Dajarra Community Morning Tea

Good morning. Thank you for such a warm welcome. It is my pleasure to be in Dajarra as part of Regional Government House.

I at once acknowledge the traditional owners of these lands, and extend respectful greetings to Elders past and present.

Regional Government House allows me to spend some time conducting my constitutional, ceremonial and community duties away from Brisbane.  

It is an opportunity for which I am extremely grateful. It gives me the chance to meet with wonderful people in wonderful communities throughout the State.

I have just had the pleasure of meeting and reading with students from this gem of a school.

I really must acknowledge the enthusiasm of the students and the passion of the teaching staff. What a fantastic example of a small school with a big heart.

As I said to the students this morning, I consider myself very fortunate to have the opportunity, as Governor of Queensland, to see the incredible landscapes of this vast state.

It is to places such as Dajarra that our minds turn when we imagine the classic rendering of the Australian outback.

Flat, red plains that seem to stretch on forever. Nights when the stars become infinite.

In our minds this is an ancient, unchanging kind of place.

Yet, to live here is to know that, beneath its benign surface, this part of Queensland is prone to immense and unpredictable challenges.

It is something few people in our urban centres can imagine.

There are of course the challenges of living in an unpredictable climate where flooding rains follow a devastating drought.

Here, the weather and its cycles are as much a part of life as the big skies above our heads.

Yours is an admirable community for many reasons, but the strength and perseverance you show when confronting such trials are particularly inspirational.

Queenslanders face many challenges and the word resilient has come to define who we are. I believe that is something of which we should be extremely proud. Thank you, Dajarra, for again welcoming me today. I look forward to sharing morning tea and learning more about your remarkable community.