Hawke House

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:14): My question to the Leader of the Government is: will the government join me in congratulating South Australian design architects Mulloway Studio on its nomination for a national architecture award for their work on the Hawke House in Bordertown?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:15): I am happy to answer that as Leader of the Government but also as Minister for Industrial Relations because, of course, Robert James Lee Hawke, former Prime Minister, was also head of the trade union movement in Australia, one of the movement's great leaders before he entered politics.

I am aware that Bob Hawke's childhood home—the home of the 23^rd Prime Minister of Australia—is in Bordertown. I have had the opportunity a number of times, when travelling through Bordertown, to stop by that home. It is an important historic part of South Australia. Aside from being a Labor legend, a trade union legend and this country's third longest serving Prime Minister, Bob Hawke is the only Australian Prime Minister to have been born in South Australia.

Hawke House is Bob Hawke's childhood home and is now a fantastic accommodation venue and tourist attraction in the Upper South-East town of Bordertown. The house itself was constructed in 1885 as a bank office and manager's residence before being bought by the Congregational Church. Bob Hawke's father was Bordertown's Congregational minister between 1928 and 1935, and it was during the family's time there that Bob was born in 1929.

The Hawke family left the house in 1935 and over the years it went through a number of changes in use and ownership until it was acquired in 2021 by the Tatiara District Council, with support from the commonwealth government. The house has undergone a three-quarters of a million dollar renovation and is now open as visitor accommodation, providing a unique tourist experience for those visiting Bordertown. Who wouldn't want to stay in the house that Bob Hawke lived in in his youngest years?

The extensive renovations were designed by South Australian design architects Mulloway Studio. The project emphasised preserving the unique and historic features of the home while also ensuring that it was fit for modern use, including features such as wheelchair accessibility. The house now features snippets of Bob Hawke's story, including wallpaper as well as artefacts scattered throughout the home.

South Australians should be rightly proud of not only this attraction but the recognition that the project is receiving. I am advised that Anthony Coupe and his team at Mulloway are nominees for this year's Australian Institute of Architects national Architecture Awards, and I am sure that members will join me in wishing best hopes for Mulloway Studio in this weekend's awards, and encouraging all those visiting Bordertown to take a look at this unique attraction. If you need somewhere to stay in that area, do yourself a favour and stay in Bob Hawke's house.