Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My fellow Redlands resident Joan Bevan has left behind her an enormous legacy in music both in the electorate of Bowman and in the greater Brisbane region. ‘Joann’, as she was known—Joann with two n’s because in the orchestra with which she was involved there were four other Joans, so she informally changed the spelling of her name—was attached initially to the St Lucia Orchestra before moving to the Redlands area in 1987. Even before making that move, she had already committed to supporting the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra—an orchestra for which we are enormously grateful; it has given tremendous performances at affordable prices throughout the Redlands area. In that orchestra, Joan contributed both as a player of the viola and violin and in providing that often vital background administrative support which is the backbone of community orchestras and is responsible for their delivering fantastic entertainment year after year.

‘Joann’ was remembered by Colin Hardcastle, who was the manager of the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, when he said:

Joan was there to give an encouraging word or two. She helped me find my direction and helped inspire me to work for what I wanted to accomplish.

This year the Redlander of the Year category of the Australia Day Awards accepted nominations in the category of arts and culture. Joan Bevan was among those named. Tragically, just two weeks before we were to judge that category, Joan Bevan passed away with non-smoking related lung cancer.

She was a mother of four and a grandmother of five, and this year was to become a great-grandmother as well. She was remembered not just by the orchestras she played in and supported but by a wide range of community groups that were the beneficiaries of her great work—and I will list just a few of those. The Relay for Life is one of the great cancer fundraisers in my electorate, and she would provide entertainment during that 24-hour event. She was part of concert parties and the nostalgic barbershop quartet groups that would visit aged care facilities around the Redlands region and hospitals around Brisbane, where she provided entertainment to inpatients and to patients in aged care facilities.

As I have already mentioned, she was part of our local community orchestra, but she also set up the administrative backing that was provided to the Queensland Community Orchestras association. They were helping musical associations as far north as the Great Barrier Reef to ensure that musicians and anyone who wanted to connect with community orchestras could join a music society and have instant access to the information they required. She supported the Scottish and Celtic Society in the Redlands by playing as a volunteer and played for the Genesis Theatre Company. She provided secretarial work beyond her love of music to local community radio stations such as 4MBS FM and Bay FM in Thornlands, where she was a volunteer program guide.

She was part of a very small group known as the Belle Strings—a quartet that did charity work throughout the Redlands. The mayor called upon them for the variety spectacular and for a range of concerts with the local churches. In addition, Joan was part of the Silvara Strings, which did similar work with schools. You can see she gave an enormous array of entertainment and support to her local community.

When her nomination for the Australia Day Award was considered there was great debate about whether it should be awarded for the first time posthumously, and indeed it was. It was for her enormous efforts—unflinching and indefatigable—that Joan Bevan was made the recipient of the Australia Day Award for her contribution to music and culture in our area. It was collected by her husband, Allan, on the evening. On behalf of the entire Redlands area, I want to thank Joan Bevan for the enormous contribution that she made throughout the decades that she was with us in the Redlands.

Question agreed to.