Peter John McMahon b.02.08.63 - d.22.06.09

Dear All - Above, you can see an excellent likeness of Pete, taken in the kitchen Jan. 2009
He was deeply happy in his family life and it shows.

I will devote this blog to Peter. What a shock it has been to have him go from us so suddenly, and how sad I am and everyone else in the family is. Our thoughts and prayers are very much with Leith and their two beautiful young sons, Ben and Toby; and also with Pete's parents, Mary and Jim, and his brothers, Neil and Kevin and their families.

It was such an unbelievable shock on Monday when Mary said - mobile to mobile - Peter is dead! And I said "Peter? Your Peter?" Not able to comprehend the news. "Yes", said Mary, "He dropped dead at work" and that is all we really know so far. Others will fill in a few gaps until we get the autopsy report, but nothing will fill in the gap that Peter has left.

I am only an aunt but I am quite grief-stricken, so I cannot imagine the grief of his immediate family. Pete was a beautiful man. I have so many memories. He was always so aware of others, and so humble himself. He had a wicked sense of humour but took advantage of nobody. He was generous (I experienced that personally) and kind and didn't ever look as though anything was a trouble for him to do for anyone. He had great integrity and was very much his own person - not swayed at all by the crowd.

As a youngster he was full of heart and energy, and used to thunder down the corridor of his grandmother's house at Fairfield, for he was big for his age and solid. All the problems of children who look older than they are were his. He was an excellent student and achieved the highest grades possible, but kept that all in the background because he focused on the people he was with and was very aware of how they were faring. He was a most conscientious and hard-working employee and I am sure his employers have lost a treasure on their staff.

Pete was just Pete. What else can I say. This world seems emptier because he is no longer in it and will no longer be at our family gatherings. He and Ben met me at the airport sometime in the last 12 months (Ben loved planes) and took me to their place where I had the chance to be just with them. I had been with them a few times, in both the present house and the last - when Ben was much younger, and when Toby was only lying on his blanket on the floor, so very young. We had long converations and there was always depth in them. Their home was such a happy one and their children were heard and taught and cared for beautifully.

Peter was tender and supportive with Leith, and loving with his two sons, who adored him. Their loss is huge, and I can only pray that, while life will be very different, they will, -with the heritage they have been given at the start of their lives, and the continued love of their wonderful and beautiful mother, Leith, and the ongoing support of family and friends -grow up in a way that their father would be proud of and that will do justice to themselves.

I will put in three photos of Pete - just three I happen to have. Others might have better.

LEFT: About 2003-4 Showing off tiny Ben to his Great-grandmother in Tricare, Mt Gravatt, while proud Grandmother Mary looks on.

RIGHT: January 2008 in Canberra with Ben while Leith holds little Toby. Perhaps the 'halo' provided by the light-frame was significant?

That is all for the present

Love from Rita

PS. I head off from Darwin about 1 am Sunday morning (28th) and arrive in Canberra via Sydney about 9 am. On Tuesday (30th) I head off at 6.05 am via Adelaide for Alice Springs , arriving there about 11.55 am. All Qantas. It was actually the cheapest I could get - and think of all the Frequent Flyer points I will accumulate! I'll return to Darwin from Alice on 11th July.

Our Lady of China, Events at Nungalinya, the Woollies come out!

Dear All,

What a shame I simply forgot about taking my camera to Nighcliff last Saturday when a couple of us went to the special "Our Lady of China" Mass at the Centre opposite the Parish Church of St Paul's. Sr Mary works there in half the building with the Chinese Catholic community in Darwin and this was their annual celebratory Mass. The retired Bishop, Ted Collins was principal celebrant, assisted by the Chaplain of the Chinese (an Indian) Fr James, and two msc priests. We sat outdoors in a well-lit, fenced, grassed area with a long red banner in Chinese and English draped above the altar. The door to the kitchen was immediately behind the altar and all the latecomers arriving with food had to sneak behind the Bishop and official group in full view to put their food for supper inside! Embarrassing! But it was all very friendly and no one minded. All the singing (except one or perhaps two things) was in Chinese, and since most people there were Chinese, that was OK. It had that sing-song quality. After Mass we had a most resplendent table of food at which, within 1 metre along the edge, I had taken a plateful of goodies which was enough to fill me for the night. I didn't even look at all the other dishes - dozens of them - crowded on the table. One can only eat so much, so matter how nice. After we had the main course, some items of Chines singing started. Dessert was to follow after the items, but Sr Liz and I took departure before that. I didn't miss dessert - no room for it. I really regretted forgetting to bring the camera.

The next event I forgot the camera for was the Nungalinya Board Meeting lunch with the College Staff and Students out under the trees beside the dining room. Board members only meet a couple of times a year to give guidance to the College and oversee its operations. They come from far and wide and represent all groups involved with the College - Aboriginal people, Church leaders etc. There was a meeting of the Aboriginal members the day before to go over the Agenda so that they felt comfortable participating in the meeting and had had a chance to become familiar with everything in advance. The meeting went very well apparently, and was finished by lunchtime. The College had prepared a BBQ lunch for everyone outside and put the tables in three lines with chairs (very civilised BBQ) It was a good chance to meet the Board members and I had a long conversation with a Uniting Church Minister from Alice Springs who will help me to get to some communities they are involved in down there when I go to Alice between 28/6 and 11/7.

I forgot the camera again for the Induction of the newest Staff Member last night out at the College. It was a Uniting church Service and very well prepared for the occasion. Luckily, another staff member pointed out Helen's camera lying on the groun (it was her induction) when I lamented forgetting my camera, so I used it to take quite a good set of photos of the evening. I think I was the only Catholic there, and there was at least one Anglican, so we were called foward at the appropriate time to express our welcome to Helen. I'll add a couple of pics.

1. You can see the lovely setting in the mild weather. The glowing white lights are the reflective patches on the sleeves of an military chap with 'Marshall' emblazoned across his left chest! Helen is giving her speech of thanks after her induction in the photo. There were quite a few Indonesian people there because Helen (who is responsible for Cross-cultural Awareness courses as well as teaching some theology) is married to an Indonesian.

2. Helen is accepting congratulations here from Rev. Mawunydjil Garawirrtja, Chairperson, Northern Regional council Congress (I copied that from the program - I'm not that smart!). He gave the 'Preaching of the Word' and spoke extremely well from the heart and his own experience. He would be a highly respected elder. Behind Helen is the Moderator of the Uniting Church up here, Wendell Jones. He led the Service. Helen has a dress from Africa on.

1. Helen is receiving the Gifts to present at the Altar table from various people: the Principal of the College is handing her the Cup of wine; an Indonesian from the Indonesian church in Darwin is next; then comes an Aboriginal Yolgnu woman who did a reading in language; finally comes a Uniting Church leader. You will notice some people are chilly enough to wear a light jacket/cardingan! I wore a 'coat' - you would have seen it, a 'linen' jacket with short sleeves that someone passed on to me and when worn, makes me instantly look much better dressed!

2.& 3. Aren't these three girls lovely! they did the Dance after Communion that you can see in the third photo. The song was played on a CD and most of the people knew the music and sang along quietly while the girls did lovely, graceful and reverent movements to it. They are members of the FACS group which has just finished its course here and all the participants are returning to Milingimbi /Maningrida tomorrow.

Today we had the Presentation of Certificates to the FACS group which has completed their five weeks here. Last week they were on Work Experience. I talked to one young chap today after the ceremony and found out he and the other one with him were both aged 23. He was married with a son. He told me he had been married for 8 years. I was a bit surprised and said, "You were 15 when you got married?" "Yes", he said. Apparently Aboriginal laws are allowed in traditional communities up here and men sometimes 'work through' a few wives in their life-times. Some young men are married first to older women and then later in life to someone nearer their age. I don't pretend to have this all straight, but I quote the 23-year-old as a fact. He would not have been allowed to marry in mainline society. The other chap with him was not married. I'll give a couple of pics from today:

1. Dr Lee Levett Olson (Principal) presenting Justin with his Attainment Certificate. Justin is the 23-year-old mentioned above with the 8-year marriage and son.

2. The entire FACS group with all the staff who had been involved with them, including Helen and myself who helped with a bit of individual literacy work. I look (and am, I guess!) the size of a house beside all these slim people!!!! Sigh! This is quite a nice photo of everyone because by then - after several photos - I had fully trained them all in how to say 'monkeys' for the camera! My fame will rest on that!

I see you have all been freezing to death. I think we have had the edges of the freeze up here because the other morning was only 17 with a stiff breeze and I had to go and dig out a cardigan. The days still get warm and I am still turning the air-con on but later - perhaps lunchtime.

Sr Liz's father is poorly - he has been unwell all year, but this seems to be a final decline - so she is heading off to Melbourne on Monday. Then we will be 2. Meanwhile we hope and pray that Liz's time there will be blessed.

I must hit the hay. My Friday nights are all blog - I'll have to get into the habit of writing bits during the week instead of a Friday night onslaught. Love to everyone.

xxxx Rita

OLSH Feast Day, Special Visitors, Sign of the Dry

Dear All,

There have been quite a few events this week, but I forgot to take photos of some of them. However, I got some good photos of the couple I remembered to take.

The Youth Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart last Saturday was a lovely occasion. The Cathedral was filled, although not packed - we had plenty of space. There were youth there in plenty and St John's choir led the music with their young conductor, Regina, whose voice is a delight to hear - very sweet, very true, musical, and excellent quality, plus well trained. No wonder the choir sings well. That added a vibrancy to the whole celebration. The Youth up here have a special affection for Cardinal Pell because he made it possible for them to get the funds for all their youth group to get to Sydney last year for World Youth Day. At the close of Mass they made a special presentation to him and gave a couple of speeches of thanks. The Cardinal seemed to enjoy the Mass to and looked relaxed and happy. I think he had a good week and the 'swine flu' (ahem!!!) which he had at the start of the week (aka, a bit of a throat and cough and sniffle) subsided within days.

After Mass there was lunch provided for the youth and visitors with the Cardinal under a marque beside the Cathedral. We OLSH repaired to the Convent courtyard with the Associates (total number of us was about 24) and enjoyed a light lunch together followed by a simple liturgy in the Chapel.

That evening all we Darwin OLSH (Salonika 2, and Darwin 3) went out for tea at the Trailler Boat Club. Here is where I remembered to take photos. It is a sunset event, because Darwin is renowned for its sunsets, and you order your meal (I had char-grilled rump with salad etc - excellent), carry away a buzzer, and when it lights up and sounds you go and collect your meal. We were given our plates with the cooked meat and collected what we wanted from the salads and hot vegetable dishes nearby. Here are a few of my many many pictures:

(Above) 1. You can see this is the entrance to the place; and 2. After you go in that front door, you order and go outside in an enclosed area on the left of the entrance and find a table. The harbour is on the left which is the west. 3. I was standing in the queue to take this photo as the sun was going down and so couldn't avoid the sunshade, but it is still a nice photo.

As the sun declined below the horizon, the colour changed and you can see that in the enlarged centre photo at the top of the page. I'll show you now how the colour changes over the next 15 - 20 minutes:

1. This was just after the sun set. 2. The sun started to light up the clouds - this one may in sequence have come where the large photo is and vice versa. Too much trouble to change!. See the people down on the water's edge. 3. After it became dark, children and teenagers stood down in the lit area of the beach - the children to play, the teenagers to socialise some distance from their parents back in the seats behind the rock here which was part of the retaining structure for our outdoor eating area.

On Sunday, Pat and Hartley Smith from St Peter's Parish, Rochedale, called in, having spent a week in Kakadu on their Caravan trip from Brisbane up through the west of Queensland and across to Darwin and then the Kimberleys. They came to Mass at St Martin de Porres Church and found it a real experience (good) - very friendly, and a bit different in a good way. Afterward, we went to Nightcliff and they left their 'packed to the hilt' 4-wheel drive in the carpark shown in the first picture and we looked for a place to have lunch. We ended up in Fannie Bay at a place called 'Cool Spot' and it was an excellent choice. At first we thought we would sit outside on the open verandah, but smelt smoke (cigarettes) and thought the seats inside looked rather nice. It was air-conditioned inside and the seats we eyed off were up about three stairs on a raised section and we had an unrestricted view out, with no smoke, and lovely ambience. Good choice! I enjoyed my lunch of roast duck in plum sauce salad. It was a light lunch but very tender and tasty ovals of this marinated duck around the top of a pile of fresh salad. I would have it again. I took no photos here, but afterwards we went to the Wave Pool area beside the new Convention Centre and walked around seeing the sights. There are some pictures of this.

1. You can see the edge of the carpark and the walking/bicycle path between the rails and the beach. The tide is out - I think you can see!

2. Here is the wave pool and, sorry, you can't enlarge this middle picture, but you can see it is quite large and very popular. It is lovely clean water and the waves are sort of big bumps which keep moving down the pool.

3. Here are Pat, myself, and Hartley on the end of Stokes Wharf. The camera is sitting on a rail and you can see a bit of it in the left corner. The nice floral decoration was quite accidental. I had 10 seconds to position myself and smile. It will enlarge if you really want to see our expressions!

There are many signs of the dry here - kites

beginning to appear in the sky; my hair very

disinclined to wave and sit where I want it to;

relentlessly sunny skies; far less humidity; everything needing watering in the garden or else it goes brown within days; and finally, I sat in my car having lunch at Dripstone Cliffs picnic area and, lo and behold, I had a friendly little Rainbow

Bee Eater flitting around - quite unafraid of the car (the engine was running to maintain air-conditioning. Look hard and you will see him on the fence near the central post. Two mates joined him/her and flew around too. These little kingfishers come in groups during the dry. They swoop after insects in flight. You can enlarge this picture.

Work has been continuing and I make slow progress, but I am making progress. We had an 'expert' up from Melbourne for 3 days and he was helpful and encouraged. It will be good to actually teach and it looks as though I will help in a class in the first week back (July 20) and teach a class by myself the next week. The teaching is pretty intensive once you start with 3 sessions each of one and a half hours daily. The pace is very slow ( you know how naturally patient I am!!!!) because of the language hurdles.

Today we had the funeral of an msc Brother who has been up here since 1941 - mainly with the Tiwi people on Bathurst Island - and who died last week aged 102. He had a big funeral in the Cathedral with the Chief Minister and others present, and then was flown to Bathurst Island for an outdoor Mass over there and burial (his request). The call his the 'father of football' around here because he introduced AFL to the Tiwis on Bathurst and instilled in them a love of a game for which he saw they had a natural talent. From there the game spread throughout the north and St Mary's was the first Football Team in Darwin to have entirely Aboriginal Players. Br John Pye himself had been an outstanding athlete at school (Riverina area) and was also a talented student who became a diesel engineer. One of the men (Aboriginal) after the funeral was interviewed and said of him "He was..... he was.... he was perfect ... he was a perfect man!" Another story was told about his lack of cooking skills and the time he cooked a roast with the plastic still on it!

It is bed time so I will finish here and publish this. Hope everyone is well and swine-flu free! (such a terrible title for a disease!) We are getting a scattering of cases up here, but it seems mild and no one is terribly worried about it yet. Time will tell. You can worry about things like that and then have your plane fall out of the sky! I know which one I would rather have.

With those profound words I will close for the week.

Love from Rita