The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, hosted by the RACQ

RACQ Chair and President, Ms Leona Murphy; Managing Director and Group CEO, Mr David Carter; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen. 

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

As Governor, and proud patron of RACQ, I am delighted to welcome the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to Brisbane for the very first time in its 75-year history, and to see Queenslanders respond so enthusiastically to the call to gather.

Strong ties to Scotland have been a feature of this State from the earliest days of free settlement.

When the Colony’s first census was conducted in 1861, Queensland had only about thirty-thousand people – but 8 percent of them were Scots!

And they have left their mark.

The name first chosen for the remote settlement here on the Brisbane River was not Brisbane, but Edinglassie, a combination of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the suburbs with names like Kenmore, Auchenflower and Kelvin Grove remain today as a permanent reminder of those first hardy settlers.

The Scots were a prominent part of the history of exploration, pastoralism, politics and industry in our State, and their influence is still there today in our belief in equal opportunity, our sense of personal and social responsibility, and in the qualities we value as a society.

But it’s also there in our love of all things Scottish from bagpipes and the highland fling, to fine single malt whisky, our own Queensland tartan, and, of course, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

This is not the first time the Tattoo has come to Australia – in its 75-year history it has been to Sydney four times as well as to Melbourne and Hobart. This time, with the generous sponsorship of RACQ, Queenslanders too have the opportunity to experience this extraordinary celebration of music, dance and military precision.

This event has been many months in the planning, and on behalf of all Queenslanders, I thank the RACQ for giving us the opportunity to experience The Heroes Who Made Us, and congratulate everyone concerned with bringing this enormous project to fruition – in advance of the 2032 Olympics, it’s a great example of what Queensland and Queenslanders can do. I wish you all a wonderful evening.