NEWSLETTER 2/2010 SEPTEMBER 2010 Graduating Class June 2010 The Duntroon Society Newsletter Editor Associate Editors Dr M.J. (Mike) Ryan Colonel R.R. (Ross) Harding (Retd) School of Engineering and IT 37 QdQuandong St. UNSW@ADFA O’CONNOR ACT 2602 Australian Defence Force Academy Telephone: (02) 6248 5494 Northcott Drive E-mail: [email protected] CANBERRA ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6268 8200 Fax: (02) 6268 8443 Colonel C.A. (Chris) Field E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Cover: photographs courtesy of Defence Publishing Service AudioVisual, Duntroon (Photographers: Phillip Vavasour and Grace Costa) have been there singing off ‘music sheets’ which was the Memories of 100 Days to Go class code for bottles of beer. The plan was they would stay Neil Bradley (1966) there, out of the way of Fourth Class until they returned for the evening meal on the Sunday and then have a night of In September 1969 a Canberra journalist (Newton) games. This Yass activity meant that the college was largely precipitated another bastardisation scandal when he empty of First Class with the notable exception of Wibs and published a 21-page treatise titled Duntroon—A Tradition of myself. Torture. Amongst other things he claimed that the activities I changed into my Blues and at about 2355h started the known as “100 Days to Go” (100 DTG) were particularly trek down to the Orderly Room to take over. As I came brutal. My memory of 100 DTG was not for the faint- down the hill from Sovs Block, I heard this dull roar. hearted, but hardly brutal. Newton implied that it was a Rounding the corner of the BSM’s room, there was a mass continuation of senior class bastardisation of the junior of excited Fourth Class. I found out later that Wibs had been class. It was in fact the tradition for Fourth Class to chased earlier in the night and took refuge in the Ack Block bastardise First Class on this particular day. attic, pulling the ladder up after him. To keep Fourth Class I graduated in 1966. The Class that wore the blame in at bay and to stop damage to the building, he had called that 1969 scandal was in fact in Fourth Class during my 100 down to them that they had started too early and that DTG year. For my sins, which were mostly imagined, I was Bradley was coming on duty at midnight. Who needs class Orderly Officer on that day. mates? Fourth Class were primed and waiting for me. My story really started about the Monday before. I was I was taller than most so I thought a bit of bluff can go a the rostered Orderly Officer for that preceding week, which long way. ‘Out of the way Fourth Class’. There was a went Friday to Friday. On that day I attended the dentist parting of the mass leaving me a clear path to the steps to because of an impacted wisdom tooth. The image I carry is the Orderly Room. I was just about to take the final step up one of the dentist’s foot on my neck as he looked for and Tubby Bennetts {CSC 2427 G.H. Bennetts (OCS Dec leverage to pull the tooth out. The result was a mess, with 1967), Ed.}, a Kiwi brawler who was guarding the top step, gums lanced and lots of swelling. jumped forward and said ‘Hey you bastards; let’s get him’. Here I was as the Orderly Officer barely able to speak For the next 15 hours or so I was their lightning rod for and with a cheek that looked like a tennis ball. I could do their frustrations. I was quickly stripped and paraded as the most of the duties, but I got the Second Class Orderly great catch. I was resigned to the view that resistance was Sergeant to take the drill part of defaulters parade after I had hopeless. I was strapped to a chair and sometimes a cannon. carried out the inspection. Morning defaulters parades in late I was painted and hosed with all manner of foul mixtures. I August were both cold and often hidden in fog. still have a photo of myself strapped in the nude across the On the Friday, with some thought of relief, I went across balcony rail at the back of Beer Block receiving an egg to Panic Palace to make my daily report to the Adjutant, enema. Captain M.J. (Tube) Harris (1961). It was normal for the While some of the treatment given to me was regrettable, handover to the incoming Orderly Officer—A.J. (Wibs) we also had a lot of fun along the way. As a middle distance Wiber—to be completed at this time. runner, I knew that endurance can be your friend and so it The Adjutant took my report and commented that the was. There is only so much that you can do to physically to weekend weather should be fine for 100 DTG. I thought he humiliate a person if that person does not humiliate. The was making polite conversation. He then said with a big hardest part was getting through the cold of a Canberra grin, that he had seen me scratching my back during winters evening with no clothes and wet. Thankfully Fourth defaulters parade from his bedroom in Duntroon House and Class interest started to wane. that I was allocated a further week of Orderly Officer duty. On the Sunday, one of the Fourth Class appeared He failed to mention the fact that the parade ground area wearing the Orderly Officer’s Sam Browne belt, sword and was shrouded in fog and that I was not there. my Blues Cap. I rolled onto my knees and straightened my I stood in front of him gobsmacked at the injustice of it. body as much as the chair I was strapped to would allow and For cadets there was no right of redress against such things. said with authority, ‘That is a symbol of office; take it off’. My aim became to try and salvage some of the weekend that The reaction was instant. I softened and said words to the I and most others in First Class had planned. I explained that effect ‘look guys, you have left the college in a hell of a I had been invited to a dinner party at an officer’s place on mess and it needs to be cleaned up’. They all agreed with the Saturday evening. He quizzed me further, made a phone that. I suspect if Tubby had been there he would have had a call and said OK. Wibs would stand in, and I was allowed different view, but we did a deal. When I called for the Sam leave from end of Saturday sport, but I was to be back at Browne belt and put it on, I was the Orderly Officer and midnight. Bugger, I got 100 DTG. they did what I directed. When I took it off, the festivities Pinky Maloney and I went to dinner that Saturday night could restart. with Captain Taylor {J.G. Taylor, RAE was the Garrison I think I wore the belt twice, without clothes except for Engineer—see Newsletter 1/1998 p. 10. Ed.} and his family. footy shorts. I am not certain whose shorts, but I had He was building the new college chapel and we knew him convinced them that wearing the belt in the nude did not through rugby. It was a good night, but I refrained from fairly reflect the dignity of the office that I represented. drinking. With the way my luck had been running, Tube Tube would have loved it. could have been there to see that I turned up at midnight and First Class members slowly drifted in during the was not under the influence. In the next few hours there afternoon and Fourth Class activities became dispersed as were many times I wish he had. attention moved away from me. I took the opportunity to Pinky dropped me back at Clink after the dinner and he clean myself up, recover my uniform and get some rest. then took off to the prearranged First Class Concert Party on The vast majority of First Class arrived in full song, just a farm somewhere near Yass. Most of First Class would before dinner. Everyone wanted fun and the idea of treating 1 others the way I had been the night before, was well out of the time when he should have been in Mudgee in the Mater Fourth Class’ collective mind. hospital. After a very noisy dinner and mess games, the evening Included with this report is a selection of photos taken finished up with the traditional game of Carry the Mail in by Ian Taylor, which are representative of the weekend the old gym. I had earlier got Fourth Class to set up the gym activities. The predominance of wine and wine-related mats on the floor. First Class on one side and Fourth Class activities is therefore not contrived. the other. What was the mail and who won was irrelevant, but there was a lot of yelling, laughter, clashes of bodies and probably some scores being settled. With some thick lips, grazed body parts and I am sure a few black eyes, everyone helped clean up the gym and went off well satisfied to their quarters to get ready for Monday. I got back into my Blues and took the late evening Check Parade for those on Stoppage of Leave.