Letter to The Editor - Well, what then is our greatest treasure?" Some would say Christianity

To The Age        Dr Bentley James is making a significant contribution to our national culture by his sterling effort to preserve the Yolngu sign language ("Signing up for desperate effort to save a language and a way of life", 8/4). Alas, some languages must die as socio-cultural contexts change. Think Gaelic and Cornish in the British Isles as well as the large number of Aboriginal tongues here. However, the sign language is hardly "the greatest treasure that Australia ever had." Dr James's excessive remark raises the question: "Well, what then is our greatest treasure?" Some would say Christianity, but I think I would nominate our tradition of political freedom. Perhaps we need another Dr James to preserve that!
  Nigel Jackson, Belgrave, Vic