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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-14 Daily Xml
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DONLEY, MR BOB

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (15:52): I would like to pay tribute to a local hero of my electorate of Mitchell, Mr Bob Donley, who sadly passed away on Christmas Day last year. I offer my sincere condolences to his wife, Elizabeth, and his sons, James and Craig. Bob was a truly remarkable person and an inspirational man—a very quiet achiever. He moved to Seaview Downs to live in 1970 and worked as a teacher. His interest in local history was sparked when he began developing courses on the subject for his students at Christies Beach and, later, Brighton high schools.

In 1991, he was elected to the Marion City Council and became increasingly involved in the work of the heritage steering committee. He became president of the Marion Historical Society, a position he held for more than 20 years until his passing. After 32 years of teaching in local high schools, Bob retired in 1997 and began to devote even more of his time and energy to preserving and promoting the history of Marion. There is absolutely no doubt that in these endeavours Bob has left a legacy: a better understanding of the rich history of our area and a greater appreciation of the need to preserve our heritage for local residents and for generations to come.

I would like to reflect on some of his many achievements. He researched and wrote a post World War II history of the area in his book entitled, Marion—A Suburban City, 1945-2000. He played a key role in saving both local and state heritage listed buildings. He ensured that council development approval processes were updated to take local heritage listings into account. He was presented with a Heritage Heroes award by the Hon. Paul Caica in 2010. He conceived and worked on the Closed Schools of Marion exhibition at the Marion Cultural Centre in May and June of 2011, which allowed hundreds of former students from nine closed local schools to reminisce about their school days as well as share with the community the history of Marion's baby boomer schools.

He assisted with the restoration of historic Fairford House and helped establish the Marion Historical Village Walking Trail. He spent many years pursuing the establishment of a history centre in Marion, lobbying which culminated with articles in the local newspaper and a DVD entitled, Why Marion Needs a History Centre, which he sent to every elected member of council. I am very pleased to say that he achieved his goal, with the Marion council voting on 22 November last year to set up a history and tourism centre in Red House in front of the Council Administration Building.

In May last year I was very pleased to accompany the Deputy Premier, the Hon. John Rau, to visit a number of iconic and important historic and cultural sites in the electorate of Mitchell, including the historic and environmental gem that is the Lower Field River. It was during this visit that we met with Bob to discuss another heritage project about which he was very passionate: the preservation of the Worthing Copper Mine, located in the Field River Valley. The mine is on private land, and one of Bob's many projects with the Marion Historical Society was to see the land purchased by the state government to ensure the preservation of the engine house and chimney, the engine house being the oldest surviving one in our state.

I note that the Deputy Premier was very pleased with the depth of Bob's historical knowledge, combined with his gentle persuasion and gentle passion for this subject. Both Bob and I shared a vision: that the Field River environs would one day be restored with thriving native plant and bird life and incorporated walking and cycling trails from which tourists and locals alike could view the historic Worthing Mine from a viewing platform. In his memory, I will continue to work both as a member of parliament and a member of my community to see that this vision one day becomes a reality.

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