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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-02-24 Daily Xml
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Light Electorate

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:20): I rise today to discuss a few matters which relate to the electorate of Light and to also put on the record some of the good work being undertaken in the electorate by a number of individuals.

Firstly, I would just like to bring to the house's attention the 10th anniversary of the Gawler Community Gallery. Come Friday, the Gawler Community Gallery will be celebrating its 10th birthday. I was fortunate enough to be mayor at the time, and officially opened the gallery on 26 February 2006. The gallery came about as a result of hard work by a number of local artists, who saw the lack of a gallery or exhibition space inhibiting the work of local artists and wanted to promote local art.

These artists got together and formed an organisation called Arts Action, and that group was the vanguard to lobby both the local government and others to establish the Gawler Community Gallery in the old station house at the Gawler railway station. The art gallery has been going for 10 years, and it is doing very well; it has proven all its critics wrong. Now is the time for a larger, more accessible and central gallery in the town. I understand that some preliminary discussions are taking place between the gallery and the council in that regard.

This is not the first gallery we have had in the Gawler community. Formal art (or European art), as distinct from Aboriginal art, goes back to 1889, when the Adelaide School of Design and Painting opened its first branch in Gawler. Classes were held in the Museum Room of the Gawler Institute, with 81 students, and other things were added on later. Records indicate that students displayed or exhibited their work in the institute's Subscriber Room, which then became the town's first unofficial local art gallery.

I would just like to put on record the work of the Gawler Art Society since their inception in 1967, and other groups who have supported the art industry in the community. Under the leadership of Judy Gillet Ferguson as president, and David Arandle as secretary, Arts Action worked very hard to promote a new gallery, and I happy to say that they are now celebrating their 10th year.

Something else making a return to Gawler is the market. The Adelaide Farmers' Market have opened a market in Pioneer Park in the town's centre. I attended the official launch of the new market with Mayor Karen Redman on 30 January 2016, along with over 2,000 people. I understand the numbers are very strong and continue to grow.

Markets are not new to Gawler. They have held markets in the centre of town for many years, such as the old stock markets, the old sundry markets, etc., but they made way for new developments. This farmers' market, supported by the Adelaide Farmers' Market, will bring both sellers and buyers to the centre of town, keenly awaited by the people of Gawler in their regional numbers.

Farmers' markets provide a vibrant place where farmers and producers representing many regions of the state bring seasonal produce to sell direct to the public. Buyers benefit from fresh produce and products, and sellers benefit from dealing directly with the buyer and cutting out the middleman.

Farmers' markets are also very educational. People understand the product, and often the seller will spend time talking to the purchaser about where the product comes from, how it is formed, etc., so it is very important, and I wish the market every success. There is produce, obviously, from the nearby Adelaide Plains and Adelaide Hills, and fruit and other products come from as far as the Riverland and the Clare Valley. We are blessed in this state to be able to offer premium food and wine from our very clean environment.

I would also like to put on record my congratulations for the work performed by my church and other faith groups in the community. I attended a forum on Friday with the groups and I heard about the work they are doing in supporting families affected by the Pinery fires. They also do a lot of other work in counselling families and supporting families in our community, and they play an important role in our community.

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