Official Visit to Townsville South State School

Acting Principal, Ms Kayla Hawkins; staff; supporters; and students.

Good afternoon, and thank you for welcoming me to your wonderful school.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands on which your school stands, the Bindal and Wulgurukaba People, and pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.

It is such a pleasure to see all of your warmly smiling faces here this afternoon. I know this is a credit to the wonderful educational environment fostered here by your teachers, guided by Acting Principal Ms Kayla Hawkins.

Your school motto, ‘Quality Education in a Caring and Sustainable Environment’ means that you, as a school, not only care about achieving a good education, which will help you, as individuals and community members, long into the future, but about doing so in a manner that fosters a sustainable environment.

Education and sustainability are two things that I hold most dear.

It is clear from the abundance of green grass and lush trees that I saw on my way through the school that care for the environmental is a cause close to this community’s heart.

I particularly appreciate the Historic Rose Garden, originally dating back to 1964, but replanted during the 130^th year of your school.

Back home at Government House in Brisbane, there is an entire Garden dedicated to roses. I will be planting a rose in honour of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee at our Open Day in June.

I congratulate you as a community for your wonderfully holistic approach to education.

This visit marks my second official tour to Townsville and North Queensland during my term as Governor, but, more significantly, it marks my first visit to your School!

One of the most enjoyable parts of my role as Governor is being able to travel Queensland and visit as many of our State’s marvelous schools as possible.

When I was sworn in as Governor of Queensland in November 2021, I made a vow to visit as many schools, hospitals and communities as possible throughout my term.

This trip to Townsville will prove fruitful to that mission, as, just today, I am visiting your School, Townsville University Hospital and attending a community welcome reception.

Tomorrow I will be presenting Australian Honours and Awards to some very special North Queenslanders, and then visiting North Queensland Cowboys House and Parklands Aged Care Residential Facility before travelling to Mount Isa.

As you can see, an important part of regional visits is to fulfil my constitutional, community and ceremonial obligations, but, for me, they are foremostly an opportunity to connect with Queenslanders from all over the State. 

I am very excited to be reading Government House’s latest publication, ‘A Place for All Queenslanders’ to a group of students later.

This is a very special book signifying the importance of everyone being welcome and free to be themselves, and how this welcoming nature makes Queensland a wonderful place to live.

Thank you, once again for welcoming us so warmly.