Official Opening of the 100th Mt Gravatt Agricultural Horticultural and Industrial Society Show

I too acknowledge our Lord Mayor, and indeed all elected representatives, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!

It is a great pleasure for Kaye and me to be with you here today as we celebrate the Mt Gravatt Show’s 100^th year.

The Show’s longevity bears wonderful testimony to the importance the patrons, exhibitors and organizers of this spirited Show place on community values.   

These values were evident from the early years – in 1927, for example, the then Show Secretary Mr W.H. Clarke presented Queensland’s fourteenth Governor Sir John Goodwin during the opening of the 12^th Show, with, as for those times the token of loyalty and dedication, a gum leaf

These values remain enormously relevant today, reflected through the Show Society’s commitment to providing affordable, family-friendly entertainment. And Kaye and I are pleased to see so many families here today.

The strength of these community values came to the fore during the 1970s, with prominent locals successfully arguing, all the way to the Privy Council in London (then our highest court of appeal), that this site should be preserved for ongoing beneficial community use. This is now enshrined in legislation.       

We are indebted to you, Mr President, for your eloquent reference to the litigation.

As a lawyer at the time with some exposure to trust law and what was then called local government law, I had a particular interest in what I regarded as a pivotal public interest case.

It was a great example of the triumph of the “little man” over no doubt well-meaning bureaucracy, and commercial interests which were just that.

I am very moved that members of the Scurr family are here today. 

Like the many regional shows I have attended – in the past few months Springsure and Alpha in Central Queensland, Maleny on the Sunshine Coast, and Laidley in the Lockyer Valley – this Show provides an annual barometer of the local community. And it appears, Mr President, to be in a very healthy state!

Kaye and I very much look forward to meeting many more of you as we tour the photography, cooking, and horticulture displays.

Finally, it is particularly fitting that at this 100^th year Show the Governor’s personal Standard should be flying proudly over the arena, signaling the Governor’s presence!

I thank the Mt Gravatt Show Society and everyone involved in the organisation of today’s uplifting event.

You are all ensuring that this event rightly remains, and in the words of the Show Society, one of “the best little country shows in the city”.

It is with great pleasure that I declare now officially open the 100^th year Mt Gravatt Show!

Thank you.