t exactly share their wealth freely. They guard their pots of gold like it’s the only thing tethering them to reality. 

Much like we feel today when our banks refuse us access to our money. Are leprechauns merely little chaps who got a handle on it long before we did?  

A recent court decision has left many Australians angry. 

The case involving Senator Pauline Hanson and Senator Mehreen Faruqi highlights significant issues around racial discrimination and freedom of speech in Australian politics. In September 2022, after Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi criticised Queen Elizabeth II and the legacy of British colonialism in the wake of her death, Senator Hanson responded on social media, telling Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan.” This comment sparked widespread debate and led to legal action, with Faruqi pursuing a complaint under Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act.

A federal court judge recently ruled that Hanson’s statement did indeed constitute racial discrimination, as it implied that Faruqi did not belong in Australia due to her Pakistani heritage and Moslem background. The court found that Hanson's remark was not simply a response to political discourse but was instead tied to Faruqi’s race and ethnicity, making it discriminatory. This ruling underscores the limits of public officials’ comments, even under the protection of parliamentary privilege and free speech in Australia.

Well, I feel moved to write about this from an Australian perspective. 

I’ve started and restarted this article, pondered how to avoid hurting anyone’s sensitivities, and in the end have decided to accept Admiral Farragut’s advice at the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864: Damn the torpedoes - full speed ahead!

I have an intellectual and emotional stake in this matter of the Charge of Beersheba (Be’er-Sheva). My maternal grandfather, 2788 Trooper John Joseph McGrath, was a horse breaker who served in the 2^nd Remount Unit for more than three years under Major A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson in Egypt and Palestine.

My father, QX 17611  S/Sgt James Hammill served in the 2/ 14^th LHR between the wars, then in Tobruk and the Middle East, including Palestine, with the 2/9 Bn. The subject of the Charge of Beersheba was not an infrequent topic at home and in places that I visited.

In a defining moment of World War I, British forces led by General Edmund Allenby liberated Jerusalem, ending four centuries of Ottoman rule.

After the daring charge at Beersheba paved the way, Allenby chose a symbolic and respectful approach - entering the ancient city on foot rather than horseback, signaling a new era.

With this humble stride in 1917, Allenby sought to honour the city’s sacred history, cementing his place in history as both a conqueror and a peacemaker.

After all, to the Victor go the Spoils as the saying goes. 

I have to wonder if perhaps what is going on right now is that the vanquished are fighting back....... 

Beersheba is a name that should resonate with every Australian with the same ease and reverence as Gallipoli.

Sadly it does not.

Because the charge on the desert city of Beersheba on 31^st October, 1917 is the most outstanding piece of military daring and execution ever undertaken in the military history of the World.

On that day 800 members of the Australian 4^th Light Horse Brigade of the Imperial Mounted Division brought a stunning victory from the jaws of defeat and started the dismembering of the Ottoman Empire.

The attack began in the late afternoon by this unique breed of men riding a unique breed of horse. It is widely described as the last great cavalry assault yet the participants were not cavalry; they were mounted infantry.