Official Visit to St George State High School and Official Opening of the Health and Wellbeing Centre

Thank you, Mister Scriven, for your kind introduction.

I too acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands around St George. And may I say, Principal Watson, how pleased I was to learn that year 7 and 8 students are taught the local Kamilaroi language at your School.

I am as always reliably informed by Government House communications officer Mr Chris Piggott-McKellar, that Queensland’s 13th Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, visited St George State School in April 1925. There was no separate High School them. And upon his visit to the School in 1925, just prior to opening the town’s new Shire Hall, he granted the children of the region a school holiday the following day.

Unfortunately for the young men and women of St George State High School in 2017, the Governor no longer has that power.

But like Sir Matthew Nathan, Kaye and I are very glad to be here in St George.

And like Sir Matthew Nathan’s visit, where the vice-regal party was greeted by school children singing songs, Kaye and I also very much look forward to hearing this School’s choir perform the National Anthem at the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association conference we are attending tomorrow morning at the St George Cultural Centre. 

While this is Kaye’s and my first official visit to St George, we have many times visited regional communities all over our State, including in South West Queensland, Miles, Cunnamulla, Birdsville, Bedourie, Charleville twice, and Goondiwindi… the list goes on and we hope will be completed.

And we especially love visiting the schools, all of them so integral to defining the identity of regional communities.

I was heartened to learn from your Facebook page of the School’s recent successes at agricultural shows in the region, in Goondiwindi, Warwick, and last month, here in St George!

As Patron of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, I very much look forward seeing at this year’s Ekka the exhibits provided by students of St George State High School! And Principal, I tell you now, that Kaye and I would be most pleased to welcome your students to Government House during that Ekka period.

Now while your Governor is very proud of your agricultural prowess, it is also reassuring that the St George State High School curriculum spans the arts, design technology, science, mathematics and the humanities, alongside quality vocational training.

In short, Principal Watson, you oversee a broad beneficial curriculum which ensures students may admirably rise to life’s many wonderful challenges.

I thank and congratulate the teachers, students and administrators of this important School, and everyone involved in hosting Kaye and me this afternoon.

I very much look forward to shortly presenting certificates and medallions to high achieving students, following which we will tour a number of classrooms and then officially open the new Health and Wellbeing Centre.