Townsville Investiture Ceremony

Official guests, recipients and their proud families and guests, including the boys and girls here today. It is a great honour, as Governor, to welcome you all.  

I at once acknowledge the traditional owners of Townsville and the surrounding region, the Wulgurukaba and Bindal peoples, and extend respectful greetings to Elders and emerging leaders.

I am delighted to be back in this remarkable North Queensland city.

The hosting of Investiture Ceremonies, where Australian Honours and Awards are presented to worthy Queenslanders, are signature events for Government House.

A key feature of our Investiture schedule is the regular hosting of ceremonies not just in Brisbane, at Government House itself, but in the regions, in the communities and cities which directly benefit from the actions of our recipients.

Last weekend I was in Cairns, and today’s is the third Townsville Ceremony this year.  

We at Government House treat these ceremonies with enormous respect.

They are carried out with exceptional care and precision, from organising the Australian Army Band, to triple and quadruple checking warrants and citations, to simple things like ensuring the medals are pinned onto the correct side!

This attention to detail ensures these ceremonies are highly memorable occasions for our deserving recipients and their proud guests.

It has been said that Australians are sometimes sceptical of too much ceremony, such is our egalitarian spirit.

But Queenslanders, I know, readily embrace ceremony when it serves a clear purpose, particularly on occasions such as this, where it focusses community attention on contributions which bind and unite our society.

 It has been humbling, frankly, to hear the citations for North Queensland residents who have today been invested into the Order of Australia and presented with other Awards and Honours.

Their contributions are exceptional for the variety of ways in which they have enhanced community life.  

We have heard of displays of great skill and determination on the sporting field, and dedication in inspiring young people and to improving the retention of Indigenous employees.

Today eminent contributions have been recognised in the law and local government, and for supporting economic development and job creation in the livestock and transportation industries.

Three members of the Australian Army have been recognised, too, for supporting veterans and for displays of valour, earning them the admiration of their colleagues and our society more broadly. 

Such is the nature of the news cycle, that sometimes it seems all we read and hear about is drudgery and despair. Yet today, we recognise one special gentleman who has brought so much joy and happiness into the lives of sick children at hospital Christmas parties. What a wonderful antidote you are!

All our recipients are a source of immense community pride and inspiration.

You have all helped to create supportive communities, reinforcing along the way those delicate bonds of cohesion: respect, compassion, fortitude and genuine concern for fellow citizens.

I thank and congratulate you all once again.

I further acknowledge your friends and family, so many so wonderfully present here today, who will have supported you along the way.

It is my great honour to be here, to present you with Honours and Awards under what is Australia’s highest form of recognition. Please enjoy the rest of today’s occasion, and accept my appreciation for your efforts on behalf of a grateful State. Thank you.