Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All of our electorates are strengthened by the community organisations which work so hard, usually on the back of the efforts of volunteers, to make our places, our community and our areas a better place to live. Today in this parliament I want to acknowledge the contribution of two organisations in my electorate that have celebrated significant milestones this year.

This Saturday the North Shore Historical Society will be marking its 50th anniversary. I look forward to being at the lunch where we will do just that—celebrate the North Shore Historical Society’s 50th anniversary. My electorate has been shaped both by its physical environs, particularly Sydney Harbour, and also by the many heritage places that go towards making North Sydney a rich tapestry of both the old and the new. These heritage places are often significant because of their aesthetic qualities. More importantly, they are treasured because of the story they tell about human endeavour, both locally and nationally. In North Sydney that includes Indigenous archaeological sites in places like Balls Head and Berry Island that date back centuries and longer. And our European heritage is very much integral to the development of Sydney as one of the world’s greatest cities. My constituents understandably feel passionately about the preservation of this heritage and time and again they have mustered in force when that heritage has been threatened. In my time as member for North Sydney I think particularly of the battle to save Nutcote and, more recently, the fight—which is ongoing—to save the historic Graythwaite estate.

For the last 50 years one organisation that stands out in fighting for the preservation of our heritage and promoting a greater understanding of both the physical and human aspects of our society has been the North Shore Historical Society. The society was founded in 1958 in response to plans to demolish the historic house Bellvue on Blues Point to make way for Harry Seidler’s Blues Point Tower. While they may have failed to stop that tower, it was through community agitation that plans to demolish much of McMahons Point for similar developments were thwarted. Since then the society has had many successes—for example, saving Don Bank Cottage in the heart of North Sydney—but just as importantly it has adopted as one of its core roles the education of local residents about the heritage that surrounds them. Its journal is perhaps the most significant record of North Sydney’s history and through various school prizes it has promoted a greater understanding of heritage values among younger residents. It is to be congratulated for all that it has done to keep the history and heritage of the North Shore alive and I particularly acknowledge its longstanding president, Brian Evesson.

I also want to pay tribute to another organisation that has marked a significant milestone this year. All of us in this place are familiar with the absolutely extraordinary contribution that Rotary makes to our community—not just in Australia but around the world. One of the oldest Rotary clubs in Australia is the North Sydney club, which turned 80 this year. As a member of North Sydney Rotary I am perhaps biased, but I think by any objective measure this club is one of the best. In addition to the fellowship that it provides to its members, the Rotary Club of North Sydney has made a significant contribution to our local community through its community outreach program. The breadth of its program far outweighs what one could reasonably expect of a club of its size.

Some of those activities have included raising funds for a men’s shed, its lunches for local seniors, its work for the disabled—particularly through the saleability program—its support for young people and also its work in promoting health awareness. Internationally it has helped to fund the construction of a new school in China and just this year has given considerably to one of our local youth organisations, Phoenix House. The Rotary Club of North Sydney has been blessed with outstanding members and outstanding leaders—too many to mention in this place tonight—but I want to acknowledge its current president, Gary Long, and also its president-elect, Jenny Thomas, who, in particular, has led the club’s community fundraising programs. My electorate is all the richer for being home to both the North Shore Historical Society and the Rotary Club of North Sydney.