Visit to Normanton State School

Good afternoon, everyone – and thank you for the very warm welcome you have extended to Kaye and me on this, our very first visit to Normanton.

I begin by respectfully acknowledging the Traditional Owners of these lands, and their elders past and present.

I thank also your Principal, Ms Smerdon, for organising this special school assembly. We are especially looking forward to visiting students in their classrooms and to meeting as many members of this marvellous school community as possible.

Kaye and I take a special interest in education in Queensland, especially the wonderful contribution being made by small schools in regional and remote parts of our vast State.

Part of my interest in these schools is due to my early experience – my introduction to formal education was through small Queensland schools, very similar to this, where my father was the Principal. My mother was also a teacher, so my two brothers and I were made aware very early in our lives of the vital importance of education.

We all went on to study at schools in Brisbane and at The University of Queensland, but our early experience was critical. It gave us much more than the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic; it taught us lessons which have stood us in good stead all our lives — the value of hard work and perseverance, of team work and co-operation; and the importance of being a contributing member of the community, both within and beyond the school.

I know that the sense of community is very strong in this school, with many of the parents of current students also having studied here, and many of them working here.

This is a rare and special advantage and I congratulate the school on its commitment to strengthening those ties and to making Normanton State School an institution of which everyone can be proud.