This story and
its photographs are the copyright of the Australian Department of Defence. Permission to
reproduce may be sought from the Editor, Army Newspaper Unit by contacting armynews@defencenews.gov.au
This story was
filed by Cpl Brian Hartigan from Dili, East Timor and published in ARMY Magazine in March
2000 as a side bar to the story -- TIMOR: Terror and brutality fail
Concert Time
"I BELIEVE this concert will be a
defining moment for many people — it will be a young person’s Woodstock —
and if you are too young to know what Woodstock is, I’ll explain it to you
later."
That was the sentiment expressed by Maj-Gen Peter Cosgrove
in thanking the many performers, producers, promoters, sponsors and others who
dedicated their time, energy and effort to entertaining the INTERFET troops
in East Timor.
In an effort to ensure as few of the troops as possible
missed out, most of the performers were flown into East Timor aboard military
aircraft a day early to fulfil a tight schedule of unplugged concerts around
the country. With shades of Little Patty, Col Joy and Lorrae Desmond entertaining
the troops in Vietnam, today’s entertainment giants, in the first of many
gigs for the day, treated Suai to a full-cast rendition of I still call
Australia home. Thanks to the tropical rains much embarrassment was avoided
as tears welled in soldiers’ eyes.
As John Farnham and James Blundell were whisked away
for their respective gigs in Oecussi and Maliana, Doc Neeson continued to entertain
Suai with old — but not forgotten — Angel’s numbers, while Kylie
all the while signed hundreds of autographs and posed for too numerous photos.
On to Balibo, headquarters for the 2RAR battalion group,
and while the Doc administered to the musical needs of soldiers, Kylie caught
up with an old friend. 2IC B Sqn 3/4 Cav Regt Capt Brad Kilpatrick was an actor
before he got a haircut and a real job. During his acting career Brad starred
opposite Kylie in TV favourites The Henderson Kids and Neighbours
and the pair have maintained a long-distance friendship ever since. Needless
to say, the boys from B Sqn came in for a little favourable treatment from the
pint-sized star. But it was Kylie who suffered most from the encounter as the
boys rendered a song describing their most private night-time handiwork, the
lyrics of which she later confessed were etched in her brain.
Travelling by RNZAF Huey, a ride that excited the international
singing star almost as much as winning another ARIA, the full and rather tiring
day did not end on arrival in Dili. A full dress rehearsal and VIP party was
to follow.
On December 21, the big day, an estimated 3000 armed
INTERFET personnel and 5000 local East Timorese packed into Stadiun [sic] Dili
for the concert of a lifetime.
The Dili Allstars warmed up the crowd before Rampaging
Roy Slaven, H.G. Nelson and the RMC Band led the crowd into the main bill which
was broadcast live back to Australia and beamed into more Australian homes than
just about any other single event in television history.
The timely arrival of the afternoon drenching
only served to add to the hugely electric atmosphere and the warmth of the images
going home. Grown men in disruptive pattern camouflaged uniforms carrying automatic
weapons wept openly. East Timorese kids rode higher on the atmosphere than they
did on the shoulders of their new-found friends. And seasoned entertainers bristled
with more adrenaline and endorphins than they had ever felt in front of any
other crowd.