"Saluting the flag"

was something we did every Friday at school assembly. We recited the lines about who we were, loving our country and so on as we stood there in neat, straight lines. Sometimes we were made to repeat it because it did not sound as if we meant what we were saying. 

I am not sure I ever meant what I was saying. It was just one of those school rituals which had to be endured. It was marginally better than "PE" or "nature studies" but that was about all. I often wonder what other children made of it all. I suspect most of them just accepted it as something that we did.

What new migrants made of it all is an even greater mystery. We had a few in my early years at primary school, even one or two who did not speak English. They soon learned. We taught them out in the school yard.  

There was only one flag back then. It was the same flag for everyone. We were taught how to draw it and how it had come into existence and how it was important. There were "flag monitors" who raised and lowered the flag each day. They knew how to do it "properly" too. It was attached and detached correctly, folded with precision in the correct manner.

We were taught about explorers in this state, of the importance of the wool industry and rust resistant wheat. More than one father was a "wharfie" who loaded the wheat bags on to the ships which queued in the port.

Today is our national holiday. Children no longer "salute the flag". We have two flags, sometimes three. Many children are now told they belong to another ethnic grouping even while they are legally citizens of this country. Some people say it is a day of mourning. They might be an increasing minority but they get a major share of the day's news and a recent $1.48m grant from the government to investigate if the date should be changed.

The wool industry has declined dramatically. Wheat is being genetically modified. The grain there is goes to silos and wheat bags have all but disappeared. The "wharfies" still exist but they drive cranes to load containers on to ships in the outer harbour. Their sons search for employment in other places.

Today is now forecast to be 45'C - up from the previous forecast of 40'C. We will be told this is "climate change".  Yes, things have changed - but are they all for the better?