Around the College - Administration, Monash University

Azure, we call it, b lue and fa ir ,
W ith one whit e cloud in the shi ni ng air .
A roar of power, and Bernoulli f lies
Two men into the crystal skies-
Up there.
The ql int of sliver, the roar of props,
Then silence. The engine stops
Its racket, at that crucial time
When power's needed for the climb-­
Up there.
Controller leaping in the tower,
Hearing the dreadful lack of power.
Then 'Practi ce, pratice', comes the call,
There is no urgency at all-
Up there.
Banking thirty, turning rig ht ,
Instructor tense, and student w hite.
Decision's made, they have to bow
To fate, there is no chang ing now­
Up the re.
Three hundred feet it needs to turn,
Back to the strip where it was born
Into the sky like eagle flying .
Returning now like sparrow dying­
Up there.
Slower, lower, looms the nose,
A shudder through the framework goes­
Another - an incipient spinl
'Good Godl Look out! He's going in!'­
Down there.
The siren trembles, eng ines roar,
This time it is men's hearts that soar
Into their mouths. W ill it fire?
And then it's but a funeral pyre­
Out there.
40
TRIBUTE TO ERNIE
The flames lick high, the heat is cruel,
Sixty gallons of Avgas fuel
To be beaten by a chemist's powder.
A whump and then another! louderI
Out there.
The oily smoke is rising higher,
The tenders have put out the fire.
The bird is but a heap of rubble,
Two lives are lost for a minute's trouble­
Up there.
'Per Ardua Ad Astra' cries
To be heard aloft the skies;
'Per Ardua Ad Terra' w ins­
Remember, Man has legs not w ings­
Up there.
The pilots are returned to dust,
The gremlin's had his f inal touch.
Black, not b lue we'll call the sky,
For Death is flying wayan high­
Up there.