Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Granville & Districts Soccer Football Association is the oldest soccer football association in Australia. It was founded in 1900, so it's actually a little bit older than the Commonwealth of Australia, and it is the oldest amateur soccer football association in the Southern Hemisphere. One of the oldest clubs in the association is the Granville Kewpies, arguably the most successful club in the association—certainly in terms of producing Australian national team players. This weekend the Granville Kewpies Soccer Club will celebrate its 100th birthday.

The Granville Kewpies can actually define and trace its club history to its inception in 1919, when it was formed by a group of apprentices who were working at Clyde Engineering. The Kewpies have operated as a club every single year since then, and they call themselves the Kewpies as a tribute to the diggers who returned from France, bringing with them porcelain Kewpie dolls to give to their mothers, wives and girlfriends. The club is linked to our history—100 years of it—and, when you look at the modern club, it has in it people who brought with them a love of the round ball from all places of the world. As diverse as our community is, so are the Granville Kewpies. Happy birthday, Kewpies, and welcome to the 'second century club'. May your second century be as great as your first.

I consider myself particularly fortunate to be able to attend AustTam Fine Arts' 30th anniversary show this weekend. AustTam is an all-female Bharatanatyam dance school studying and performing one of the great dance forms of the world. It was founded by Ms Krishna Swagatham in 1990 and continues to play an important role in teaching and promoting the divine art of Bharatanatyam, a form of classical Indian dance, within our community. The upcoming show marks 30 years since they formed, and the group has decided that, in their own words, 'In recognition of the opportunities given to us here in Australia, all proceeds raised will be donated to an Indigenous organisation based in Sydney, the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.' The event will take place on International Women's Day, and the theme of this year's event is: strength and determination told through the story of a well-known princess from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. I can usually say that much more easily than that! AustTam Fine Arts has trained superb dancers. They've given people the opportunity to undertake advanced training and tutelage that didn't exist before they started operating in this space. By doing so, they've contributed to other brilliant productions, such as the Sydney Festival, which I attend on the June long weekend each year. Congratulations on 30 years. I'm really looking forward to the performance this weekend.

This weekend, to coincide with International Women's Day, the Parramatta Female Factory Friends will host a commemorative event at the Parramatta Female Factory. The event will take place on the weekend of International Women's Day to commemorate the significant women's history of the site. The Parramatta Female Factory is our oldest and most intact female convict site and an important place of local, national and world heritage. The site has significant First Nations history as a women's place before settlers arrived and, ironically, was chosen as a site to incarcerate women for the next 200 years. It was an important women's site for the Burramattagal clan of the Darug people. It was a women's place for gathering and a site for ceremony and matrimony. Approximately one in seven Australians is descended from the women sent to the Parramatta Female Factory. Its history includes Australia's first strike action: the riot of 1827, caused by a lack of food, when 100 women broke out of the facility and converged on the town, demanding food from local shop owners. Many people in my community—and I am one of them—believe that the Parramatta Female Factory should also be World Heritage listed.

Parramasala, a great local festival in Parramatta, celebrates its 10th year this year. On 13 and 14 March we'll all descend on Prince Alfred Square to enjoy the best cultural presentations from around the world—live music, incredible dance, a multicultural feast and the iconic opening parade. It's always a fantastic event, and each year for the last four years, I think, I've hosted a stall at Parramasala featuring local designers, and they will be here again. There will be five clothing designers: Ilham Ismail, Ruth Fattal, Maa, Pacific Breeze and Lara Ireland. There will be three jewellery makers: Seewa Collections, Francisca Siow and MASH Accessories. There will be one tote bags and scarves designer: Suba Balendra. And there will be two wellness and skincare companies: bVitra and Bodhi Tree Skincare. It's a great event, and I suggest everybody come to Parramatta that weekend, because it shouldn't be missed.