Three generations of the Ngunnawal community, who are the original inhabitants of the ACT area, were involved today in creating the flame to fuel the MAA Sydney 2000 Paralympic Torch Relay as it travels around Australia.

Prime Minister John Howard and First Torchbearer of the Torch Relay, Paralympic tennis champion David Hall, witnessed the lighting of the flame on the forecourt of Parliament House, Canberra, and the performance of traditional and contemporary indigenous dance.

Prior to lighting the flame, a smoking ceremony was conducted to ‘cleanse’ the land and awaken the ancestral spirits of the Ngunnawal community to begin their journey with the Torch Relay.

The Ngunnawal dancers, painted in ochre, then joined the three generations of the Ngunnawal community, who passed the firestick from the eldest to the youngest generation who lit the cauldron as dawn broke.

The smoking then continued, with ceremonial smoking bowls of burning eucalyptus leaves used to welcome strangers and protect the spirit of the cauldron – and ultimately the Paralympic Games.

Mr Howard and David – a wheelchair tennis medallist from the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games – were then asked to come to the cauldron.

Mr Howard used a taper to transfer the flame from the cauldron to the First Torchbearer’s torch so David could then begin the first kilometre of the 14-day Paralympic Torch Relay, which will cover 11,500km by air and 750km by road.

‘The Australian Government is proud to be supporting the Paralympics. It is an honour to be the host nation for this great sporting event. We look forward to welcoming athletes from around the world, to supporting our team, and to hosting a memorable Paralympic Games here in Australia,’ Mr Howard said.

David, who was the first Australian to win a Paralympic medal in tennis with his singles bronze in Atlanta, said the experience of carrying the flame first was ‘very special’.

‘There is honestly only one word that can describe the emotions I have felt today –’honour’. I am honoured and moved to be part of this historic event. It is a feeling and memory that will last with me forever,’ David said.

‘I now can’t wait to see the Torch make its way into the Olympic Stadium signifying the start of our Games.’

Also, in Canberra to witness the dawn torch lighting ceremony, was President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Dr Robert Steadward.

Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee (SPOC) Chief Executive Lois Appleby said that unlike the Olympics, the Paralympics had no traditional ‘home’ for its flame.

‘This allows each host city to come up with something unique for their country. And I think the unique history of the Aboriginal people and culture is something we wanted to recognise here today,’ Ms Appleby said.

The MAA Sydney 2000 Paralympic Torch Relay spent the morning in the Canberra area visiting the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and passing nearby Duntroon before it boarded a plane to Melbourne to fly in a clockwise direction around Australia.

After Melbourne (5 October), it visits Hobart (6 October), Adelaide (7 October), Perth (8 October), Darwin (9 October) and Brisbane (10 October) before returning to NSW to begin an eight-day road journey from Moss Vale on 12 October.

It then travels around the Southern Highlands, Illawarra, Macarthur, Windsor, Newcastle and Central Coast regions before entering Sydney’s northern beaches on 16 October.

On 17 October the MAA Paralympic Torch will cross over the metal arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge being carried by four members of the public – Roger Eaton (Nowra), Chris Lampitsi (Bankstown), Kylie Glew (McMasters Beach) and Michael Cavanagh (Punchbowl) – who entered an MAA public competition.

In total, 920 Torchbearers including school students, community representatives, Paralympic and Olympic athletes, prominent Australians, Sydney 2000 Games staff and volunteers, will carry the flame over the next 14 days.

‘The Paralympic Torch Relay has the potential to reach around 11.5 million Australians,’ Ms Appleby said.

‘I think Australians will embrace the Paralympic Torch Relay with the same excitement and enthusiasm with which they have embraced the Olympic Torch Relay.’

The Relay ends at the Olympic Stadium, Homebush Bay, at 8pm on Wednesday, 18 October – the Opening Ceremony for the Games of the XI Paralympiad and the largest Paralympic Games ever held.

Source: SOCOG