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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-05 Daily Xml
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HISTORY FESTIVAL

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:08): My question is to the Premier in his capacity as Minister for the Arts. Can the Premier outline some of the events taking place this year to celebrate South Australia's rich and diverse history in this significant year of 175 years of European settlement in the state?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:08): I thank the honourable member who has a strong history in history, and I will talk about that in a minute. On Tuesday night the Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts launched History SA's History Festival. With the assistance of the government, History SA has extended this fascinating festival to a month-long event to commemorate 175 years of European settlement in South Australia.

We have provided a grant worth $229,000 to History SA to establish a community grant program to commemorate our state's 175th anniversary of European settlement and to support the expansion of About Time: South Australia's History Festival. The grant program is investing in a large range of community-led events and initiatives across the state. I am confident that this history festival will be a success. Members would have received a program in April, and I encourage all to attend as many of the events over the month as possible. The program is substantial and covers the whole state. Importantly, in commemorating 175 years of European settlement in SA, we must also acknowledge and celebrate the significant and ancient Aboriginal culture that predates this settlement.

It is pleasing to see that there are activities both within the festival and throughout the year that acknowledge this important aspect of South Australia's history. One such example includes the creation of an interpretive trail, highlighting the lives of prominent Kaurna women, such as Kudnarto, the SA175 community grant program providing funds to Kildare College to assist in the creation of this trail.

As part of SA175 commemoration events happening throughout the year, the Migration Museum will present an exhibition in 2011 exploring population identity and generation changes in our state. Also, History SA has partnered with the Department of Education and Children's Services to present the Bound for South Australia website, a digital re-enactment of the journey made 175 years ago by nine ships that came to South Australia in 1836. The Art Gallery of South Australia will stage an exhibition on colonial art that will open on 4 November 2011. I particularly want to mention one thing—

The SPEAKER: Order! There is too much background noise.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: —that will be of great interest to the member for Florey, the member for Ashford and many others in this place. I am sure, in fact, that they would be very disappointed if I did not mention the events that will be taking place here in Parliament House to celebrate the history of our state's modern democracy, as laid out on page 19 of the program. The activities include extended tours of Parliament House and parliamentary-style debates for school years 5 to 12, as well as a display in Centre Hall organised by the Muriel Matters Society.

Formed to recognise the achievements of Bowden-born Muriel Lilah Matters (1877-1969), the society, with the assistance of the Speaker and the Clerk of the House of Assembly, has acquired one of the original 18 sections of the Ladies' Gallery of the House of Commons that Muriel chained herself to on 28 October 1908. Muriel had already voted twice in elections in South Australia—the first place in the world to grant women dual suffrage—when she arrived in London in 1905, and she soon became a full-time organiser for the Women's Freedom League (WFL).

With the kind assistance of the Palace of Westminster, the South Australian parliament took delivery of a section of the ironwork, dating back to the 1850s, in October 2010. This week, with the kind permission of the Museum of London, the original chains worn by Muriel that fateful night, along with the WFL prison badge awarded to Muriel on her release from prison, have arrived to take pride of place in the Grille Exhibition. In conjunction with the exhibition, which will be in place until January 2012, the society has prepared a presentation on Muriel's early life in Adelaide, particularly her association with Lionel Logue of The Kings Speech fame, and then her life in England.

The play Why Muriel Matters debuted for the centenary of her return visit to Adelaide in June 1910 and will be performed in suburban theatres in early June this year, prior to a regional tour.

The SPEAKER: Order! Too much background noise!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I have seen the play and it is outstanding—and also the singing is outstanding.

Finally, I am pleased to announce that History SA is developing a digital exhibition, called Every Street Tells a Story, supported by a grant from the government's new Major Exhibitions Fund. I encourage all members to participate in the many activities throughout our month-long history festival or indeed any one of the events occurring this year.

As for Muriel Matters, I think that, with the Bowden development, we should—and I am sure I get agreement from all ministers involved—given that Muriel Matters was born there, have some kind of recognition of that in the Bowden development. I will not suggest a mural for Muriel, but maybe one of the streets, or maybe some public art, to recognise a South Australian who had a major impact on the world.

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