Her Royal Hempress at Sydney 2000 Hemp Olympix

The plan was to hold the Sydney 2000 Hemp Olympix
at Victoria Park, on the edge of Sydney's C.B.D, on Saturday 9th Sept, only a week before the "Over the top Olympics" would start.
The hope was to draw the attention of international media to Australia's totally in-appropriate and unjust Drug Laws, using some humour to sweeten the bitter pill the educating facts reveal.

Not long after returning to Nimbin after her Canadian Tour, Her Royal Princess, Princess Anne (the alter-ego of Lisa Yeates) had been asked to join with the other Nimbin Hempsters down in Sydney.

There, they connected back up with the "Freedom Riders". These exhausted "Drug Law Reform Warriors, Graham Dunstan, J.A.B. (Just a Bus Driver), John and Dave had come to the end of their emotionally and physically draining, 72 day tour which had taken their Peacebus.com to every prison in NSW.

At each prison they had held separate meetings with inmates, prison guards and local police.

"Freedom Riders at "S11" Melbourne

The gist of their experience is that the prison system really is in denial of the desperate problems perpetuated on and by the prisoners due to the current drug laws. Whereas the prisoners they talked to ratified the the ghastly abuse that was experienced by drug offenders in the brutal prisons and the police they met agreed that this problem was so systemic that the time had well and truely come to decriminalise Cannabis and seek more humane solutions for drug abusers the politicians are still too intimidated by America's Drug War policy to bring about legislation changes to legalise Cannabis..

Most of us stayed at an incredible pad at McMahon's Point, on the Sydney Harbour, with literally a multi-million dollar view looking directly at the Harbour Bridge which framed the Opera House.

What a view! Magic Happens

At night we would gaze, mesmerised by the surreal high rise city lights with a frill of Luna Park frivolity on our left.

Our host had made all the arrangements to bring to fruition a spectacular plan, devised 6 months before by the Happy Hempsters, at Nimbin's last Mardi Grass.

The Plan was
to load the "Big Joint" onto a ferry and float around the harbour all day.

So early in afternoon the crew manically loaded the joint onto 'our' ferry.

The Big Joint on the Harbour Ferry

We then spent a perfect sunny Thursday afternoon cruising round and around the inner harbour.

On it was an entourage of Hemp activists including 'Her Royal Hempress "Princess Anne", creating wonderful photo-shots for the tourists.

What a sight we made as we went right into Darling Harbour, past the young Navy sailors, who returned the royal wave of 'Her Hempress' , as did the crowds at the Rocks and on the passing ferries.

As evening approached the Hemp Ferry took on board some of the folk who had accompanied Aboriginal Elder, Kevin Buzicott and his people who had just completed the Sacred Walk which had brought a sacred flame all the way from Lake Eyer in the centre of Australia to Sydney's Aboriginal Tent Embassy.

The Hempsters had invited them to join in this adventure after meeting them at the welcoming Ceremony, a few days before.

The Sydney Tent Embassy was a beautifully camp set up at the Sydney University end of Victoria Park to draw International media and attention to the Koori Land Rights and health issues.

Isobell welcoming the "Sacred Walk"

Sacred Walk Welcoming Ceremony

For many, the highlight of this very BIG day, was at sunset. See if you can imagine this:- The Hemp Ferry hovering for almost an hour off "Kirrabilly House" (the Sydney home of Australia's Prime Minister), as Prime Minister John Howard was giving a Garden Party for the "Fightfully Powerfully Important?", on the lawns which came down to the harbour's edge. As the ferry circled around and aroundand around and around in front of them, smoke billowing out of the "Big Joint" the garden party crowd were serenaded by the beautiful voice of Sacred Walker, Paulo Joseph singing of the spirit of the land, reminding them that they are on Aboriginal land.