Minnipa Centenaries

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (15:27): I rise today to talk to an event which I attended in the electorate of Flinders over the long weekend in October and that was the centenary of the township of Minnipa. I had a private member's motion back in September congratulating the committees involved with the celebration of not just the Minnipa Agriculture Centre but also the township.

They were two separate events. I got along to Minnipa on Saturday 3 October where the town was celebrating its centenary with a range of events. I will talk about those events very briefly and congratulate the people who were involved. My wife and I travelled to Minnipa, and I must say at the outset that something I am very passionate about is local history and the Minnipa people, certainly in their celebration of their centenary, embrace local history also.

The morning began with registration at 8am with an invitation to be seated for the national anthem at 9.30am. Local identities took part. Mr Jon Fromm gave the introduction. Mr Elliot McNamara gave a speech and welcomed people to Minnipa. I must say that it was an extraordinarily good speech from Elli, who is a member of an Aboriginal family who, along with his siblings, grew up in Minnipa through the 1950s and 1960s, and it was wonderful to see him back and talk about his life during and since his time at Minnipa.

Mrs Eleanor Scholz, Mayor of the Wudinna District Council, who was a Minnipa girl originally, gave an address. I had the pleasure and honour of officially opening the weekend. Mr Murray Cook, Mr John Kwaterski and Mr Ken Gosling then unveiled a plaque, which commemorated the early farming families, and those three gentlemen have families who are still farming in the district today and they were representing the early settlers and all the previous and continuing landowners and all who have lived and contributed to the Minnipa district. They unveiled the plaque, and I was pleased to be part of that ceremony. I will just very quickly outline what the plaque says because it is very important.

It stated that the township of Minnipa was officially proclaimed on 28 January 1915. Minnipa has occupied a unique place in the development of Eyre Peninsula. The Minnipa railway terminus and station was completed on 5 May 1913. The Minnipa Agricultural Centre was also opened in 1915, and it continues to operate as one of Australia's most significant agricultural research farms. Also, the Tod River pipeline and Minnipa Tod pressure tank were opened in June 1928, and remain pivotal to the Eyre Peninsula water scheme. Murray Cook, John Kwaterski and Ken Gosling as descendants, along with Peter Treloar MP, unveiled the plaque. It was erected by the Minnipa Centenary Celebrations Committee as a memorial to the pioneers who over the last 100 years have made Minnipa the independent and proud town it is today.

The event continued after morning tea with an acknowledgement of the sponsors by Mr Jerel Fromm. A cake was cut by Mr and Mrs Doug and Beryl Elefsen. Doug is 89, about to turn 90, and is a lifelong resident of Minnipa. Mr Graeme Dodsworth, who was the last principal of the Minnipa Area School before it closed and students shifted to Karcultaby, read the roll call of the last students. Mr Murray Gerschwitz talked about the pioneers. Mr Matthew Cook, chair of the book committee, spoke and launched Minnipa Memories. I congratulate Matthew on all his work. Mr and Mrs Peter and Maggie Knife as the book publishers responded to that. I must say that Peter and Maggie are now residents of Port Lincoln and they are absolute treasures. It is the fourth history book that Peter has been involved with, and we are absolutely privileged to have those two people living on Eyre Peninsula.

Tours of the town followed, and then during the evening a dinner dance was held in the local town hall. It was emceed by Mr Anthony North, and guest speakers were Mr Jack McKenzie and Mr Bob Holloway, who managed the Minnipa Agriculture Centre for a time. Mrs Fiona Carey acknowledged the sponsors. No weekend such as this can occur without significant sponsorship, mostly local, so we thank them. A final thankyou was made by Bruce Heddle, and I congratulate him on his work as chair of the celebration committee. He does a terrific job along with all his helpers. The Phillips family pancake breakfast followed on Sunday, and I know that the Redding family had a get together as well. Congratulations to all involved. It was a wonderful day, and congratulations to Minnipa on their centenary.