Going to see the Gov'nah

It all started in late February when a lovely piece of mail {almost the only piece of mail} showed up in the mailbox. It was addressed to Steve, had no return address and in place of a stamp it said "Government House". Inside was an invitation to see the Governor of Victoria at Government House during education week.

In fact, the invitation said "The Governor and Mrs. Jan de Kretser request the pleasure of the company of Me at a reception at Government House". Notice that he is the Governor and she is Mrs. Jan de Kretser, kinda funny, don't ya think?

On March 3, 2009, off to downtown Melbourne Steve did go, in his dress pants, dress shirt, tie and dress shoes {oh yeah, socks that were not white!}. Alas, no shorts or Hawaiian shirts did he wear!

It is a small house, only seats a few, and is in dire need of updating!!! WOW. What an incredible place to visit. Apparently the house is only open 1 day a year to the public, Australian Day {January 25th}. The Governor regularly hosts events 2 - 4 per week however these are only for "important" people. Two weeks before the International Education Gala, Princess Anne spent 4 days at the house - just thought that I would share that with you. The only way in to the Governors house and property is by invitation and there are guards to the entrance. The house was built in the mid 1870s and once served as Australia's capital until Canberra was created and built.

There were about 350 visitors in the hall

See: dress pants and shirt and tie. The others are international students and a teacher.

A brief ceremony was held, one by a pair of Aboriginals, a sign of good graces and a proper welcoming. One played a didgeridoo while the other presented every visitor with a Eucalyptus leaf, a sign of a proper introduction, good health and a proper greeting. The governor then spoke as did the minister of education. The whole ceremony was scripted down to the minute and took a total of 37 minutes.

This is the Governor, notice his wife right beside him, oops sorry, she is not allowed on the "throne"
The governor spoke to as many people as possible. He is an amazing man, ~ 70 years old and does not appear to be over 50! he is very well travelled and spoken, he spent ~3 years living just outside of Seattle. He and his wife attend 4 - 8 functions per week and he chats to everyone! His wife is also an amazing person, she likes to visit with people as well. She is very down to earth and said that she prefers if the governor gets all the limelight.


After the ceremony, the gardens and a partial section of the lower level of the house were opened. Everyone got to tour the house and could stay until 1 pm sharp. Food and drink were served during this time, the food was amazing: meat pies, mushroom and feta tortes and some other appies, not sure what most were!

Just a small dining room, only seats 30 per side, 6 silver candelabras and 2 fireplaces

See, I really did meet and chat with the governor.

There is a fountain in the "corner of the terrace section". The fountain is ~ 15 feet in diameter. The second level of the house has ~ 37 rooms, most of which the public will never see. Every where that the governor or his wife went, they had a personal aide and a police officer{s} or guard{s} was not far off.

As I toured parts of the house, most of the furniture was from the early 1900s, a band was playing in one room - there were about 100 people in this room, but that could have been easily doubled, a huge entrance, probably only 60 x 20 feet, a monster desk, it was ~10' x 10' x 3' made of solid oak!

It was an amazing experience. I am one of the few teachers at Maroondah Secondary College to ever be invited to an event at Government House. All of the teacher exchange teachers were invited to this event. It is a very humbling and amazing event to partake of, I have never been invited to the Premier of B.C., the Parliament buildings or any other government function back in B.C. It made me realise how interesting, extensive and powerful this whole teacher exchange is. I was originally thinking that I would meet a few people from the district, however never in my life did I think that I would meet the Governor of Victoria.

I have been invited to the Educational Board Office of Victoria to meet the "powers that be" and have experienced amazing treatment by: Maroondah Secondary, the board office and the Government of Victoria. They all have made me feel very welcome and appreciated, it makes me wonder and hope that the same is occurring for all the exchange teachers back home.