Parties help a nation forget adversity - AT LAST A NEW YEAR: [1 Edition]
John Stapleton Staff reporters. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 01 Jan 2002: 6.
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In Sydney there was considerable opposition to the fireworks. Many complained they should not go ahead out of respect to the firefighters. But nothing can stop Sydney partying, not even a total fire ban.
Thousands of people flocked to parties all around Perth last night, including in Northbridge, the inner-city entertainment enclave. Others headed out to watch the fireworks at Gloucester Park raceway, to the Perth Town Hall, and to the holiday playgrounds of Dunsborough on the southwest coast and Rottnest Island off Fremantle.
Tens of thousands of revellers packed the banks of the Yarra River, with different party themes along the river's length. At one venue families watched clowns, fairies and children's films, while nearby fans of extreme sports watched freestyle bike and skateboard displays. At Southgate, Latin Jazz entertained the crowds until the fireworks burst into the midnight sky.
IT was the year that many people wanted to forget, but it passed in a blaze of fireworks and good-spirited celebration.
Bushfire haze and overcast conditions in Sydney didn't stop the traditional fireworks going ahead.
And the same was true around the country. With the heroism and self-sacrifice of the firefighters at the front of everyone's mind, New Year's Eve was a chance to celebrate what was best about the Australian character.
John Howard, who saw in the New Year at his Sydney residence, said the response of firefighters and volunteers "exemplified the core Australian spirit of mateship, of pulling together in times of common adversity".
For many others around the country, the night was a special chance to let go of the past, of an election year filled with the grime of politics, the pain of asylum-seekers, the horrors of September 11 and the disturbing war on terror.
In Sydney there was considerable opposition to the fireworks. Many complained they should not go ahead out of respect to the firefighters. But nothing can stop Sydney partying, not even a total fire ban.
NSW Premier Bob Carr said the celebrations sent a signal to the world that Sydneysiders were resilient and could move on from disaster.
"The world has seen images of Sydney surrounded by fire," Mr Carr said. "Now we need to show them that we can celebrate in style."
In Adelaide, thousands of partygoers braved unseasonable cold for a street party and fireworks in the city.
Others flocked to the foreshore of Glenelg for live entertainment and fireworks off the jetty.
The people of Normanville, south of Adelaide, lined the town's main street to watch a pageant of 40 floats and the red-baked thoroughfare of opal mining town Andamooka was packed with revellers heralding the start of the Year of the Outback.
Thousands of people flocked to parties all around Perth last night, including in Northbridge, the inner-city entertainment enclave. Others headed out to watch the fireworks at Gloucester Park raceway, to the Perth Town Hall, and to the holiday playgrounds of Dunsborough on the southwest coast and Rottnest Island off Fremantle.
Tens of thousands of revellers packed the banks of the Yarra River, with different party themes along the river's length. At one venue families watched clowns, fairies and children's films, while nearby fans of extreme sports watched freestyle bike and skateboard displays. At Southgate, Latin Jazz entertained the crowds until the fireworks burst into the midnight sky.
In Brisbane about 100,000 revellers turned up at South Bank, home of the city's biggest New Year's Eve party, where hourly fireworks proceeded until themidnight finale.
Further north, midnight fireworks also lit the skies of Townsville, while in Cairns families vied for prime spots for the midnight celebrations.
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