Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to celebrate the Warrandyte Festival, which was held last Friday and Saturday and is now in its 49th year. Warrandyte is in the northern part of my electorate of Menzies, and, in some ways, it's like a small village. It's beautiful and bushy, with a strong sense of community.

The Warrandyte Festival is the centrepiece of the local events calendar. It brings together the whole community. Even though it was drizzling on and off last Saturday, that didn't do anything to dampen people's spirits. Saturday kicked off with a parade along Yarra Street from Warrandyte Neighbourhood House down to Stiggant Reserve. There were monarchs of the parade from the Repair Cafe and Mange Management wombat protection. All the local schools turned out—Warrandyte High School, Warrandyte Primary School and Andersons Creek Primary School. Warrandyte arts, the silent disco and the Warrandyte Historical Society also marched.

The CFA trucks were out, and Manningham SES were lining the route. And, of course, so were the Warrandyte Pink Ladies, who I've previously spoken about in this place for their incredible work raising money for cancer and other health issues. They won 'most creative float', riding on the back of a classic pick-up, throwing lollies to the crowd, with an arc of big pink balloons overhead.

I've been to the Warrandyte Festival previously as a member of the community, but, for the first time, I had the honour of being able to take part in the parade. There were a number of volunteers who had kindly provided their classic vehicles to drive some of the elected members in the parade, and when I was asked, 'Would you like to be in a classic car or a motorcycle sidecar?' my immediate, maybe overly eager response was, 'Motorcycle sidecar!'

Once we got to Stiggant Reserve, it was great to have a chat with members of Warrandyte and South Warrandyte CFA and Manningham SES. I also got my blood pressure and blood sugar checked at the Warrandyte Men's Shed stall and stopped in at the netball club stall as well.

A really exciting feature of the day was the opening of the slab hut, a historic site that is a remarkably well-preserved example of an early settler dwelling. It could be 100 or even 150 years old or more. It has managed to survive because a new house was actually built around it and it was only discovered when that house was demolished. I'd like to thank the Warrandyte Historical Society and the National Trust for the tour and for teaching me about this fascinating local landmark. It's not very big. There's space for not much more than a bed and maybe a dresser. The walls were made from local clay. The roof was made from canvas. It's just a really fascinating example that shows that Warrandyte is one of the oldest places for settlement in Victoria.

Thank you to Dwayne Schuler and the whole organising committee and the volunteers for bringing the Warrandyte Festival together. Next year will be the 50th festival, and I can't wait to get back.

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