High Tea in support of The Queensland Library Foundation

State Librarian and CEO of the State Library of Queensland, Ms Vicki McDonald AM; President of the Queensland Library Foundation, Ms Courtney Talbot; Chair of the Library Board of Queensland, Mrs Debbie Best; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I join Vicki in welcoming you to this ‘High Tea on the Terrace’ here at the State Library and to this celebration of supporters, donors and friends of the Queensland Library Foundation.

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people with us today.

The State Library of Queensland and the Foundation that supports it plays such a significant role in Queensland: collecting, preserving and protecting all of our yesterdays and todays so as to enrich our tomorrows.

The Library’s vast collection of resources gathered across time and every imaginable subject is awe inspiring, enlightening, sometimes confronting but always significant. However, all of this would be for nothing if it were not actually available to the people of Queensland, and that challenge is one that the Library has embraced with skill and enthusiasm.

The State Library serves Queenslanders beyond the South-East through partnerships with more than 320 public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres right across the State. Then of course, there is the ongoing challenge of continuing to make as much of the collection as possible available online. All these ongoing projects and achievements are the product of the dedication and commitment of you; our Library’s professional staff, volunteers, and staunch supporters.

I have a particular interest – rather unsurprisingly perhaps – in the project to index and digitise the collection, especially including transcripts of handwritten letters and documents between early European settlers and Government authorities and representatives.

This is achieved using specialist software that can recognise handwritten text and creates a unique and discoverable record of the growth and development of the ‘Settlement of Queensland’ into the vast and vibrant State we live in today.

It charts the challenges, achievements and experiences of pioneer Governors, beginning with my first predecessor, Sir George Bowen, when he arrived here in 1868.

More than a century later, in 1978, Lady Ramsay, wife of Queensland's 20th Governor, Sir James Ramsay, purchased these original pen and ink sketches of former Queensland Government Houses at the Royal Queensland Yacht Club in Manly.

Today, I’m pleased to be present this donation of artwork on behalf of Government House, to further enrich the State Library’s John Oxley Library collection – our greatest protector of our State’s collective memory.

As Governor, and proud Patron of the Queensland Library Foundation, I thank you for your encouragement and ongoing support. What you have done, and continue to do, to preserve our history and heritage is of great benefit to all Queenslanders, now and into the future.

Like you, I am looking forward to the update we are about to receive on the Library’s most recent and ongoing achievements and especially an introduction to ‘The Corner Campaign.’

And I hope that you will be both inspired and perhaps more than a little proud that all of this is possible – because of your commitment and generosity. Thank you.