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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-10-28 Daily Xml
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Hurn, Mr B.M.

Mr KNOLL (Schubert) (15:21): That is a bit unfair, Deputy Speaker, because—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No; I know, I can be sure that she will. Thank you very much for joining us today.

Mr KNOLL: —I rise to talk about the fact that yesterday we buried a great Barossan and a great South Australian, Brian Morgan Hurn OAM. I want to put some of his legacy and his achievements on the record. Brian had a long association with local government and was the inaugural and, in fact, the only mayor of the Barossa Council for 18 years, but he also had many sporting achievements.

In the 1963-64 Sheffield Shield season, Brian was a member of the winning side. He was also the Barossa, Light and Gawler 1970 Mail Medal winner (and has his name on it) and is a dual winner of the South Australian Cricket Association District Cricketer of the Year Award, which is now known as the Bradman Medal. He also holds the current record for the most wickets taken at the Kensington Cricket Club.

AFL football was also one of his talents. He was the Barossa, Light and Gawler's leading goal kicker in 1957 and 1963 as a member of the fantastic Angaston Football Club, the Panthers. Off the field, Brian was secretary of the Angaston Football Club for 11 years and was the president of the Barossa, Light and Gawler Football Association for seven years. During his tenure he strongly promoted the send-off rule, the import player restrictions and the amalgamation with Gawler, all of which happened and are still in place today.

Outside of the sporting community, he was involved in local government for 37 years. He was the chairperson of the Angaston District Council for 10 years, after having served as a local councillor for about seven or eight years before that. Then, in 1996, there were the council amalgamations and he was the inaugural mayor of the Barossa Council, a position that he held until late 2014. Brian also served as president of the Southern and Hills Local Government Association, he was on the local super board and was also the chairman of the Local Government Transport Advisory Panel.

Brian Hurn was a wonderful leader and is remembered by many as someone who never failed to understand and fairly express the views and needs of those within his community. As a fifth generation Barossa grazier and local grape grower, he was always a great advocate and protector of the Barossa’s agricultural and viticultural sectors. He also fought vigorously for an increase to South Australia’s share of local roads funding and took every opportunity to advocate for his wonderful Barossa at the state and national levels.

He was an active service member of the CFS for 47 years. He advocated strongly for farm fire units in the early days, an initiative that is currently still in place. He was awarded a National Medal and two bars for 35 years of service to the CFS, a CFS medal and also the 10, 20, 30 and 40-year clasps in recognition of his dedication.

Mr Hurn's work and achievements earned him a John Legoe Award of Excellence for commitment and service to his community, perhaps the only or most accurate description of his character and level of service. Of all the awards and accolades Mr Hurn received, there is one more honourable and prestigious than the rest and that is his Order of Australia Medal which he was awarded in 1999, again in recognition of his contributions and service to his community.

I have known Brian for about the last four years and came to know him quite well after my preselection as the candidate for the seat of Schubert for the Liberal Party. As often is the case in the Barossa, the local member and the local mayor end up at functions together. I was somewhat of a new kid on the block and for those 12 months and the six months that Brian and I served concurrently as member and mayor. He was very keen to put me through my paces. He saw me as this young kid on the block attempting to represent his community, his patch, and he wanted to make sure that I was up to the task. He often quite cheeky in the way that he would interact, and the way we would interact with other people. It took me a good six months to break him down and to really start to get to know him.

He was a man of immense character and immense strength. He was a strong and uncompromising leader who has shepherded the Barossa through so many great changes and has been in no small part a contributor to the wonderful place that we Barossans now call home. It was a beautiful service yesterday in the Uniting Church and a fantastic eulogy given by his granddaughter Ashton Hurn. She can be extremely proud. My condolences go to the family, especially to Ashton's parents, William and Sandi, to Ashton's brother, Shannon, aunties, uncles and cousins.

Time expired.

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