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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-06-05 Daily Xml
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Moorook Anniversary

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:38): Today, I rise to speak about a historic event in the electorate of Chaffey—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: It has been a long day. Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: —albeit those on the other side do not really care for the history of what the Riverland has to present to South Australia; we on this side do.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE: The history of river communities is very important. A fantastic little township named Moorook has celebrated its 125th anniversary. Moorook is a very small river town that has a beautiful aspect on the river. It was established 125 years ago when we had people who were using paddle-steamers along the River Murray. They came on the paddle-steamer, the PS Gem, in 1894 looking for a beginning, a new life for themselves on the banks of the beautiful River Murray.

I was lucky enough to attend the anniversary celebrations, and what I would say is that Moorook was a short-lived prisoner of war camp during World War II, and the Japanese people living in Australia were sent there along with other internment camps in the region: Loveday, Katarapko and Woolenook as we know them today. They were employed as woodcutters for the allied war effort. Their task was to harvest firewood to supply fuel needed by industries in the region. The Moorook internment camp was part of the Loveday prisoner of war camp complex and was officially closed on 21 February 1943.

The recent anniversary celebrations included a range of events across two days, including the formal opening of the riverfront, where attendees were welcomed by the Moorook Primary School students, and a tour of the Moorook community hall. Walking into that hall really did display some of the great yesteryear hardships that many of the pioneers into the Riverland used to experience: the hardship of the rising and falling of river levels and what they had to do just to survive and to remain as a community.

What we saw was the unveiling of the time capsule, the cutting of an anniversary cake and, of course, the authentic dinner at the KM packing shed at the heights of Moorook. A crowd of about 250 attended the unveiling, and it really was a high level of celebration. The unveiling of the capsule saw a mix of the old and the new: the people who are currently living as part of the Moorook community as well as past residents, or people who have an affection or an affiliation with the history of what Moorook meant to them, what it meant to their family.

When we opened the capsule we saw many letters from community members, and we saw a local newspaper in its entirety, the Murray Pioneer from 1994. What we saw was that the Murray Pioneer has not changed too much in all that time. It really is a credit to the Taylor Group of Newspapers. They are a strong family, they are a strong community-based newspaper, and they still present great articles and great newsworthy communication to the Riverland at large.

Rob Cordy and organising committee chair, Steve Munn, were joined by Jeff Battams, who, at 88, is the oldest historian. He is Moorook's oldest current resident, and he had the honour of cutting the anniversary cake. I really want to congratulate the organisers of this great event. I want to congratulate the people who made the time to come to Moorook and enjoy the hospitality. As I said, Moorook is a great little community and, for those who do not know, Moorook is home to Nippy's. We all know that Nippy's is an iconic fruit juice drink, and the company produces all sorts of beverages that sit in many of our shop refrigerators. It is an absolute stablemate for the people of the Riverland.

I would also like to acknowledge that Moorook is part of the Riverland history. I am hoping that it will become a permanent fixture to commemorate the legacy of Moorook. I would also like to thank the 125th anniversary organising committee for their fantastic effort to bring together the collage of history, photographs and all the sporting memorabilia. The Kingston Moorook footy club sadly is no longer in existence, but the memories of the Green and Gold Eagles continue to live on.

Really, what Moorook has now done is to set itself in the history books of the Riverland, and I look forward to being around to celebrate the 150 years of the Moorook township.

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