A guest list of 700 with lashings of pork ribs and American pie was served up at the US Embassy yesterday, 29 July, for a belated 4th of July party and the only thing missing in a sea of red-white-and blue, was any mention of US President Trump in a speech by Chargé d’Affaires Erika Olson.
Chargé Olson addressed the VIP audience on the history of Independence Day and our shared “frontier spirit” but there was no mention of President Trump’s global trade war — only that the Australian restrictions on US beef imports were to be lifted.
So, with formalities out of the way, the party (fancy dress theme “American county fair”) kicked off with copious quantities of (Aussie) burgers, pork ribs, chicken nuggets and buffalo wings. American culture was dialled up high with a mini drive-in complete with a $230,000+ Chevrolet Corvette, a 12.4kg gold bar (worth $2m) mined by US mining giant Newmont and a giant 5.3 metre flag of stars and stripes forever (borrowed from Perth’s US consulate).
Security and AFP Police presence was high given the number of VIP guests, including Australia’s Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who rushed from Parliament in his suit and tie and apologised for his lack of a country-themed costume.
“Clearly, I have come dressed in the wrong uniform, imagining that I was coming to a diplomatic event on a parliamentary sitting evening, only to find that I am here on the set of Yellowstone,” he said.
The deputy PM shared some unusual examples of the shared culture between Australia and America.
“Culturally, we draw so much from the United States, so that whether you’re talking about anything from Mickey Mouse to Indiana Jones, there is as much cultural resonance to that here in Australia as there would be in the United States,” he said.
The Deputy PM did at least mention the US President by name.
“I know that our government looks with enormous optimism and confidence about taking the American alliance into a new era with President Trump and his administration,” he said. “And so, as we look upon a world which is increasingly challenging, the American-Australian partnership is something for which we are all deeply grateful.”
Once the anthems were sung, with hand on heart, and speeches were finished, the crowd (complete with the entire Canadian and US ice hockey teams, who are playing each other at the AIS this weekend) enjoyed mechanical bull rides, McDonald’s apple pies, s’mores and country music by Aussie singer Tyla Rodrigues.
As for the belated date for a 4th of July bash, that was due to the fact that it’s a public holiday so it’s a day off. Also, the US Embassy picked a later date in July in the vain hope it would be warmer. It also coincided with the return of our parliament so that politicians could make it — a true bilateral alliance.
