II - A Legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games

of the torch, in the town the locals boast is the wettest in
Australia. It receives an average annual rainfall of 4200 mm.
The torch relay continued north and finished the day in
Innisfail, where champion triathlete Brad Bevan ran the final
leg into the local park.
Five of Australia's 11 World Heritage Areas are located in
Queensland. The torch relay through the far north caught
glimpses of beautiful tropical islands and rainforests,
highlighting the nation's commitment to protecting valuable
natural assets such as the Great Barrier Reef. However, it was
not only the beauty of the region that was noticeable, but the
warm-hearted and enthusiastic greeting given to the Olympic
torch relay and its entourage.
High above sea-level are the tropical tablelands, the
magnificent setting for Atherton, where the torch relay
stopped for lunch on Day 19. In North Queensland's dairy
capital, 100 black and white dairy cows, tied with 1000
balloons, were herded into the five Olympic rings formation to
celebrate the torch's arrival.
Here too, Constantine Verevis, the first torchbearer of the
1956 Olympic Torch Relay, once again carried the flame. As
was usual along the route, locals lined the streets, and a local
nursing home placed chairs along the street for its residents
better to witness the spectacle.
Later that day, the flame travelled to Kuranda, 'the village in
the rainforest', and across the 7.5 km Scenic Skyrail over
World Heritage-listed rainforest. It was carried by Milton
Brim, a member of the Tjapukai-speaking people of the
rainforests of tropical North Queensland. Milton's nephew,
Wally Brim, celebrated his 24th birthday by carrying the
flame into the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, where it
was received in a traditional welcoming ceremony by the
elders of his tribe.
From here it made the short trip into Cairns, gateway to
tropical North Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef and the
vast wilderness of the Cape York Peninsula. More than
35 000 people gathered in the city for an afternoon and
evening of well-organised entertainment. Festivities started at
midday and included a parade. The crowd, including a group
of more than 60 torchbearers from the Melbourne 1956
Olympic torch relay, roared when the Olympic flame wound
its way through the city in the evening.
The next day, the torch relay travelled out to the Great Barrier
Reef, an area of coral reef extending 2000 km along the east
coast of Australia, made up of more than 2900 individual
reefs and 900 small islands and home to more than 400
different types of coral. The best way to see the reef is by
diving on it, so the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch Relay team
took the flame diving.
On Agincourt Reef, Wendy Craig Duncan, a marine biologist,
took the flame for a 2 minute 40 second diving adventure.
A special flare burned at 2000°C, ensuring a bright flame
easily visible to the local fish and underwater photographers.
JOURNEY OF THE FLAME
The Olympic
Torch Relay
Volume Two
Chapter Two
20. On day 19, the torch is
greeted by locals in Malanda
in North Queensland
21. Traditional owner of the
land Milton Brim holds up
the flame while riding on
the Sky Rail in Kurinda
22. Wendy Craig-Duncan,
a marine biologist on the
Great Barrier Reef, takes
an encased flame for a
dive at the Agincourt Reef
20
GREG GARAY/SOCOG
21
GREG GARAY/SOCOG
2. Journey of the Flame 33
22
GREG GARAY/SOCOG