A Date to Remember...

Google the first landing on the moon and note the date - Sunday the 20th of July, 1969...hmmmm, that doesn't fit with Aussie school kid's memory of sitting in a  school hall watching our old mate Neil Armstrong climbing down a ladder onto the surface of the moon.

We watched the moon landing at midday on Monday the 21st of July, hence why we were at school. Obviously the date mismatch was down to Australia's timezone which is around 16 hours ahead of the USA.

But, Australians were first to see the live moon landing because the radio signals from the moon were received by the Honeysuckle Creek and Parkes Observatories and then transmitted to Australian TV and NASA. 

Parkes Radio Telescope (CSIRO) (cropped).jpg Wikipedia Commons

And this week Sam Neill, a New Zealander, passed away. He was the star of the comedy movie The Dish which was set in Parkes during the moon landing.

So, the story Hurry Up Armstrong in my memoir Wayback says it all!!!

Hurry Up, Armstrong! 

‘Sit in class groups, youngest to oldest,’ calls Mr Frecker. ‘Senior classes up the back, juniors to the front.’

It’s Monday, the 21st of July 1969, and we are all herding into Room 3 at Dimboola Memorial High School. There’s a 23” black-and-white TV set on the stage. Something big is in the air.

‘Hey… you Form III boys get out of the back row. You’re not sitting in with the Form VI class; not that many of you will get that far anyway.’

We jostle our way out of the back seats and move up a few rows to where Mr Frecker is pointing. He is pretty tough, so we sit exactly where he points.

Now things take a turn for the worse. Nude Nut Souter, our revered assistant principal, takes the stage and announces that we are all going to witness a great moment in history today.

‘Now, everyone, today you will see history in the making because it is the first international live telecast on Australian television. The pictures are being beamed through from Apollo 11 on the moon to our CSIRO radio telescope in Parkes, NSW, then sent to NASA in America. I know you are all proud that Australia will be the first country in the world to see man land on the moon.’

A flicker of excitement lights up the junior forms but is quickly extinguished when the Form III boys greet his enthusiasm with eye-rolling moans. Nude Nut is prone to exaggeration. He always claims you are not putting in hard enough in class. It’s excruciating being told off by him; so bad that my mates beg him to hit them rather than boring them with his inspirational lectures. He never obliges and just keeps droning on.

‘My Dad says the Yanks have made it all up. He says NASA has set up a movie set in the American desert because the Russians are way ahead of them.’

‘Naaghhh, don’t be an idiot… this is happening for real…’

‘SShh… ssshhh... boys. Be quiet, will you? Neil Armstrong is on the ladder of the lunar lander.’ Mrs Kendrick clasps her hands together and holds her arms against her chest as she turns to watch the television again.

Houston has no problem interrupting our teachers, ‘Beeeerrp ……. Schhhhhggghhssssssssg…. beerrp……… OK, Neil, we can see you coming down the ladder now…beeeerp.’

‘Great… he’s on the moon… can we go now, Mrs Kendrick?’ Several boys jump up to leave.

‘Sshhh... nooo, don’t be silly. Neil Armstrong is still on the ladder.’

From our angle, Armstrong looks like a big grey blob on a black wall. How Mrs Kendrick knows he’s on the ladder is anyone’s guess.

The Blob speaks, ‘Beeerrp… I am at the foot of the ladder… beeerp… sschhcch.’

Everyone is quietly watching the momentous moment unfold when one of my mates yells, ‘Hurry up, Armstrong, we haven’t got all day. We wanna go and play footy.’

‘Will you be quiet, Nitzke,’ yells Mr Frecker. Wayne Nitske shuts up. We all shut up.

‘Beeerp… ssschchchchhc… I am going to step off the ladder now… schshshchchchch.’ The Blob says, ‘It’s one small step for man, one gia…’

‘Agghhhhh,’ I yell. Someone, no doubt one of my so-called mates, has got me in a headlock and pushes me under the seat in front.

When all was said and done, I never did see Neil Armstrong take that giant leap for mankind.

Courtesy of NASA and Parkes Radio Telescope Australia

Read this, and other stories, in Wayback by Gerard Dean...