Sights set on Jesus
Volume 11, No. 54, October 19, 2006
By Maj Graham Henley

Stairway to heaven: Majors David Smith and Craig Bickell, Headquarters JTF 631, run up the stairs to the Jesus statue for a morning PT session in Dili, Timor-Leste. Photos by Cpl Bernard Pearson

RUNNING around the ring road at the Dili based Camp Phoenix tends to become a little monotonous. The track is small, about 400 metres, rocky, and if you happen to be on it soon after the water truck, muddy. These conditions do not deter the hardy, nor does the rudimantry nature of the makeshift gymnasium deter the body shapers amongst the Camp Phoenix occupants.

To do something a little different, about a dozen members of HQ JTF631 took the opportunity to do their morning run in an area with a different aspect. A short drive east from Camp Phoenix is the Jesus statue, built about 10 years ago by the Idonesians as a gift to the East Timorese to coincide with a visit by Pope John Paul II. The statue, standing prominently on a headland, is mounted on a globe of the earth and is about 20 metres tall.

The multilpe steps and levels from the car park to the statue pass niches representing the stations of the cross. The view from the statue across the bay to Dili is spectacular.

“This is an exhilerating experience,” Maj Craig Bickell said. “The run is challenging and the view from the statue platform is quite spectacular. Worth the effort of getting there”.

This morning, the Australian soldiers were but a few of the runners at the statue. A group of New Zealand soldiers were warming up for their assault on the steps and a former ADF aviation pilot now flying out of Dili for an oil company, said that the venue is so popular with expats working in Timor-Leste, some mornings it.