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27th Governor of Queensland Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM

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  4. Visit to Gayndah State School
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Visit to Gayndah State School

North Burnett Regional Council Mayor, Councillor Les Hotz and CEO Ms Margot Stork; Councillor Dael Giddins; Principal, Mr Chris Herman, staff, parents and carers, boys and girls.

I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we gather and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging and all First Nations people here today.

My husband, Graeme and I are very excited to have this chance to be here and meet with you all, where you live, and perhaps even more importantly where you get a chance to learn.

And we’re here to learn, too!

Life in country Queensland can be difficult for many in the big cities and towns to imagine.

Of course, it can be hard for them to get here. You probably already know that Queensland is the second biggest state in Australia, after Western Australia.

It’s also nearly five times the size of Japan, seven times the size of Great Britain, and two and a half times the size of Texas — just in case you were wondering!

As the Governor of the whole State, I am fortunate to be able to travel around and meet as many people as possible where they live.

One of the best parts is meeting students at schools like yours, because every time I visit a Queensland school, I learn so much more about our State, and its people, and its history too.

Speaking of history, I understand your school is one of the oldest still operating in Queensland, turning an incredible 160-years-old last year!  

In fact, one of your school buildings was built in 1861 - that’s just a couple of years after our State became its own self-governing colony, separate from New South Wales, and with our first Queensland Governor, named Sir George Ferguson Bowen.

That is quite amazing, and something I can’t wait to tell people about when I return home to Government House in Brisbane, which only dates back to 1910 as the working residence of Queensland Governors, of which I’m our State’s 27th!

The book Graeme and I will be reading to you today tells you a bit more about Government House and why I like to think of it as A Place for all Queenslanders.

We’ll leave a few copies of it in your library, to remind you of our visit and all the many things that connect us as Queenslanders.

Thank you all for your warm welcome.