OPERING OF THE MILLS CROSS RADIO TELESCOPE
HOSKI ! STO'N, N. S. W. 19TH NOVEMBER. 1965
Speech by the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies
Chancellor, Mr. Ambassador, Vise-Chancellor, Ladies and
Gentlemen I think I ought to begin by congratulating the
Vice-Chancellor on the astonishing fact that although he was
taught Latin in the same place as myself, he has since
acquired, in the reading of it, an Italian accent. ( Laughter)
Another thing I would like to say to you; it has
been coming into my mind steadily while all these people who
have preceded me have stolen the thunder. It was said of the
late Sir Edmnmd Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia
and later on a distinguished Justice of the High Court of
Australia that he usually said, when the Chief Justice had
spoken: " I concur'and this was held to be a reat proof of
idleness on his part. It wasn't. He very frequently wrote
a judgment himself of some significance but having heard it
delivered in substance by the Chief Justice, he had enough wit
to say, " I concur." And I am jolly well tempted to follow his
example. I could easily wind this up adequately by saying,
" I concur; I declare the Cross open but I won't go quite so
far as that, but the thing kept beating into my mind.
It was said by you, Sir, although you know far more
about scientific matters than I do, that you didn't understand
what it was about. Jell I could help you on that. This is
perfectly simple. It's rather a long-winded way of listening
in to what's going on upstairs, you see. As I understand it,
that's the whole secret of this matter that when you want to
listen in to what is going on above and you want to probe the
recesses of one of the galaxies, particularly Professor Bok's
favourite galaxy, all you do is to go along and get somebody
like Professor 1ills and say " This is what I want to do. Fix
it up." Hey presto, here it is. That is a summarised account
of this enterprise. But I, like you Sir, will never understand
it. I think when politicians start to make it their business
to understand the last subtleties of physical science, that will
bt the end of good politics and the beginning of an awful lot of
bad scientists in office. ( Laughter)
But the outstanding feature today, apart from these
very important matters Mr. Foley has described so admirably, the
great thing today is that this is a splendid example of co-operation
in the field of science between the greatest and most
powerful country in the world and one of the smallest in relative
terms in the world. Getting near: 200M in the United 6tates,
11M. in Australia, but I have more than once taken comfort from
the fact I referred to it on one or two occasions in the
United States, Mr. Ambassador that when that great man and
species of genius, Thomas Jefferson, first became President of
the United States, the population of the United States was 5M.
one-half of the number which we now have in Australia and yet,
quality being more important than quantity, on the basis of
that relatively small population, we've seen the most tremendous
developments in modern history, and therefore in Australia we are
not going to be too downcast by the fact that the population is
only 11. It is increasing very satisfactorily. . iear e not
going to be downcast about it because there are two things that / 2
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count. One is quality and this ou must have yourselves
and develop yourselves, and the oher is a spirit of co-operation
with all other people in the same field so that knowledge
becomes shared. These two factors are both illustrated today.
After all, Mr. Ambassador your great country and
mine have a certain parallelism in teLir history. On a
recent occasion a year or two ago I made what was supposed
to be a powerful speech at wonticeilo, celebrating Thomas
Jefferson and I took occasion to remind all those Rresent
that the Declaration of Independence in the United 6tates
created two new countries one was yours and one was mine.
This was literally true, because as The result of the
Declaration of Independence, the export of convicted persons
from England to the United States what is now the United
States came to an end, and they had to be sent somewhere,
and with unerring skill, they selected Sydney. ( Laughter,
applause). So that's how it all began.
I have also had occasion to remind the people of
Great Britain when I have spoken there that they don' need
to be too superior about the fact that some convicted persons
were sent to Australia and some convicted persons sent to the
United States because the statistical records show conclusively
that the majority of people convicted over that period remained
in England. ( Laughter)
And so, Sir, our two nations began their story by
a similar cause, in the technical sense, quite early in the
piece and at the same time. But think of what we have in
common with the United States. A lot of people are always
looking for some rather improper motive. The imputation of
motive is one of the commonest of human failings. And we
are told that we, of course, are friendly with the United States
because they are great and powerful and they will defend us.
Well they are great and they are powerful, and I think they
will defend us, but this is the lowest possible level on which
to put our association. The truth is that we are friends because we have
ideas in common, we have traditions in common, we have the
same instincts, cultivated instincts in common, we both
believe in the same kind of world and are determined to make
our own contribution to making it a better one. These are
great foundations for friendship, and here today we have the
perfect example of how this works out. This.... I almost said
King's Cross.... I don't want to steal that from Professor
MAessel. He seems to me to have got everything else. But
this eat instrument of science is itself, as we have been
remined, a product of association between Cornell University
so famous in this field and the University of Sydney, the olTest
university in Australia, a university, the founders of which,
125 years ago, would have been stag ered to think that thin s
of this kind could happen as a result of activities in whic รต
their university was taking a part.
Now Sir I don't want to talk to you any longer.
You haven't failed to notice there are a lot of flies. This
is not proof that we are in New South ', ales. It rather suggests
that we are in Canberra where we specialise on flies. I remember
one time during Mr. Lyons' Government we were all taken out on
to the lawn in front of Parliament House and photographed,
movie camera, to be put on the movies on 3aturday night.
And Mr. Lyons kept introducing us one at a time. 19. Hughes, a a / 3
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the late Mr. Hughes was among us, and we were all photographed
doing this.... ( Laughter) The scientists hadn't got busy at
that time producing maladorous things that ruin your clothes and
are supposed to keep the flies away. were all standing there,
doing this, you see, and on the way back to the House, little
Billy Hughes took me by the arm and looked up at me he had
to hysically, at any rate and I said, " That ought to look
rather impressive, do you think, on Saturday night?" " Oh,"
he said don't be funny. Then they look at that, they'll nudge
each other and they'll say, ' Bill we've been had.'"
Sir, it's a great occasion. I won't prolong
your troubles. I'm very honoured to be here, very delighted
o be allowed to come on to strange territory for this purpose.
I wish the whole enterprise well; I acknowledge the tremendous
support that has been given by the LIuclear Foundation. We have
heard a little about it from Mr. Foley who is among its most
active people but this has been a splendid example of co-operation
between the business world, not notably scientific in its
own right any more than we are as politicians, but between the
business world, the scientific world, the university world.
This kind of association of this type must go on and on in
Australia until every university is not only a source of the
receipt of funds but is creating a community of its own and
making itself part of the overall community of the country.
This, I think, will argue the best reilts and the brightest
future. Sir, retrospectively I say: I concur. I declare
the Cross open.