Lani Pallister's opening number was a smash hit and Flynn Southam's curtain call was even better as Australia's swim team earned six gold medals in their Glasgow grand premiere.
While their opening show largely went to script at the Commonwealth Games, Jenna Forrester delighted with a shocking plot twist in her last-minute understudy role.
Pallister pocketed Australia's first medal of the Games and helped claim top spot on the overall medal standings, with Australia winning six of nine gold medals at the Tollcross pool on day one.
Pallister started the night by comfortably winning the 400m freestyle final, confirming she is the heiress to retired great Ariarne Titmus while consigning several years of health setbacks firmly to history.
"Without all the ups and downs I wouldn't be the person or the athlete that I am today, and I think that's really special," Pallister said.
"I'm proud of the journey that I've been on and I wouldn't change it for the world.
"The first event of the Games is always one to set the tone, so I'm happy that I can do that for the whole team."
Pallister's mother Janelle swam at the Olympics and she is the god-daughter of sporting great Dawn Fraser. She is expected to dominate the freestyle distance events in Glasgow.
She was the only finalist to go under four minutes, clocking three minutes 59.54 seconds, but Pallister was notably short of her 3:58.87 personal best and admitted she wasn't happy with the time.
But it represented a breakthrough win after COVID-19 cruelled her Paris Olympics campaign. She also had recovered earlier from heart surgery and an eating disorder, among other health issues.
Less than an hour after winning bronze behind Pallister, Forrester backed up in the 200m backstroke as a late replacement for Kaylee McKeown, whose withdrawal from the Games with glandular fever was a significant team blow.
Fifth at halfway and still fourth with a lap left, Forrester stormed home to beat Scot Katie Shanahan by just .37 of a second.
With three Australians in the final, the expectation was Iona Anderson or Hannah Fredericks would continue McKeown's domination.
But Forrester, who finished fourth in the event at the national trials in June, rose to the occasion.
"I did not expect that to happen tonight - I am so over the moon," Forrester said.
"I didn't really have much expectation going into the 400 free or the 200 backstroke, so I'm really happy with how that went."
Like Pallister, it is her first Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Jenna Jones (100m freestyle S13) and Alex Saffy (100m butterfly S10) won para-swimming gold before Australia ended the session with victories in the women's and men's 4x100 freestyle relays, where Southam was the standout.
Shayna Jack was in tears on the podium at her last Games alongside Meg Harris, Mollie O'Callaghan and Alex Perkins, who earlier in the night was the fastest 50m butterfly semi-finalist.
Then came Southam's leadoff 47.09 seconds for the men, the fourth-fastest time by an Australian. It broke the Games record of 47.36, set by team anchor Kyle Chalmers at Birmingham.
The men stormed to a three minutes 09.49 seconds Commonwealth Games record, eclipsing their 3:11.12 of four years ago.
Given Australia have not beaten the United States in the men's 100m freestyle relay at the Olympics since the historic "smash them like guitars" Sydney final, Southam's record was a big moment.
