Remarks for Endeavour Foundation's 75th Anniversary Reception

Former President of the Queensland Court of Appeal and Chair, Board of Governors, Queensland Community Foundation, the Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC; Chair, Endeavour Foundation, Ms Elizabeth Jameson AM, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Andrew Chesterman; Chair of Client Advisory Committee, Mr Andrew Bowden; Chancellor, Queensland University of Technology and Chair, Circa Contemporary Circus, Ms Ann Sherry AO; Endeavour Foundation staff and supporters; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I acknowledge the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbul and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this evening.

I am delighted to welcome you this evening to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Endeavour Foundation’s long and proud history of empowering and advocating for people with intellectual disability.

The environment and attitudes of society towards disability have changed greatly in the years since 1951. However, the Foundation is still guided by the loving and determined voices of those parents and other advocates who, three-quarters of a century ago, recognised that young people growing up with disability needed and deserved:

• the opportunity to benefit from an education
• to have their rights protected
• to have their voices heard in workplaces, and
• to have their needs met all the way through what should be happy and fulfilling lives.

The story of Endeavour Foundation is one of innovation, inclusiveness and dogged determination. It began with a courageous group of parents who, on the verandah of a suburban Brisbane home, created a makeshift school for their children—driven not by resources, but by resolve, practicality and compassion. What an inspiring—and wonderfully Queensland–story it is!

Joined by Sir Fred Schonell, a pioneer in championing the rights and needs of people with intellectual disability, this fledgling movement gained momentum. As the Foundation’s first President, Sir Fred established the Remedial Education Centre—now the Fred and Eleanor Special Education Research Centre—among the first of its kind.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the organisation expanded to include workshops, residences and training centres supporting more than one thousand children and five hundred adults. In the 1980s, these efforts were unified under the Endeavour Foundation, and when Queensland’s Education Department assumed responsibility for school‑age education in 1986, the organisation sharpened its focus on post‑school advocacy and opportunity.

With the introduction of the NDIS in 2013, the Endeavour Foundation evolved again, becoming the successful social enterprise it is today, ‘making possibilities a reality' for a growing number of clients.

Now the largest provider of supported employment, the Foundation has expanded into specialist disability accommodation and learning and lifestyle hubs, empowering people to make their own decisions and shape their own futures. Innovation flourishes from within, from the successful Kingaroy Kitchen Café to the award-winning Virtual Reality initiative.

As Governor and proud Patron of the Foundation, I congratulate the families, friends, volunteers, staff and supporters of your clients who give generously of their time and hard work to help to create a more inclusive and productive society.

The commitment to service among your leadership is exemplary. Former Chair Richard Haire served for seven years, and current Board Chair, Elizabeth Jameson AM, and Deputy Chair, Scott Ellis, are Life Members, having both been Foundation supporters in some capacity for 40 years.

No doubt many staff, volunteers, and advocates here tonight have dedicated a lifetime to this most worthy endeavour, also. Compassion and dedication are deeply embedded in the Foundation’s DNA, and its history and success are a credit to you all. 

Congratulations on 75 years of making a profound difference in the lives of so many people in this State––and on behalf of all Queenslanders, thank you.