The wearing of the Orange
Look I cannot tell you when I last felt this good, this great, this proud to be a Southlander, feeling part of this proud, passionate people who can get out and say what they want. Hands off SIT it is. And high time too. The south has been pillaged, raped and plundered for far too long.
For a time there we were lulled into a complacency, hearing ourselves described as salt of the earth, solid sensible Southlanders.
But that soon morphed into stolid, insensitive southerners, gum-booted in mud,
Loads of things have gone from here; old timers talk of condensed milk that once sweetened Australasia and the Mary Street brewery, which filled every man’s boots, Kingsland’s biscuits that rivalled the best and spices from where the WEA is, which scented the whole of the city.
All gone now and yet still predators from the north come, their eyes on the success that is SIT.
How wonderful that city woman Carla Forbes recognised the threat and responded.
The Government initiative may well be investigative but there it is; we must treat every threat as real today.
Ms Forbes got the city behind her – huge orange signs Stand Up for SIT posters everywhere orange T shirts too,
In 10 days’ time it may well be the wearing of the green but till then orange it is, the new black, on-trend under my nice navy cardy.
Because the thing is, the Southern Institute of Technology has been a boon for us all not just for the students who come but for those among whom they live.
Many southern families have opened their homes to overseas students and won friends and new families for a lifetime.
We have all enjoyed different foods, have tried new hairstyles, worn different clothes.
The talents being nurtured at SIT spill out to benefit us all.
Who knew before Donna MacEntyre devised a course at SIT that therapeutic massage was something we’d all enjoy or that therapeutic recreation was other than a Saturday night jig?
The south has won heaps of major hairstyling awards with students learning the basics and more at SIT and trade awards. Other areas - notably cheffing - are coming in on their own too.
Today our hospitals and rest homes are primarily staffed by SIT trained nurses and caregivers, this ‘‘southernness’’ giving them a special rapport with those in their care. Thank you Carla and co for taking the lead.
Bet there are 100,000 Southlanders with you.