Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

On the Government side, he is Chairman of the City of Brisbane Airport Corporation and of the Brisbane Kobe Sister City Committee. He is Deputy Chairman of the Office of Economic Development for the City of Brisbane, a Member of the Senate of the University of Queensland, a Director of the Port of Brisbane Corporation, and a Member of the Council for Economic Development of Queensland. He has been a supporter of the Gallery for many years, and I can think of no-one better qualified to become its Chairman. I have no doubt that under his aegis the Gallery will continue its upward climb. I hand over the keys of office to him with confidence and great pleasure. I now ask you to welcome Ted Edwards, the new Chairman. 5 Response to speeches by the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees and by the Director, Queensland Art Gallery at a farewell dinner in Mr and Mrs Austin's honour, 25 July 1995 NOTE: THOSE PRESENT INCLUDED: NEW CHAIRMAN OF TRUSTEES MR G.H. (TED) EDWARDS AND MRS EDWARDS; DIRECTOR MR DOUG HALL AND MS MICHELE HELMRICH; DEPUTY DIRECTOR DR CAROLINE TURNER AND DR GLEN BARCLAY; MR IAN CALLINAN.QC AND MRS CALLINAN; MR AND MRS BILL PALMER; MR AND MRS ERIC BIGBY; MR AND MRS LAWRENCE DAWS; PROFESSOR AND MRS KEN GOODWIN; SIR BRUCE AND LADY WATSON; MR MICHAEL BRYCE; MR AND MRS TIM NORTH; MR GREG ANDREWS; AND MRS KATE FITZGERALD. It is a great relief to be speaking after the wine has been circulating for a while . • . The last speech I made was at the opening of the new Cairns Gallery and that was before breakfast, when my unfortunate captive audience had been fortified by nothing stronger than coffee and orange juice. First of all, I want to thank Ted and Doug for arranging this splendid and elegant farewell dinner and for the kind and generous words they have just spoken. They have done me proud, as they say in the vernacular, and I appreciate the sentiments they have expressed very much indeed. In due course, I shall be saying some nice things about both of them and that ought to make for a happy evening all round because, in the words of Oliver Wendall Holmes, Sweet is the scene where genial friendship plays the pleasant game of interchanging praise. Genial friendship certainly permeates the atmosphere tonight, on the occasion of this historic gathering of the clan, and it is wonderful to see so many colleagues here. I doubt if ever before have a Chairman and an ex-Chairman, a Director and a former Acting Director, a President of the Foundation, a Head of Arts Queensland, and a group of Trustees-whose service, in some cases, dates back for more than 173