Cairns Amateurs Ball

Mayor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Kaye and I are honoured to join you all tonight as we celebrate the Cairns Amateurs Carnival and its Diamond Jubilee – 60 years of racing on the reef!

This is the sixth time we have attended this fine event, the first when I was Acting Governor in 2010 – so we are proud to have been part of exactly one tenth of the Carnival’s colourful history.

Earlier today we had the honour of joining you for Ladies’ Day at Cannon Park Racecourse, where it was wonderful to see so many smiling faces, so many proud Queenslanders – and visitors – enjoying your city’s world-renowned hospitality.

As a three-day celebration of all things Cairns, and indeed Far North Queensland, this carnival transcends the race track with sport, fashion, food and entertainment framed by a truly beautiful backdrop.

And what a backdrop we have tonight, a black tie ball in this incredibly well-appointed marquee on the Cairns waterfront.

Congratulations to everyone involved in the activities on and off the track, and thanks to you – the always enthusiastic Amateur-attendees – for supporting this Cairns Amateurs Ball, one of the highlights of the Far North Queensland social calendar.

So now – with that celebratory spirit – I invite you, ladies and gentlemen, to please rise and join with me as we raise our glasses in a toast to 60 years of success – and may there be many more – to ‘The Cairns Amateurs’.