In search of love and truth

I have entitled my speech 'In Search of Love and Truth', words which Professor A.R. Davis used in his inaugural address many years previously, and I address my words to the president, vice president, members of the society, and distinguished guests, including Dr Stephen FitzGerald, whom I first met in the early sixties when he was a language student in Hong Kong. We often went sailing together and on one memorable occasion when we risked being smashed against some huge barnacle-encrusted rocks, Stephen, in bare feet, leapt overboard and pushed us to safety just when we looked like finishing up in waters controlled by China. Back on board, Stephen looked at his feet and wondered how he could stop the bleeding. I handed him a bottle of chianti and told him to clean the cuts with the wine but instead he took a good drink and relaxed happily, saying 'I might do that again, for another bottle of this bonzer red!' Many members of the Oriental Society know of Stephen and his distinguished background in China-Australia affairs, for which he was honoured to become an Officer of the Order of Australia, but not all may be aware that he is a prose stylist, and that his new book, 'Comrade Ambassador', was recently shortlisted for the National Biography Award.