The Age of Fireworks Ends !

Anyone who can still remember when Australia celebrated what was called " Bonfire night " on November 5 each year would need to be in extreme old age.  This curios event was in recognition of someone named Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up the British houses of parliament in 1605 and the practice of holding a celebration here ceased during the second world war.

Those were the days when the entire Australian population had some sort of link to Britain.  Either their ancestors got a free trip to the other side of the world in a prison ship, or they decided to exchange the harsh British climate for the warmth and sunshine Australia had to offer.  That need to mimic British celebrations saw giant bonfires assembled each year ready for November 5 and all the kids clustered around for the big event.  It was also called " Cracker night " because that bonfire was usually  accompanies by fireworks.

Today the use of fireworks reaches a climax when we welcome in a new year.  This last celebration was controversial because we were in the middle of a raging bushfire crisis and there were calls for it to be cancelled.  It received a last minute reprieve because the Sydney fireworks on New Year's eve is considered a world event and it is responsible for attracting the tourist flow that underpins our economy.

There is a growing rejection of fireworks as a public display on many grounds with cost being a major factor.   That Sydney new year display runs to a many million dollar outlay and the event lasts a mere fifteen minutes.  Strangely, many people camp out the night before to secure a prime viewing spot and a vast crowd swamps public transport once the event ends, and there are detracting factors.

The city chokes on the smoke residue after the event and the animals that panic at the noise fireworks produce are legendary.  At the height of summer, falling remnants introduce a fire risk across the city and in todays world setting off explosives in the sky seems a reminder of the barbarity the world experienced in two world wars.

Surely the stage has been reached where our entertainment should look to the future rather than back into the past.  Technology has advanced in mighty leaps since those days of bonfire nights and we now experience light shows on city buildings and the sails of the Opera house that draw vast crowds. This is now the beginning of the drone age and the wizardry of electronics is quite capable of putting a light show in the sky that will sparkle without the noise and smoke that is fast becoming a health hazard.

That New Year fireworks display has reached its zenith.  There is little to distinguish it from the year before and it is time we moved on and embraced new ground.   The challenge of this twenty-first century is to produce a light show that surpasses fireworks and both the cost and danger of exploding munitions to grab attention.

Like cracker night, that was yesteryear's entertainment.  We are now the people of the twenty-first century  !