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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-10-28 Daily Xml
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Motions

Hungarian Club of SA

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:11): I move:

That this council—

1. Congratulates the Hungarian Club of SA in achieving a significant milestone in celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2015;

2. Acknowledges the excellent work that this club has done over the last five decades and also other related associations in the promotion of Hungarian culture, food, language and support of Australian Hungarians and the broader community; and

3. Recognises the long-standing commitment by community leaders, business leaders and volunteers of the Australian Hungarian community for making important economic, social and cultural contributions to South Australia.

It is with great honour today that I rise to move this motion standing in my name to convey my sincere congratulations to the Hungarian Club of South Australia for 50 years of wonderful achievements in South Australia. Mr President and honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence of so many wonderful faces sitting in the Stranger's Gallery who are representatives from the Hungarian Club. I thank you for making the time to join me for afternoon tea and to be in the chamber listening to this speech. I table a document with their names.

It is indeed a historic day to see the Hungarian Club of SA being recognised by the Parliament of South Australia on this day on 28 October. The Hungarian Club of SA was incorporated on 6 August 1965, and ever since 1968 its residence has been Osmond Terrace in Norwood. Over the last five decades, the clubhouse has grown with the community and therefore the club bought a number of cottages at the rear of the property, allowing the club to have two street frontages.

The club was established by a group of Hungarians, most of whom were immigrants fleeing Europe following the end of the Second World War. With many migrants running away from their war-torn countries and ruined homelands, they found refuge in South Australia between 1949 and the early 1950s. They sought a fresh start and a better future.

Like many other migrants, the Hungarians wanted to recreate and retain their cultural heritage for their own benefit, their children and their grandchildren. This strong vision motivated the Hungarians living in South Australia to preserve their culture and traditions, and to educate the future generation to be rightful custodians of the Hungarian heritage. The club became a very important part of that preservation and was a home away from home for many of the first wave of immigrants. The club provided essential social and cultural connections, allowing newly arrived migrants to have a sense of community and support.

This community framework remains a paramount structure ever since the club's establishment for they continue to provide regular social functions for members of all ages, along with the commemoration of important significant dates on the Hungarian calendar, as well as providing adult language classes, hosting a Hungarian community radio program and—who would ever forget—the wonderful goulash nights at the Hungarian Club.

The Hungarian Club, as a venue, is a home for seven other Hungarian organisations: Hungarian ethnic radio, which I mentioned earlier; the Hungarian Caritas Association; Council of Hungarian Associations in SA; Veterans' Association; Knights of the Order of St. Laszlo; Hungarian Language Class for Adults; and the Knightly Order of Vitez SA Branch. Pardon me if I did not pronounce the Hungarian properly.

From 1970 onwards, there have been triannual events hosted by the various states of the country. These events were called Australian and New Zealand Hungarian Cultural Conventions. The Hungarian Club in South Australia hosted five of these events. Those were in 1976, 1988, 1997, 2003 and 2013 (which I attended together with your patron, Steven Marshall, the member for Dunstan).

Artists from overseas were invited to perform and participate, and guests from all over the world were invited to attend. It is a wonderful convention with all the like-minded Hungarians sharing their very rich culture. It is always a great program and I really enjoy it.

The Hungarian Club is responsible for the creation of its monthly newsletter which is distributed either digitally or in hard copy form to members and others as well. The Hungarian Club organises concert celebrations, fundraising events, dinners, and the monthly Goulash Night Dinner Dance. The Hungarian Club has also been visited by many celebrities, the most recent of whom was actor Miriam Margolyes who loved coming to your Wednesday Seniors Lunches for several consecutive weeks.

Not only that, but I think your ability to engage and interact with other communities is really quite a highlight of your club for inclusivity. Your management focuses not only on keeping the old traditions alive, but you promote multiculturalism by welcoming all nationalities to use your venue. To name just a few, you had the Fiji Social Club host several large social events annually at the Hungarian Club, the Liberal Party often hold our many conventions at your club as well, Riding for Disabled fundraising events are held there, Turkish dancing and belly dancing has also been held at the club, West Coast Swing, and many others.

Recently, you combined your resources with the Polish community in organising the Polish—Hungarian Friendship Day which, all in all, shows just how diversified you are in welcoming and promoting multiculturalism.

On your very kind invitation, I was honoured, along with a number of other VIPs, to participate in the 50th anniversary celebration of your Hungarian community on 2 August. It was a wonderful day. I call it the golden anniversary as it was 50 years. It was a time to celebrate and reflect and pay tribute to a club that has offered astonishing services to the Hungarian and the wider South Australian communities over the last five decades.

His Excellency the Hon. Hieu Van Le, the Governor of South Australia, and Mrs Le enjoyed the celebrations along with Dr Endre Domaniczky, Consul for the Republic of Hungary. They were all there. Of course, one very important guest that the Hungarian club always looks forward to seeing is no other than the club's local member (the member for Dunstan), state Liberal leader, Steven Marshall. Mr Marshall is a strong supporter of the club and has a strong friendship with the Hungarian community.

On the day of celebration it was also great to see support from my other parliamentary colleagues, particularly the Hon. John Darley, the Hon. Mark Parnell and the recently retired senator Penny Wright. From the other place, the Hon. Michael Atkinson, and Tony Zappia, the federal member for Makin, were also there for your celebration.

A birthday celebration such as a 50th is a celebration of pride and resilience. Such a celebration provides a chance for members to reflect on their many achievements and the journey that has led them and their community to this important milestone. There were challenges and obstacles that influenced the operation of the past and the future of the community. It was your hard work, determination and strong community cohesion that ensured the Hungarian Club of South Australia remains strong, supportive and dynamic, and serving the community at large on a daily basis.

I wish to congratulate everyone who has shown leadership and made contributions to make your club so great. I know that one of your members specifically said that it will be unfair to pick out individual names but, for the purpose of this particular historical day, I cannot go without mentioning some of the committee members, if I may go beyond your request.

I would like to put on record my friendship and sincere thanks to the President Lazlo Lado and your family; the Vice President Margaret Nyerges and your family; the Secretary Stella Nemeth and your family; Treasurer Anna Sulyok and your family; and the Event Coordinator Ildi Wetherell, OAM. Ildi, I am sorry: you specifically asked me not to mention individual names but I have done it anyway. I ask for your forgiveness.

Also worthy of mention is Istvan Nagy and Maria Nagy of the Association of the Hungarian Aged and Invalid Persons in SA. I believe the whole family has contributed a significant 30 years of their lifetime volunteering, so I would like to put that thanks on the record as well. I also want to put on the record thanks to Ms Katalin Toth, Honorary Consul of Hungary, for her service to your community, although she is not here today but I think I would like to put that on the record as well.

With that, I wish to acknowledge all the past presidents, committee members and volunteers who have contributed to creating a wonderfully warm and welcoming community hub for South Australia's Hungarian migrants. Over the years, it has been home away from home, a base where so many immigrants from Hungary felt so proud. I think your sacrifices in volunteering your time and making sure that everybody is valued have been enormous, so I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your continuous service.

Not only have you actually contributed socially and culturally, but I would like to also say you have contributed economically. I would also like to mention a number of key business leaders in the community: Vili Militsis from Vili's Pies, and George and Olga Ujvary from Olga's Fine Foods, who are exporting their food and creating a global presence. They are from South Australia, South Australian Hungarians, and that is something to be proud of. In conclusion, the establishment of the Hungarian Club has truly brought cultural harmony and community cohesion, and has given the Hungarian community the opportunity to flourish.

This is a very important motion, because I feel that in congratulating your club in achieving the significant milestone of celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015 we acknowledge, as politicians, the excellent work your club has done over the last five decades, as well as other related associations that have been involved in the promotion of Hungarian culture, food and language and the support of Australian Hungarians for this generation and future generations. We recognise the longstanding commitment by your leaders, both community and business, to contribute to making important economic, social and cultural contributions to South Australia. With those remarks, I wholeheartedly commend this motion to the chamber.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. G.A. Kandelaars.

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