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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-19 Daily Xml
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NOTABLE AUSTRALIANS

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:11): Today, I would like to remember some special people and their service to Australia, in two cases, and, in the other two cases, to the State of South Australia. Hazel Hawke died on 23 May and will be honoured in Sydney on Tuesday 25 June and, I am sorry to say, I cannot be there to attend and pay my respects. Hazel's love of music was well known and will play a key role in the ceremony, and her work as a tireless campaigner for social justice issues will be celebrated along with her patronage of the arts and bravery as a dementia advocate in her later life.

Hazel opened the Lurra childcare centre in Florey many years ago, and it is perhaps for her role as Australia's first lady that she will be most remembered, in which she pioneered many roles. Susan Ryan, her friend, said, 'Hazel chose to remain her approachable, easygoing self and support causes that reflected her deeply held values.' Another dear friend, Wendy McCarthy, was close to Hazel and, along with Susan Ryan, has been a role model and mentor to many of the women in parliament today. Condolences go to Hazel's family and, of course, her many friends throughout the Australian community.

Another lover of music was Graeme Bell, Australia's great in New Orleans and trad jazz. He died last year in June and his legacy lives on in Australia through the musicians with whom he came into contact. It is because of my association with Generations in Jazz, the annual competition here in South Australia, that I have become a jazz lover, and Graeme Bell is a household name here and beyond. Born in Victoria, Graeme recorded some compositions of our Adelaide jazz great, Dave Dallwitz. Graeme entertained troops in World War II, toured Europe with the Australian Jazz Band and, soon after taking a distinctly Australian voice there, he convinced people in London that jazz was for dancing as well as listening. He then toured China in 1990, along with Little Pattie—goodness only knows what China thought of all of that—and received many awards. The Australian Jazz Awards, The Bells, are named after him.

A great South Australian whom I knew who died in September of 2012, Doug Claessen, was a Public Service secretary to Don Dunstan and is thought to be the first Sri Lankan-born magistrate in Australia. Doug studied law and held many positions, advocating for people before meeting the then attorney-general Dunstan, becoming his trusted confidante. Doug worked with Dame Roma Mitchell and went on to hold many senior roles, retiring as a magistrate of the Licensing Court in 1984. He went on to work part-time with a legal firm here in Adelaide and, even after retiring from that role, still went on to win cases for people until just before he passed away. He was a true friend of the Florey subbranch and is survived by his wife Verna, his children Rohan, Yolande and Jerome and their families, and our condolences go out to all of them.

Yesterday, we learned of the very sad passing of Bronwyn Halliday. A young vibrant woman, she made a great contribution and is remembered for her board work throughout South Australia for Minda, National Pharmacies, the State Theatre Company, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and also Planning SA. She was a Flinders University counsellor and a chair of KESAB and the History Trust, among many other roles.

It is her work for the State Library that will be her greatest legacy, I feel. That is how I first met her. I well remember the day she showed me around the State Library just before it was completed. It was a project that she fully embraced. We had great fun talking about all the new innovations that she was putting in place there. As with me, she also shared a love of Mintaro in the Clare Valley. Although I only saw her infrequently after she left the State Library, it was always good to catch up with her and say hello. My sincere condolences go to her husband Simon and to her family, friends and many colleagues.

These examples of service to others and being mentors for us all are something we need to take on board. Community service and public life can be very demanding but without people putting themselves forward in these capacities we would all be the poorer. I know these four will be very sadly missed.

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