Dinner in Support of Regional Queensland July 7

Mayors and your guests, representatives from the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Queensland Music Festival and Queensland Country Women’s Association; good evening. 

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbul and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

I am delighted to welcome you here for this special dinner to acknowledge the contribution that the leaders of regional councils make, not only to their communities, but to our State and our nation.  

Throughout my time as Governor, I have seen firsthand the vital role that mayors and councils play in shaping the future of regional Queensland. Your leadership, advocacy and commitment to your communities help make our State stronger, more connected and more resilient.

I also acknowledge the important contributions of the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Queensland Country Women's Association and the Queensland Music Festival, whose work enriches regional life across Queensland—fostering social connection, celebrating local identity, expanding access to culture and opportunity, and helping to ensure that Queenslanders, wherever they live, can share in many of the experiences that make our State such a wonderful place to call home.

Tonight is an opportunity for me to thank you not only for your service, but also for the generosity and hospitality you have extended to me during my visits across regional Queensland.  

I am delighted to return that hospitality this evening through sharing some of Queensland's finest produce and, for those who have travelled some distance to be here, the opportunity to enjoy a stay on the beautiful Fernberg Estate.

If you are staying overnight, you may be surprised to discover that you are actually staying in what was built, almost 90 years ago, as maids’ quarters; others are staying in part of the original family home, built here in 1865 by an enterprising German immigrant, Johann Heussler.

Both buildings tell essentially Queensland stories and, as Governor over the past five years, I have been committed to preserving their wonderful history.

As for those former ‘Maids Quarters’—they were among the major additions to the Government House estate during the term of one of my most admired predecessors as Governor, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson. During his record 14-year term, he succeeded in transforming the house.  

He complained repeatedly to successive Premiers that Fernberg was inadequate and unsuitable as a Vice-Regal residence, even suggesting that it might be better for all concerned if he were to move back to Old Government House.

The eventual outcome, in 1937, was not only greatly improved accommodation for the maids, but the addition of a spacious new wing, including today’s Drawing Room, and a southern extension to the original house which enabled the creation of the Wilson Suite—now appropriately named in Governor Wilson’s honour.

This room, too—our State Dining Room, has seen many changes over the past 161 years. Since it began as a family dining room, those who have dined here have ranged from Royalty to everyday citizens from every imaginable walk of life, helping to make it truly a house for all Queenslanders.

Whether you are joining me for dinner or staying a little longer, I hope you enjoy this brief respite from the daily demands of your position

and thank you again for accepting the invitation to join me tonight.  

It gives me an opportunity to thank you, on behalf of all Queenslanders, for your dedication and commitment to the communities you serve and for your contribution to our State.  

I am looking forward to fulfilling my commitment to visit every one of Queensland’s 77 Local Government Areas in the coming months, (including my first visit to the Whitsunday Regional Council in a matter of weeks), and to seeing many of you again in October at the 130th LGAQ Annual Conference Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner in Cairns.

Please enjoy our Government House hospitality.