I have received word that English citizens can fly to Australia as immigrants, and the cost is only $20 per person. So under the circumstances, you can send some brahmacaris to help out our new centre in Sydney. This will be best, because the British Government will bear the expense of their transportation. Also, you can help them out by sending them the papers of ISKCON Ltd., from London, so they can immediately incorporate as a Commonwealth Branch. The Sydney address is as follows:
ISKCON Temple
26 Horderns Place
Potts Point
New South Wales, 2011
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The chanting of Hare Krsna was becoming well-known in Sydney. The Hare Krsna single, with the devotees chanting Hare Krsna with George Harrison, the famous Beatle, released in October 1968 on the Apple label, was now fourth on Sydney's Top 50, and steadily climbing. The newly opened musical Hair, with the rousing Hare Krsna chanting as its finale, was playing to a packed house in the Metro Theatre, Kings Cross.
The two young devotees pushed on their preaching efforts. Gradually a few people showed more than a passing interest in their sankirtana efforts.
Long haired Bill Willis from Berkeley -- "California Bill" to his friends -- was becoming more and more disgruntled with material affairs. His father was a Pan Am pilot and had offered Bill a free ticket anywhere in the world. His friends had headed off to Europe, but Bill, now a vegetarian and macrobiotic, decided to head to Hawaii, Auckland and Sydney. Renting a flat on Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross, Bill sometimes found himself wandering the streets, past the seedy bars and strip clubs.
One day he sighted a devotee in a knitted cap and sweater, and as they both crossed paths, the devotee smiled warmly and said "Hare Krsna". They talked, and the devotee, who introduced himself as Upendra, invited Bill to their temple. It wasn't Bill's first encounter with devotees. During his Berkeley days he had given a devotee on Telegraph Avenue a donation in exchange for a card with the maha-mantra on it. Eager to experience the promised sublimity, Bill had started chanting straight away. Shortly after, he met the devotees as they chanted outside the University of California, Berkeley campus, and yet again in San Franscisco at an avant garde outdoor "art-fest".
Now in Sydney, Bill was happy to discover that the temple was only a few minutes from his apartment. He started visiting the temple daily and was impressed by Upendra's convincing presentation of the philosophy of Krsna consciousness. Some days he would join them in their street chanting, and especially enjoyed visiting the temple for prasadam, which he found delicious.
- From "The Great Transcendental Adventure" by HG Kurma Prabhu
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