A few quotes worth thinking about on Australia Day

Australia Day, is celebrated on January 26^th ,  and as it falls on a Sunday in 2014, Monday 27^th is also a public holiday. It  is a time when the whole nation joins in the joy of being a country which most people in the world applaud and which other nationalities consistently vote the country they would most like to reside in. All around Australia there are celebrations including, flag raising ceremonies, citizenship ceremonies, marches, plenty of free entertainment in parks and for most cities a spectacular firework display to finish off the proceedings!

Australia Day was originally named Foundation Day celebrating the day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into Sydney Cove with the 11 convict ships which comprised the First Fleet. Primarily European focused, the celebration did not really recognise the aborigines whose home it had been for thousands of years. As time has moved on Australia Day began to celebrate all the states of Australia joining together to become one nation and subsequently it is now more to do with the celebration of what it means to be Australian.

Australians now hail from a multitude of backgrounds but there are some values which are held to be essentially Australian particularly, striving for success, battling against the odds, mateship, fair play, supporting the underdog, a love of humour and valuing the great outdoors. 

A few quotes below are worth thinking about on Australia Day:

Those who lose dreaming are lost - Australian Aboriginal proverb

If you go out for a big night and by some misadventure you end up in a prison cell, you can count on your best friend to bail you out, but your best mate will be in there besides you Australian observation

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour – anon

Australia's greatest strength is that a tradesmen and CEO can sit down at a pub, share a beer and learn from each other-anon

Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticise them, you're a mile away and have their shoes – anon

They who came here in chains, who were lashed while they worked in convict gangs at Port Arthur. They who like many others were driven through starvation or oppression from their home-lands to the shores of this new country, Australia. They, who for a multitude of reasons that hopefully, I or my children will never witness or experience, decided not to harbour grudges or discontent but rather to look to the future. They who embraced this country as their own and said; "let's get on with it, this is a new land, this is our home. Dennis O'Keeffe – Musician

What rugby league teaches you is that everything is temporary. The dead-set certainty is that there's adversity coming as well as success. You may as well make the most of it while you can. Matthew Elliott - football coach

Never complain, never explain personal motto of Kerry Packer – billionaire

A champion team will always beat a team of champions - Early Collingwood Magpies teams

Unless you're willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won't happen Phillip Adams - journalist

As a leader you must celebrate life, you must celebrate success and paradoxically, you must celebrate heroic failures Lieutenant General D.M. Mueller

All our best heroes are losers Richard Glover - radio presenter

The true Aussie battler and his wife thrust doggedly onwards: starting again, failing again, implacably thrusting towards success. For success, even if it is only the success of knowing that one has tried to the utmost and never surrendered, is the target of every battler Michael Page & Robert Inapen - authors

It's dead easy to die; it's the keeping on living that's hard - Douglas Mawson - Scientist and polar survivor

You never want an Australian with his back against the wall. You put any 12 blokes together and you'll get a job done. Whether it's getting a bogged four-wheel-drive off the beach or standing in front of a cricket wicket and making sure we're in a dominant position. It's the same dog, different leg action, so to speak - Matthew Hayden - cricket player

It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies Arthur Calwell - Politician

If the guy next to you is swearing like a wharfie he's probably a billionaire. Or, just conceivably, a wharfie - Australian observation

Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV -anon

Private Schools in Australia: is it worth it?

Whether you are moving to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth or anywhere else in Australia, if you have children you will be wondering about the education system in Australia. One of your questions may be ‘Is it worth putting my children in a private school?’ It is a big investment. Some elite private schools can cost over $30,000 a year for some grades. You want to do the best you can for your children and when you see results tables, facilities, a who’s who of success stories who went through the school you may think that this is a must have option. But is it?

Some parents forget that not all schools suit all children and knowing what is the best school for your child is not always a case of throwing a lot of money at it. Private schools usually, but not always, have smaller classes, usually but not always have better facilities and usually but not always have really good teachers. The four main things to decide are whether a school suits your child intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically.  If your child is not at all academic, for example, but an amazing sportsperson they may feel crushed by a private school on a tiny campus that is driven by academic results. There may be a state school in the same area which runs terrific sports programs, has great sports fields and would allow your child to thrive in an environment where there are lots of sporty children enjoying great camaraderie. Not all private schools will tick off all the boxes for your child.

While all schools follow the same curriculum set down by the state, teaching styles can be wildly different and this too is a factor. Check this carefully. Also do not assume that every child who goes to private school will get fantastic marks as universities are full of students who did not go to private school and yet received great final scores. Make sure you have a good look at the school in action, look at how the teachers address the students and the relationship the students have with the teachers. Also take note of how the students treat each other, how they care for the environment they are in, what is up on the walls, what clubs and after school activities they offer and whether they are encouraged to give back to the community. Is this a community which encourages parental involvement or not. How are international students treat? Would you like your child to turn out like the children you see at the school? Are the students happy?

Before deciding on the private school environment also check what opportunities your child will have to use the wonderful facilities. Very often the sports and music facilities will only be used when the child gets into secondary school and so your fee is also paying for something which your child has no access to. Make a point of finding out about the state schools in the area where you would like to live and ask the same questions. Even though the building might not look so beautiful you may find that they run amazing programs which would suit your child’s needs really well. Your child will also be making friends with children who are local to your home whereas private schools have children who are coming to school from a much wider area.

Australia has some amazing private schools which stand up against the world’s best but it also has some amazing state schools which also stand up to the world’s best. Bottom line: do your homework!

It takes the right mindset!

Relocating can be the most wonderful experience ever with great new opportunities or it can be a nightmare. Some of it is out of your control but some of it is to do with mindset. When I was a little girl my grandfather drew a chalk line on the ground and asked me to walk along it. I did it easily. Then he took me to a wall and asked me if I could walk along the top. The bricks’ width easily allowed for my feet but up a few feet I was much more cautious and a little unsteady. He told me that what he was asking me to do was really just the same but because it was not familiar I was getting doubts in my mind. Relocating to a new place is a little bit like walking along that brick wall: if you start doubting yourself and worrying about what ‘might’ happen you will not have an easy time.

When you relocate many of the things you are fearful of you have probably done before: applying for jobs, finding a suburb to suit you, finding a home, opening a bank account, buying a car and making friends. You know you have done these things before but do yourself a favour and do all the research before you arrive. Spend time understanding what your options are, how you go about it, make a file of resource sites to assist you. If you need to find employment , for example, check out all the employment sites listed on the Elite Executive Services helpful links. www.skilledmigrantjobs.com costs you nothing to post your CV and takes only a few minutes. If you need to find a suburb, then look at the maps and information  on the www.eliteexecutiveservices.com.au Relocation Guides. If you want information abut education then check the same Relocation Guides or look at websites such as www.aussierelocation.com which also has a wealth of other information. Keep focused and don’t get too distracted with a lot of the ‘noise’ you find on forums. Use information which has been presented by experts.

There is no guide for finding new friends but if you find yourself in a suburb with likeminded people who enjoy the kind of activities you value, and you throw yourself into what is happening in the community, you will find those friendships do develop naturally. Put yourself out there and know that people respond to a friendly smile and a willingness to embrace a new culture.

The Melbourne Cup: why it succinctly underlines what it means to be Australian.

Newcomers to Australia are often a bit bemused by the celebration and festivities that surround the Melbourne Cup or ‘The race that stops a Nation’. If you have not experienced a Melbourne Cup Day before then you are in store for a treat. It is so much more than the outstanding field of 24 horses pounding the turf: it is really a race which succinctly underlines much of what it means to be Australian. Like Australia itself, the race which was first run in 1861 is steeped in history and  also like Australia, the race is not so much about where competitors hail from but more about celebrating their prowess. 

Over the years international horses have been worthy winners: 40 New Zealanders, 5 British,4 US, 2 Irish and a Japanese horse have been successful! Like the Australian dream itself,  there are rich prizes up for grabs for those who are willing to strive for success and take a risk. The Melbourne Cup has among the richest prize money in the world and is indeed a World Class event. Australians thrive on competition and as well as being a nation that loves sport, competition of any kind is encouraged in any walk of life. 

Australians love to support an underdog and among the many underdogs that have been winners of the Melbourne Cup, the story of Gala Supreme who won in 1973 stands proudly. The horse was originally written off as not having a strong heart and the jockey, Frank Reys of aboriginal heritage, was dogged by injury after injury but despite everything was given a chance by the trainer Pat Hutchins. Drawing barrier 24, which was really not a great start, Reys rode the ride of his life and brought Gala Supreme home for a fine win. 

The Melbourne Cup is not a race which is attended only by the wealthy, as in some other countries. The Melbourne Cup is the people’s race where everyone is swept up in the romance and emotion of the race. Australia prides itself on its egalitarianism and this race is a strong example of that. Australians think of themselves as courageous and as the jockeys brave what is possibly the most physically demanding race of their lives thousands of onlookers hold their breath in awe at their courage! 

More than anything, Australia is a fun loving nation and the Melbourne Cup is a great excuse to let down your hair, enjoy mateship, take some risks, and party. Good Luck!

Our Australian relocation business - Acknowledgments, accolades and appraisals: why they matter

The service industry is built on people who are prepared to go the extra mile: people who do their job because they want to make a difference. For the most part the work they put in is unseen but if it is not performed well is always noticed. So with providing destination services. Much of what we do is unseen: the preparation before someone arrives is enormous but if we do our job well it will seem seamless. Our consultants are caring, committed individuals who are perfectionists: they want everything to be right. Our office is staffed with the kind of people who answer emails at 11pm at night, ‘just check’ at weekends and public holidays and who genuinely care about things going well. How wonderful then for all of us that a text from one of the staff at 7.30am on Good Friday is not about a delayed flight or a client who is facing some difficulty but that we have been shortlisted for an award! Re:locate, the magazine most  relocation specialists and HR professionals read  announced the shortlist for the prestigious international awards for  relocation companies. Elite Executive Services were shortlisted in the Best International Destination Service Provider category.  This is amazing news and Elite is the only shortlisted Australian destination services provider. To be shortlisted for such an award is recognition of all the hard work our team puts in day after day throughout the year and such recognition is important. It reminds us all why we do this just as the appraisals which are returned after each completed assignment remind us that people appreciate what we do and know how difficult it would have been without us.

This is not the first time we have received this kind of recognition. In 2012 Elite Executive Services was  shortlisted for the Asian EMMAs which are the Forum for Expatriate Management Awards. The Categories were: Destination Services Provider of the Year, Best Family Support Programme and Most Innovative Use of Technology in Global Mobility  . Again we would not have stood a chance without our suburb team! And then there was the Mobile App Awards 2012 where we were so excited by the shortlisting of our app in the Australian Mobile App Awards. The competition was huge so it was doubly sweet that that Applocation Australia had been shortlisted.

Awards, accolades and wonderful appraisals are great for keeping our course steady and remind us why we do what we do!

Easter in Australia

We get a four day weekend in Australia because of the Christian celebration of Good Friday when Jesus was crucified and Easter Sunday when he rose from the dead. The majority of Australia is Christian and many of those will be going to church to celebrate. Not all Australians will know, however, that the festival at Easter comes from the festivities in honour of Eostre the Scandinavian goddess of dawn. Her name derived from the word for 'east' which was the direction from which the sun arrived in the morning and her special festival was the spring equinox which was the beginning of the sun's reign in the northern hemisphere year. Pagan tradition had it that a human victim, the Tear King, was sacrificed as winter turned into spring.  He was buried in the fields and would come to life once again with the grain that was sown and grew to make bread. By eating the bread everyone was sharing in the Year King's rebirth. Christianity combined their own celebrations with something familiar and that is why they chose the Easter celebrations on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. In Australia part of Easter celebrations are the hot cross buns which are sold at every baker.although the cross on top of the buns represents Christ's cross it is again the pagans we must thank for the buns where the cross represented the four quarters of the moon. It is  believed that in 1361 a monk called Thomas Rockcliffe began giving the buns to the poor of  St Albans on Good Friday. The tradition persisted and the sweet spiced hot cross buns are a firm favourite at Easter. 

So where should you go for the best hot cross buns. If you are in Brisbane you might try Bannetons in Ashgrove or Wooloongabba see www.banneton.com.au. Alternatively you might try Hawthorne Garage in Hawthorne www.hawthornegarage.com.au. If you are in Perth then try Lawley's Bakery in Mt Lawley www.lawleys.com.au

or Chez Jean-Claude Patisserie in Subiaco www.chezjeanclaudepatisserie.com.au. People in Adelaide might want to check out Glenelg's Orange Spot Bakery or Darwin residents might try Out back Bakery in Fannie Bay. In Hobart, Jackman and McRoss are worth trying and in Canberra Ngunnawal Bakery. 

In Melbourne it is worth a trip to Candied Bakery, 81a Hudsons Road, Spotswood candiedbakery.com.au or Phillippa's, 1030 High Street, Armadale (and other stores)

www.phillippas.com.au. In Hawthorn, Melbourne you will enjoy the offerings from La Tropezienne, 780 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn www.latropezienne.com.au and for a trip outside Melbourne then La Madre, 18 Milton Street, Geelong www.lamadre.com.au.

Finally Sydney. Get your hot cross buns from Bourke Street Bakery, 472 Gardeners Road, Alexandria (and Marrickville, Potts Point and Surry Hills. www.bourkestreetbakery.com.au or Rise Bakery, 257a King Street, Newtown or Adriano Zumbo Patisserie, 296 Darling Street, Balmain (and Pyrmont and Manly) www.adrianozumbo.com. If you want to travel further afield then try Hominy, 185 Katoomba Street, Katoomba for some deliciously wicked hot cross buns!

St Patrick’s Day in Australia - what to see and do

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated enthusiastically in Australia as the  Irish and their Australian friends celebrate the Irish culture and their patron  saint St Patrick. St Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint who died on March 17 around 493AD. St Patrick was a missionary in Ireland and it is believed that he banished “snakes” from the country.

The Irish were some of the earliest Europeans to settle in Australia. Many were convicts but in the years that followed so many Irish migrated that it is believed almost a third of Australians have some Irish ancestry. Many pubs and restaurants around Australia hold St Patrick’s Day  events where patrons can enjoy Irish music and where sometimes green drinks are served. St Patrick Day parades are also popular and you will see traditional Irish costumes and people dressed in green or pretending to be leprechauns. Green is a colour associated with Ireland as is the shamrock leaf and the harp. There will be plenty of these symbols around as well as the Irish flag with its colours of green, white and orange.

In Sydney  on Sunday 17 March 2013 from 10.15am - 11.45am  there is pre-parade entertainment on George St followed by the parade itself which starts at the corner of Bathurst and George St. From 1pm there is a family day in the Hyde Park including food, entertainment, children’s activities, rides, petting zoo, face painting and of course lots of music!  See http://www.stpatricksday.org.au/

In Melbourne  revelers can use the Guinness St Patrick’s Day Black list to help them and this can be found at www.guinness.com.au

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In Perth  the City of Vincent have a free community event will combine a St Patrick's Day Parade and a Family Fun Day starting with St Patrick's Day Parade at 10am on the corner of Richmond and Loftus Streets. It will then meander through the streets finishing Leederville Oval, to join the Family Fun Day  which offers live music, bands and dancing on the main stage, plus displays, food, drinks, market style stalls and lots of excitement!

In Brisbane  there is a wonderful parade on March 16, 2013 10:30 am to midday starting at the corner of George and Elizabeth St . It will include Irish dancers, red setters, Irish wolfhounds, pipe and brass bands,  antique cars, clowns, and other entertainers.

In Adelaide St Patrick’s Day Parade will start at 10am from The Irish Club, Carrington Street and includes live music and dance displays. Celebrations continue until 5pm.

In Canberra the Irish Club will start with an tremendous Irish breakfast at 7am and wonderful Irish food throughout the day. Irish dancing, pipe bands and live bands will please the crowds!

In Darwin the Waterfront is the host for St Patrick’s Day and Fiddler’s Green has Irish food, dancers and music from 8am.