Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

That is a hard act to follow indeed.

Like many members, I want to rise to acknowledge the service history of my electorate—a federation seat, the electorate of Hindmarsh—particularly reflected through the Anzac services that took place late last month. I was honoured, once again, to serve as the MC at the 2026 Semaphore and Port Adelaide RSL dawn service. This was the largest crowd I remember in almost 20 years of playing that role at that service. Well over 10,000 people turned out from the local community. I want to thank them for showing their support for that local RSL sub-branch and for returned service men and women and families, particularly of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, from the western suburbs of Adelaide.

I want to acknowledge the president of the sub-branch, Derek Meadows; Daryl Mundy, who is on the committee and who, year after year, puts in the hard work to organise this very significant community event; and all of the officers of that RSL. I also want to acknowledge the Henley RSL, the Largs sub-branch, the Seaton sub-branch, the Plympton Glenelg sub-branch and the Port Adelaide Naval Association for their work.

Our community has a very long history with armed services, dating back to before Federation in 1901, particularly with the construction of Fort Largs and Fort Glanville in the 1870s and 1880s, which were designed to protect Adelaide shipping lanes into Port Adelaide against Russian attack, which was the major preoccupation that the colonies had at that time. That role with the Defence Force has continued right through the ensuing 150 years or so.

I want to share one little-known story about that association from the Second World War. In 1941, two seamen, who were stationed at the Port Adelaide naval base as part of the Navy's mine clearance program, were sent down to Beachport to disarm a German mine that had washed ashore in that part of South Australia. Able Seaman Thomas Todd and Able Seaman William Danswan, sadly, did not return to Port Adelaide that day after discharging their mine-disarming duties. Their loss marked the first Australian deaths on Australian soil during World War II as a result of enemy activity—in this case, the laying of mines on our coast.

Over the decades, our western suburbs have continued in that tradition, both before World War II and after, now culminating in the role that Osborne plays—particularly in the construction of our shipbuilding and submarine capabilities, which will be there for decades to come.

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