Home»Gallery»Families»Helen Quinn»11/5/2007 Helen receives the Order of Australia on board HMAS Sydney in San Francisco harbor

The Order was announced in 2005. They waited until 2007 to present the award: a ranking officer of the Australian Armed Forces had to be present. In 2007, the HMAS Sydney visited San Francisco. The captain welcomed us to the bridge, where the Australian Ambassador presented the award.

We were surprised to see our neighbors from Portola Valley, Bill and Jean Lane, at the ceremony! Bill Lane was the US Ambassador to Australia and Nauru from 1985 to 1989. In March 1993, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia for service to Australian-American relations.

Others in attendance included our daughter Bethica and Helen's brother John E. Arnold.

The band played for us as we left the ship!