ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 27, 1997 TAG: 9701270082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
HE GAVE AN AUSSIE PARTY, mate, and it was fine till they passed the Vegemite.
"... and he just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich; you better run, you better take cover." So went the lyrics to the song by the Australian band Men at Work, played on the stereo beneath a large Australian flag. The flag, though, wasn't as big as the one displayed proudly in a second-story front window of Geoffrey Boyes' home in Roanoke County. After all, it was the night of his second annual Australia Day party.
The lyrics were apt for Saturday night's event. It was an evening spent sampling Australian culture and finger foods - including Vegemite - and, for the very brave, Foster's beer straight from the keg. There also were sing-alongs to Australian folk songs.
Australia's national holiday, the equivalent of our 4th of July, celebrates the arrival to that country of a fleet of 11 ships carrying 564 male and 192 female convicts, their guards, doctors and several children from England on Jan. 26, 1788, to start the first permanent non-native settlement on the island continent.
Most of the current citizens of Australia, however, are the descendants of gold miners who poured onto the island soon after the U.S. gold rush in search of the elusive metal. Boyes can trace his ancestry back to six brothers who went to Australia from Sheffield, England, in search of riches.
"I think only one actually found gold, the others became farmers," he said.
In July 1979, Boyes came to the United States to stay and has been in Southwest Virginia ever since. Despite his long-term residence here, he retains a distinguishable Aussie accent.
"I practice every morning," he joked.
Although life here is much like that in rural Australia, Boyes said, he won't move back.
"I was born in the country [a place called Colac], so I've never liked big-city life," he said. "There is more difference in living in New York and Roanoke than there is living in [the Australian] country and living in Roanoke."
Boyes has wanted to share his native culture with his Virginia neighbors ever since he came to America. He finally pulled it off last year with a party that attracted about half of the neighborhood. This year's party was hosted by Boyes; his wife, Susan; stepdaughter, Annabeth; Flavie Nogueira, a Brazilian exchange student from Sao Paulo; and Boyes' son, David, a native Australian who holds dual citizenship. The party was publicized with flyers that contained a web address [http: www.informit.com.au/gondwana/first-fleet.html] so friends could study up on the island's history before the event. Those who attended were a diverse group, 70 strong, who crowded into the spacious home sparsely decorated with Australian paraphernalia.
A crowd favorite was the Vegemite-tasting. The bitter brown stuff was served on crackers, and those brave enough to taste it were rewarded with a certificate created by Boyes, a self-proclaimed Honorary Minister of Foreign Stuff. It certified "that the holder has successfully completed the rigorous task of celebrating Australia Day by consuming vast quantities of Fosters and eating Vegemite."
The reactions of those who tried the Vegemite varied. A couple of people actually liked it, and some said it wasn't bad as long as it never became part of their daily diet.
"It's not something you stick on the top of your mouth and try to enjoy," said T.K. Miller, a neighbor.
Mike Bell of Lexington said - as his eyes watered and he struggled to swallow - that Vegemite tastes like sucking on a bouillon cube. "Hopefully, that stuff's not for sale in this country. I think he [Boyes] smuggled that in."
Bell may be disappointed to learn that Vegemite is sold in Southwest Virginia; the Kraft company produced the sample at the party.
Boyes pointed out, however, that Vegemite in Australia is comprised of the yeast and hops scraped off the bottom of containers used to ferment beer.
"I was born and raised on Vegemite. They put it on your pacifier, and I think it confuses the kids so much they stop crying. It's great, though," David Boyes said. "It has so much salt in it that it rarely goes bad. You can eat it years after the expiration date."
The night's festivities began to wind down after a couple of quick fireworks shows and enthusiastic group sings of popular Australian folk songs.
Boyes' critique of the Americans' singing: "They were great. `Waltzing Matilda' was carried along beautifully."
The newly initiated to Australian culture had their own critique. "This is really, really great. This party is going to grow year by year in Roanoke," said a neighbor, Joe Kidd.
Boyes would very much like to see that happen. He hopes, after coverage of this year's party by National Public Radio station WVTF and The Roanoke Times, that the Foster's Beer company will sponsor next year's party.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART STAFF. 1. Geoffrey Boyes, a nativeby CNBAustralian, gets a laugh out of Mike Bell's reaction to a mouthful
of Vegemite and cracker. 2. At right, partygoers Kathy Baringhaus
(left) and Gretchen Shine raise their voices in Australian folk
song. color.