A great time was had by over 300 people last Friday at the SAL NSW Christmas Luncheon, which was again held at the Hyatt Regency. Guests gathered to see old friends, for a chat, to share a joke and to enjoy a meal.
Stand-up comedian Merrick Watts provided the chuckles and musician Alfred de Souza (pictured, left) provided beautiful ambient music.
Of course, the event was held in a COVID-appropriate way with guest registration, temperature checks, a ban on pre-luncheon mingling, hand sanitizer and social distancing**.
Government rules required us to cap numbers because of COVID and, unfortunately, we were not able to accommodate everyone who wanted to come. Here’s hoping that 2022 proves to be a much kinder year and we can host an even bigger luncheon next time!
Thank you to our supporters
Shipping Australia thanks all our guests, speakers and entertainers who made the event a success.
Events of this nature are simply not possible without the support of our sponsors. We would like to particularly thank our lead sponsor, Ausport Marine. Managing Director, Anil Bhatia, gave the keynote address.
Svitzer Australia was the support sponsor to the event.
The entertainment was sponsored by AGS World Transport and ACFS Port Logistics.
And finally, we would also like to thank Port Phillip Sea Pilots for their generous support in providing the table gifts for each individual guest.
Thank you all.
** NOTE: our photographs were shot using a long-lens. A long-lens has the effect of compressing and flattening the image which creates an optical illusion that objects which are in reality far away from each other appear to be close together. Or, to put it another way, our pictures appear to show people close to each other even though they are in fact socially distanced.
You can read independent explanations about this effect here or here or here and also here.
