QAGOMA Foundation Christmas Celebration (1)

The 25th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and 24th Governor of Queensland, the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO; Federal Member for Griffith, Ms Renee Coffey MP; Director, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Mr Chris Saines CNZM; Representing the QAGOMA Foundation President, Member of the Board of Trustees and Foundation Committee Member, the Honourable Martin Daubney AM KC; Former President, QAGOMA Foundation, and Chairman of Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, Mr Tim Fairfax AC, and Mrs Gina Fairfax AC, current and former Board and committee members; gallery medallists; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen. 

I too begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this evening.  

As Joint Patrons of QAGOMA, Graeme and I were delighted to accept the invitation from Chris Saines to be here tonight because it gives us the opportunity to congratulate the Trustees, the Foundation committee members, and gallery management, staff, and volunteers on another successful year. 

The marvellous support given to us by QAGOMA has been among the genuine pleasures of our four years as residents of Fernberg, and we are extremely grateful to Chris Saines and his team, especially the curatorial and conservation staff, for their expertise and ongoing advice and guidance.  

For many years, through a generous agreement with QAGOMA, Government House has been able to showcase a representative selection of art works created by Queensland artists or featuring the Queensland landscape.  

Together, those works enable us to tell the story of our State, and to promote it in a sophisticated and subtle way to the thousands of Australian and international visitors who come to Fernberg each year. 

Of course, such a showcase has only been possible with the support of the gallery’s Trustees, Foundation Committee and members because, without their commitment, generosity, vision and careful governance, the inaugural Queensland National Art Gallery display of just 38 pictures, one marble bust, and 70 engravings might never have grown to the extraordinary QAGOMA collection of more than 21,000 works today. 

In 1895, when our then Governor, Sir Henry Wylie Norman, officially opened the gallery, he expressed the hope that it would succeed and that the collection would greatly increase through (and I quote) “the liberality of the Government, the exertions of the trustees, and the occasional generosity of members of society”.3  

Those three elements of government support, a hardworking fundraising committee and generous donors remain central to the gallery’s operations, but there are three other essential elements not included in Sir Henry’s list: passion, vision, and imagination. Happily, all three of them are abundantly evident in QAGOMA’s trustees, donors, Foundation members and management today.  

Together they have enabled this gallery to play a leading role in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region and to adopt bold, innovative programming–and Chris has given us just a taste of the latest example of this approach in a preview of the magnificent Olafur Eliasson exhibition tonight. 

As patrons, it was a privilege last month for Graeme and me to host a special dinner in honour of Tim Fairfax following his retirement as President of the Foundation Committee.  

Tonight, I once again extend thanks to him on behalf of all Queenslanders, for the enormous contribution he has made to our State through his philanthropy and wish the Committee and the gallery well under the leadership of Liz Pidgeon.

With her decade of experience as a Trustee and exceptional business credentials, I know the Committee and the gallery will continue to thrive. 

Congratulations again on another successful year and a happy Christmas to you all–we look forward to even greater success in 2026.