Official Launch of Sunshine Coast Open House Program

Deputy Mayor, Councillors, Sunshine Open House Committee members, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning to you all. I am delighted to join you as we celebrate the launch of the 2019 Sunshine Coast Open House programme.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands of the Sunshine Coast, and extend respectful greetings to Elders and emerging leaders.

While we gather today to celebrate and recognise built heritage, we are lamenting its loss elsewhere today after the weekend’s devastating fires, in the Gold Coast Hinterland, around Stanthorpe and here on the Sunshine Coast. May I at once publicly express my support for the afflicted families, and the dedicated emergency services contingent.

Just last week, I was at the impressively modern Star Casino in Broadbeach to launch Gold Coast Open House – tomorrow, to QPAC for the Brisbane launch!

How proud we are that each city maintains their own distinctive character, brought to a magnificent sparkle by these Open House events.

Now, it is rather imprudent for a Governor to abandon impartiality and reveal one’s true opinion – my Aide is looking worried, ‘what will he say next?’! So I will add simply, I am particularly delighted to be here on the Sunshine Coast, at this Event Centre rendered striking by its recent facelift.

These Open House festivals are insightful, inspiring and wonderful treats for the curious among us.  

And for the Sunshine Coast, world-renowned for its spectacular beauty, Open House brings into sharp focus its growing international reputation for sustainable design and architecture.

Indeed, you will find that many of Australia’s most talented designers have some connection to this area – perhaps it’s no wonder then that many of its homes sit so comfortably within the local landscape. 

This year’s program entices people to discover the many ways Australia’s most talented professionals are seamlessly embracing natural and built environments.

These skills are in great demand throughout the world – we should be proud of Queensland’s architects, designers, builders and artisans. They are at the forefront of their crafts.

As well as admiring the contemporary charm of the Sunshine Coast’s most stunning buildings, the Open House Festival is also a chance to explore our rich history.

I was fortunate, with Kaye, to officially open the sesquicentenary celebrations of Bankfoot House last year. How wonderful it forms part of this year’s program.

I was equally excited to learn of the inclusion of John Railton’s sublime ‘Beach House’ just down the road from here in Dicky Beach. Simple houses, yes, but they stir happy, vivid childhood memories. Sadly, architectural gems like this are disappearing.

Incidentally, the Wilsons for whom Mr Railton designed the ‘Beach House’ in 1968 are no relation, as far as I can tell, to our 15^th and longest-serving Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson.

Sir Leslie and Lady Wilson built in the 1930s an elegantly proportioned seaside Queenslander also in Dicky Beach, two streets away. ‘Currimundi House’, relocated to Buderim in the 80s, is still part of the Sunshine Coast architectural firmament.

Heritage buildings like the ‘Beach House’ and Bankfoot House offer a fascinating insight into the lives of Queenslanders from a bygone era.

Their inclusion in the Open House programme also gives us a chance to appreciate the architectural evolution of this iconic part of the Australian coastline.

It has certainly been a journey of courage and innovation, and we can only imagine the remarkable ways Queensland’s designers will rise to the challenges of the future.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Sunshine Coast Open House Festival 2019.

I acknowledge the Sunshine Coast Open House Committee, the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Shire Councils, the Australian Institute of Architects Sunshine Coast and all partners and supporters for their ongoing commitment to this important event.

I thank the staff and volunteers who will offer their time over the course of the festival, as well as the owners and managers of buildings who have generously agreed to let us snoop!

And, finally, I thank and congratulate the talented and creative minds who have brought these buildings to such vivid life. Your gifts enrich us all.

On behalf of the people of Queensland I am delighted to declare the 2019 Sunshine Coast Open House officially launched. Thank you.