Paralympic torch lit in Canberra Source: AAP|Published: Thursday October 5, 1:09 PM The Paralympic flame came to life in a bed of smouldering eucalyptus leaves this morning and began its 14-day journey across Australia. More than 100 people braved a cold Canberra dawn to gather outside Parliament House and watch the Ngunnawal people create the flame in a traditional smoking ceremony. Children danced and didgeridoos played as the youngest member of the tribe transferred the flame to the cauldron, from which Prime Minister John Howard lit the torch. The first torch bearer was wheelchair tennis player David Hall, a three-time Olympian who won the US Open last weekend and is ranked number one in the world. He said the experience was a career highlight. 'Just the feeling of that 500 metres of pushing amongst all those fantastic people was something I will never forget,' he told a breakfast function that followed the ceremony. 'It was probably one of the best experiences of my life - something I will never forget and something I will live with forever.' Mr Howard said the lighting ceremony had a nice Australian touch. 'It was resonant with the commencement of the torch relay for the Olympic Games at Uluru and it is a very nice piece of symbolism,' he told journalists. Mr Howard said he hoped Sydney's Paralympics would be the greatest yet. Paralympic village mayor, former National Party Leader Tim Fischer, seemed certain they would be. 'We're away,' he told AAP. 'The Paralympics are going to be terrific: you ain't seen nothing yet.' International Paralympic Committee president Robert Steadward said he too hoped to be able to call Sydney's Games the best ever. 'The first part, the test event, is completed. Now we can get to the Paralympics.' The torch spent the morning in Canberra, visiting the Australian Institute of Sport, where many disabled athletes train, before being flown to Melbourne on the prime minister's plane. Torch bearers included marathon champion Robert de Castella and wheelchair sprinter Angela Ballard. The flame will be flown 11,500km to capital cities around Australia before embarking on a 750km road trip around New South Wales. The torch relay finishes at the Paralympic opening ceremony on October 18. -- ********************************** 'Click' to protect the rainforest: Make the Rainforest Site your homepage! http://www.therainforestsite.com/ ********************************** ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
