Indian Ocean Invasion - 29. IOI Chapter 29

The twins were happy to organise a jet to come and collect me and fly me to Perth, and on boarding the jet, I asked the pilot to fly out to the Abrolhos Islands, so I could have a look at it from the air, and the pilot was happy to oblige to the request. When I arrived in Perth in the late afternoon, on Sunday, I had just over 2 days to be organised, with some shopping in preparation for my new position on Christmas Island.

I had booked into a 4-star hotel in the city, with view overlooking the Swan River, and I spent the rest of Sunday relaxing in the hotel, with a swim in the pool before dinner, and some live music in the cocktail bar. The next morning, straight after breakfast, I set off to several men’s stores, to get some new suits, that are suitable for the tropical weather, plus some smart casual wear, new casual and business shoes.

I also called into a computer business store, to buy a new computer compatible with a small packable satellite link, a small printer/scanner, and some business software for the computer. Once I had everything purchased, with it all being delivered to my hotel suite later in the day, I headed off to a restaurant for a late lunch, before heading back to the hotel again.

I was pleasantly surprised, when I saw Jeremy and Mitchell in the hotel lobby waiting for me, and my nephew wrapped his arms around me for a big hug, “Hello Uncle Lewis” Mitchell said, “Hello Mitchell, are you wagging school?” I replied, which had Jeremy chuckling, “Yes just for two days, we flew in last night, and over slept, so we missed you at breakfast time” Jeremy said.

“Sorry, I had an early start, to get all the shopping I needed done as quickly as possible, new clothes and shoes, that sort of stuff” I explained, “Never mind, we have caught up with you now, we fly back home 1 ½ hours after you leave tomorrow, so we will see you off, then head for our flight” Jeremy said.

“What would you like to do, while you are here?” I asked, “How about a quick trip to Rottnest Island, I can have a charter plane ready in half an hour” Jeremy suggested, “That would be fine, but I will need to organise with the hotel about all of my purchases being delivered this afternoon” I responded.

“That is fine, you go and get that organised, then grab a towel and bathers, and we will meet you here in the lobby in say twenty minutes?” Jeremy said, and I agreed and headed over to the reception desk. Once I had organised for my deliveries to be put into my suite, I went up there to change into some casual jeans, shirt and jumper, as it was a little chilly outside, and probably more over on the island, way too cold to be swimming, when it is late autumn.

A taxi took us to the domestic airport, and half an hour later we landed at the Rottnest Island airport, where a bus collected us, and took us into the village. “Quokkas” Mitchell shouted, when he spotted the furry little marsupials, and Jeremy and I chuckled, as we watched Mitchel slowly creep closer and holding out his hand. I pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures of Mitchell interacting with the two quokkas that had hopped up to him.

After grabbing an ice cream each, we headed to the tram station, to go on a trip up to the top of Oliver Hill, were there are WW2 underground tunnels, bunkers and 2 giant guns, after exploring Oliver Hill, we caught the train back to the village, and we checked out the museum, some of the shops, and went for a walk along the Thompson Bay beach to Kingston Barracks and back, before catching a bus back to the airport, to take us back to the mainland.

Mitchell was tired by the time we arrived back at the hotel, just as it was getting dark, and we retreated to our suites for a shower and change, before meeting at the hotel restaurant for dinner. When dinner was over, Mitchell headed upstairs, as he was too tired, while Jeremy and I headed to the bar lounge, for an after-dinner drink, and a chat about Christmas Island.

Jeremy informed me that he had a report from his staff, that the invaders had and stripped the three cabins bare of everything then dismantled the tents and took them with them, when they left, just leaving behind just the platforms that the tents sat on, the toilet, wash basin and shower, plus the only solid wall in the whole tent area.

Jeremy wanted me to inspect all three tent sites, take photographs, and send back a written assessment of what remains at each site. My brother was also wanting to know what was happening with the tree house, as no one had been back to see it since Mitchell and I had left it, in the care of the Army. I agreed to check the tent sites and the treehouse, and let him know, as soon as I could.

Returning to my suite, I began sorting out all my new purchases, including the new large suitcase, to fit all my new clothes in, and I packed everything into it, except the computer equipment, which I removed from all its boxes, and connected it all up to check that it all works ok. Once I was happy that it was, I packed it up and placed in my backpack, which will be my carryon luggage, for tomorrow’s 4-hour long flight to the island.

I had a meeting with the Governor at 9am, so I decided to turn in early, to get a good night’s sleep. Jeremy knew that I had the appointment, and we agreed to meet in the hotel lobby at 11am, when we will travel together to the airport, to catch out flights.

When I arrived at Government House, I was asked to wait in the lounge, which is at the front of the building, and I nervously waited for twenty minutes, knowing that I was early. All I had with me was my brief case, which contained printout copies of emails sent to me from the Governor General’s Office in Canberra, which was searched when I arrived.

When the Governor’s private secretary returned, he asked me to leave the briefcase, and to follow him, which caught me by surprise a little. When I entered another room further back in the building, I was surprised to see the Governor General himself standing in the room, along with two very senior Naval officers, and a gentleman in a suit, who I was introduced to as the Federal Defence Minister.

Once all the introductions were made, the room fell silent, and I was wondering what the hell was about to happen, and my name was called and asked to step forward, where I saw a cushion had been placed on the ground, “Oh cripes, this isn’t really happening is it” I whispered to myself, and the Governor General smiled, obviously he had heard what I had said, as he was handed a sword, and I knelt on the cushion.

“Commander Lewis Shaw CVO, VC, DSC, on behalf of our sovereign, Queen Elizabeth the second, I hereby award you the life Peerage of Baron of Rottnest and a Knight Commander the most honourable Order of the Bath, arise Sir Lewis Shaw, Baron of Rottnest” the Governor General announced. I was shocked that this was really happening, and I had no idea why, as I suddenly spotted Kylie standing at the doorway filming the whole event on her phone.

“Sir Lewis, as the Minister for Defence, it is my honour to bestow on you the Star of Courage, in recognition of what you went through during the invasion of Christmas Island, plus your entitled AOSM – Australian Operational Service Medal, for your three tours of Afghanistan” the minister said as he handed me the two medals in their open cases to me, then shook my hand, before there was a round of applause from everyone gathered.

After receiving congratulations from all the guests, Kylie who was dressed in her work uniform came up to me and gave me a big hug. “Congratulations you, well deserved I think. I won’t tell anyone, if you are worried about that, but I think Margaret would like to know about it” Kylie said to me quietly, and I suddenly realised that the room was nearly empty.

“Excuse me, Sir Lewis, the Governor General and Governor, would like to speak to you in the conference room, in regards to your new appointment at Christmas Island” the private secretary said to me, “that is going to take some getting used to” I commented to Kylie, before giving her a kiss on the cheek, and following the private secretary out of the room.

Over the next 1 ½ hours I was being briefed about the situation on Christmas Island, I was shown aerial photographs of the island, where a large strip of land had been stripped of vegetation and was turned into a very large phosphate mining operation, that looked to be about 5 kilometres long.

The photographs also revealed another area of land at South Point, near the temple, which had been cleared, and where 160 houses are now located, along with several shops and a community hall. This is where the illegal Indonesian settlers had moved to, and 800 metre to the east, a small beach is the location of a jetty and a boat ramp for the half a dozen fishing boats that are based there.

As the meeting was concluding, the Governor General handed me a brand-new passport, but instead of it being Blue like all standard passports for Australia, this one was Red, and at the bottom it had Diplomatic Passport written on it. I opened it up and it contained a recent photograph of me, the passport number, name nationality, date of birth and all the rest of the required information for a passport, and included my signature, which must have been transferred over from my last passport.

I had explained that I was travelling to the Island as a tourist for two weeks, to get a true idea of what is happening around the island, without it being all official, before I officially begin work. The Federal Governor General and the State Governor, both agreed that this was a great idea, and they looked forward to weekly reports, on my findings. When I left Government House, I found Kylie at the security gate waiting for me, and she was talking to someone on the phone as I approached her.

“Yes, he is here, he has just come out of a top level meeting, I will let him tell you what it is all about, nice talking to you again Margaret, bye” I hears Kylie say before she handed me the phone, with a big grin on her face, “You are impossible” I commented to Kylie as I received the phone, “…what? Oh, no not you, I was talking to Kylie, she is so much trouble right now, shame she is a Federal Police Officer or else…” I said to Margaret who just laughed.

“Ok little brother, spill it out, what is going on” Margaret asked me, “Well not much really, except I have been reassigned to Vice Royal duties on Christmas Island, to help clean up the mess that the invaders made, you should see the photos of what they did, it is so sad” I commented to my sister, “and…” Kylie said loudly so Margaret could hear her voice.

“And what Lewis? what are you not telling me?’ Margaret demanded, “and I might have received a few more awards while I was in Government house this morning”, “might have, Lewis Shaw you tell your sister exactly what you received or I will post this video clip online” Kylie threatened, “Ok, ok, gee, keep your knickers on” I grumbled to Kylie, and I heard chuckling coming from the phone.

“I am now officially, Sir Lewis Shaw, Baron of Rottnest, KCB, CVO, VC, SC, DSC” I said to Margaret, as I frowned at Kylie for threatening me. “Holy shit, a knighthood, you have a knighthood, holy crap, that is so awesome, does Jeremy know?” Margaret screeched, so loud that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

“No, Jeremey does not know yet, and I will tell him soon, he and Mitchell are here in Perth, visiting me before I go to Christmas Island, we went to Rottnest yesterday, which Mitchell loved, especially seeing the quokkas” I said.

“So, what are all the letters after your name, you have a few extras there?” Margaret asked, “KCB is Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, CVO which was my earlier award, is Commander of the Victorian Order, VC is the Victoria Cross, SC is another new one, which is the Star of Courage, and the DSC is the Distinguished Service Cross” I replied.

“Wow, my brother the Naval hero and now a knight, this is so amazing, I wish mum and dad were alive to see this, I am so proud of you little brother” Margaret said to me, “Ok, well I have to go, I have to gather my bags and head to the airport shortly, now please do not say anything to anyone please, I wish it didn’t happen, but it has, so I just have to bear with it, but I am not wanting any public publicity about this, ok?” I said sternly to Margaret.

“Ok, I agree, have a safe trip and remember to email me every now and then will you please, I love you little bro. Take care” Margaret said, and she ended the call before I could respond. Same with you, not a single peep from you about this to anyone, ok?” I said to Kylie as I handed back her phone, and we walked out of the security gate of Government House.

With the awards safely tucked away in my briefcase, I said goodbye to Kylie, and headed for my hotel, to gather my suitcases and to check out. As expected, Jeremy and Mitchell were in the hotel lobby waiting for me, and I looked at my watch, which read 10.55am, “I will be as quick as I can, I am already packed, I just need to grab it all” I said to my brother and nephew, as I quickly approached them.

“What is it? What has happened?” Jeremy asked me as I stopped in front of them, and I asked them to follow me to my suite. When we arrived, I put my suitcase on the table and opened it.

Not a word to anyone about this, this is just for family only, although I doubt that it will last long, once the official notices comes out” I commented, as Mitchell glanced into my briefcase and saw the three small medal cases. I took them out and placed them on the coffee table, as Jeremy and Mitchell sat down.

“What are all these Uncle Lewis?” Mitchell asked, “It is Sir Uncle Lewis now” I commented, “Sir? As in a knighthood?” Jeremy asked me sounding shocked, and I nodded my head, as I opened the case that contained the knighthood award. “Holy crap, that is a big medal” Mitchell exclaimed, and I smiled.

I also received an Australian overseas service medal and this one also” I commented, as I opened the other two medal cases, “What is it Uncle Lewis?” Mitchell asked, “I’ve seen this somewhere, it is the Star of Courage if I am not mistaken” Jeremy said.