Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to proudly tell the House that the city of Queanbeyan, in my electorate of Eden-Monaro, celebrated its 175th anniversary on 28 September this year. It was on that date in 1838 that the New South Wales Colonial Secretary's Office formally gazetted Queanbeyan as a 'village'.

There were many interesting events this year celebrating Queanbeyan's incredibly rich history. The city has been and remains so important for this region. It is where my family and I live. I congratulate Mayor Tim Overall and Deputy Mayor Peter Bray on the quality of the various events celebrating the 175 years.

Nichole Overall recently produced a timely and excellent book entitled Queanbeyan: City of Champions. There have been many famous national sporting icons who have come from Queanbeyan. But this book is broader than that, giving a social and pictorial history of one of New South Wales's great cities. It ranges from associations with great agricultural scientists such as William Farrer to movie stars like George Lazenby and even has links to Soviet spy Vladimir Petrov, who used Queanbeyan as a drop-off point for his espionage activities in the 1950s.

Recently I also attended the Queanbeyan Show. The show society began in 1891, making it one of the oldest show societies. This is its 122nd year. I congratulate the Queanbeyan Show Society, in particular, president Michael Harriden, secretary Tony Cross and society stalwart Dawn Mayne for putting on such a great event.