Matters of Interest

Craddock, Mrs R.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:20): Today, I rise to speak about another legendary woman, Rosemary Craddock AM. Rosemary played an essential role in her local community and broader South Australia. She was born in Curramulka on the Yorke Peninsula as the only child of Eric and Pat Hamilton-Smith and spent her early years at Georgetown. She was a typical country girl—very sporty, down to earth and with an irreverent sense of humour. She enjoyed many sporting pursuits throughout her life, including tennis, golf and downhill skiing.

She did her schooling as a boarder at Wilderness, where she maintained strong ties, including as president of the Old Scholars' Association, and served as a member of the Board of Governors for seven years. On completing school, she studied law at the University of Adelaide and was admitted to practice in 1972. Throughout her legal work, she had a very diverse career, but of most note was her work in native title on behalf of local governments on the De Rose Hill Station claim in the Far North, which became a test case for native title claims in South Australia.

Upon moving into the Walkerville council area, Rosemary became an active community member and was elected to council in 1989. She was then elected mayor in 1995 and subsequently became president of the Local Government Association in 1997. Rosemary was a fierce advocate for local government and the tone of some of her letters to the editor was elegantly dry and to the point, such as this comment following coverage in The Advertiser that she clearly had not agreed with and I quote, 'I should note the headline on your editorial did not match its content.'

Her time in local government coincided with Liberal governments being in power at both a state and federal level and Rosemary had no hesitation in letting various ministers know publicly and no doubt privately when she disapproved or disagreed with them. These included subjects such as the economy of the state, proposed changes to the Local Government Act, which she labelled 'big brother', spending on the emergency services levy, whether South Australia was getting value for money on the sale of Telstra in 1999, the GST deal, the time she publicly questioned the value of the 12 Senate representatives from South Australia to the federal parliament, opposition to council amalgamations, ownership of council assets in relation to ETSA and concessions for ratepayers.

Rosemary retired from council in 2000, but after her retirement she continued to be very active in the Walkerville area commenting on council issues, such as proposed amalgamations, which she vehemently opposed. I note that no amalgamations have yet occurred with the city of Walkerville.

Rosemary was elected as state president of the Liberal Party in 2000. She was the second female president, following the election of Vickie Chapman previously. This coincided with some challenging times for the Liberal Party, but under her leadership significant reforms went through that established residency requirements for anyone voting at preselections. Rosemary was always a strong advocate for ensuring fairness for all. She served three terms as president and in her final term she delivered a characteristically blunt message after the 2002 election loss about the need for the parliamentary team to get on with the task and look to the future.

In her legal and community service work, Rosemary was a trailblazer. She was a strong supporter for other women, both in local government and politics, and she received a number of awards for her service. In 1999, she received a Ministerial Citation for Outstanding Service, particularly for her leadership of the sector in the negotiations on the 1999 Local Government Bill.

In 2000, she received the Premier's Award for Outstanding Community Achievement. She was a recipient of a Centenary Medal for service to local government and in 2017 she became a member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to local government in South Australia and to the community of Walkerville.

Sadly, she passed away last year. She was a friend of mine. We all miss her sense of humour and the twinkle that she had in her eye and for her bluntness and strength.