Goyder Electorate

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (15:31): I commend the member for Little Para on his grievance; it is a very important issue. I wish to speak about something a little bit happier today: history that has occurred in the electorate of Goyder. On the past two Sundays, I have had the great pleasure of attending events at Dublin and Mallala where issues of historical significance have been recognised, and I want to pay tribute to the communities and groups that have made that possible.

On 9 November, we attended a solemn ceremony to recognise the 21 young men from Dublin and the surrounding area who served in World War I and did not return. While 100 years ago is an enormous time, most of those men still have family members residing in the area, and the decision had been made to have a physical demonstration of remembrance for those people and the sacrifice they made by way of a tree planting. It was a bit more than that; the trees were quite mature in size, and I commend them on what they had done.

We had representatives from various religious groups, such as the Salvation Army, there to speak and offer their thoughts. One really solemn moment occurred after the afternoon tea, and people in the area who had family who passed in World War I were invited to read some of the letters from the boys. You could sense the absolute—and I use the word loosely—excitement in their words about the thought of travel and going off to defend Australia and to be involved in a conflict that they had no comprehension of what the impact was going to be.

We all know, with sadness, what actually did result, but the mood change existed throughout. Some of them were rather long letters, and they talked about the boat trip over there, being at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, the change of thought of, 'God, what have I got myself into?' and what the impact was going to be on themselves and the friends around them. All of these people did not return.

Indeed, there was a lot of emotion on the day, and I do not think it is stretching the facts to say that every family member who stood there and read a letter was crying at the end of it. While they are not directly connected anymore, they paid their respects to their family members and the sacrifices they made. The hall was full and everyone listened very solemnly, and paid their respects.

Mr Ian Telfer is the chair of the Dublin History Group. I have had an association with the group for around eight years, primarily driven by Mrs Pat Thompson, who is an outstanding worker for that community. They have invigorated the place enormously, and it is a wonderful full-time display of the sacrifices made and the innovative things that have been done in the community over the last 150 years. I go there every chance I get, but Sunday 9 November was a special day. I commend them on what they have done.

I have written a support letter on their behalf for a Community Event of the Year Award as part of the District Council of Mallala's Australia Day celebrations, and I do sincerely wish them well, because they deserve to be acknowledged for what they do, not just in the last year or for that last event but for what I have seen them do in the last eight years, and probably for the last 15 years that they have been in operation.

The second event I wish to talk about was held at the Mallala Museum last Sunday. It was part of an operation previously known by the East family, where equipment was manufactured. In the paint shop, as it was identified, the local Lions Club had built two rooms to show what it was like to exist in a regional community during the First World War. They had spent 590 hours of volunteer time to construct the rooms and then it was fitted out and it was an additional exhibition space opportunity.

The East family was there in strength from all over the state, and it allowed them to come together and understand what their own forebears had done in the past. It was a great opportunity also to pay respects to Mr Ray Earl. Ray has been president for 25 years of the some 43 years of the operation of the Mallala Museum committee, and he retired only last week after being a foundation member of the committee and serving it wonderfully in that time. I was given the great honour of presenting him with his framed photo of the museum and his certificate from the Minister for Volunteers, I believe it was.

It was another great day and an example of how, when a community comes together, it can provide a forum for those of us who are travelling through or do not live there full-time and do not know the history of what has occurred in that community to pay our respects and to be excited about what it has done. Mallala, for those who do not know, is significant for the racetrack that is there, which was formerly the air training facility during World War II, so a large focus of the museum is on that air training facility. There are interactive videos, uniforms on display, the history of the area; some amazing things are being developed there. I pay tribute to Mr Marcus Strudwicke, the chair, and all associated with all the museums in the electorate. Well done.