A Reception to Celebrate the Centenary of the Formation of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee

Kaye and I are delighted that you have been able to join us to acknowledge the centenary of the formation of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee.

I note the presence here this evening of the Premier and Leader of the Opposition. Your predecessors in Premier Ryan and Leader of the Opposition James Tomlie were both present at the formation of the Committee on 10th of January 1916, and your presence together today symbolises the fidelity of the Anzac Day Commemoration Committee to the non-partisan vision of its founders.

I also acknowledge senior members of our service organisations here in Queensland.

Every day around our State, new organisations are born, clustered around an idea or worthy goal.

Few survive for a decade, even fewer to mark their centenary.

To last, organisations must speak to the enduring values that bind us together.

At that first meeting, 100 years ago, which led to the formation of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee, then Governor, Major the Honourable Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, submitted the following motion:

“That the heroic conduct of our gallant Queensland troops during the present war, and especially on that ever-memorable occasion of the landing at Gallipoli on April 25 last, has earned for them undying fame, and deserves the fullest recognition by the people of this country, whose rights and liberties they have been bravely defending.”

His words seem as strong and enduring as the values that today we call the Spirit of Anzac; of courage, fortitude and looking out for your mates; of honour and service before self.

Governor Goold-Adams was a veteran of the Boer War who understood the pain of the families of the dead and the missing.

100 years ago he chose to be part of the great project of remembrance.

It is a project that will forever remain unfinished, and whose work is entrusted to us today.

Queenslanders have never forgotten the bravery and sacrifice of the men who stepped ashore in the cold dawn at Gallipoli, more than a century ago.

It has been the noble work of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee to shape our experience of the anniversary of that great and terrible day, through the Second World War, through other wars and conflicts, and through the passing of the World War One veterans and their wives.

I am very proud to be the Patron of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee, taking my place in the proud succession of Governors who have performed this service to our State.

I am grateful to the members of the Executive Committee and their predecessors, to all the Pastoral, Civic, Civil, Welfare, Service and Ex-Service Organisations who provide representation, and to everyone who serves the Committee’s great purpose.

As we pause to acknowledge the achievement of 100 years of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee, as your Patron I rededicate myself to working with you ensure that Anzac Day remains a day of gratitude and reflection for all Australians, for another 100 years.

Thank you.