Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Sir Henry Parkes' birthday. Two hundred years ago the 'Father of Federation' was born in Warwickshire, England. As the member for the federal seat of Parkes, which was proclaimed in 1984, I would like to mark the occasion of Sir Henry Parkes' birthday. Sir Henry Parkes was the five-time premier of New South Wales. While he had an imagination for business, he did not have a great aptitude for it and he failed at several business attempts. He migrated to Australia in 1838. He had a flair as a writer and an organiser. Perhaps he is best known for his speech at Tenterfield in 1889, where he called for a great national government for all Australians—'a convention of leading men from all the colonies, delegates appointed by the authority of parliament who would fully represent the options of different parliaments of the colonies'. Thence the foundations for this great country that we know today were laid—the federation for which we are all servants and of which we are all proud. Happy birthday, Sir Henry!