Vew from the chair: Speeches of Richard WL Austin

SELECTED BY LEGENDARY OUTBACK FIGURE R.M. WILLIAMS. POEMS IN THE BOOK ARE BY AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK WRITERS, INCLUDING WILL OGILVIE, BANJO PATERSON, ADAM LINDSAYGORDON, DOROTHEA MACKELLAR. MARYGILMORE AND HENRY LAWSON. SALES OF THE LIMITED EDITION BOOK, THIS BELOVED LAND, WERE TO RAISE FUNDS TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL HERITAGE ROSE GARDEN IN THE GROUNDS OF THE STOCKMAN'S HALL OF FAME AND OUTBACK HERITAGE CENTRE. THE ROSE GARDEN, INTERSPERSED AMONG THE NATIVE PLANTINGS OF THE HERITAGE GARDEN, WAS PLANNED TO SYMBOLISE THE PLANTING OF ROSES AROUND HOMESTEADS BY EARLY PIONEERS AS A MARK OF BEAUTY AND A REMINDER OF THEIR PAST. In line with the Director's words, it also gives me great pleasure to welcome you tonight on behalf of the Trustees of the Gallery to this opening of the Cowley Outback Collection. But let it be clearly understood-this is News Limited's night. Ken Cowley, Chairman and Chief Executive, is your host, and I and my fellow Trustees are, so to speak, guests in our own house. My responsibility tonight is to introduce Ken Cowley. He, in turn, will introduce Mr R.M. Williams, the driving force behind the Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach, who was recently rather picturesquely described in a newspaper article as 'Australia's real life Clancy of the Overflow'. Mr Williams will read a poem and then Mr Cowley will introduce the Premier, the Hon. Wayne Goss, who will open the exhibition. We therefore have on the platform representatives of four of the elements which make the State of Queensland what it is today: Government, the Media, the Arts and Tourism. When we have a Government that makes a genuine effort to balance the budget, a press that is responsible and intelligent, a Gallery that is now internationally acclaimed, and tourist attractions that are second to none, it is not surprising that so many Australian 'Mexicans' are travelling north to Queensland in search of a better life. 1 Tonight Mr Cowley has brought these elements together and it is fair to say that they fit together very well indeed. The Government-and especially the Premier, personally-has been a constant and generous supporter of the Gallery, and only last week it announced that it would continue to match, dollar for dollar, private donations for acquisitions-a major factor in attracting them. This is welcome news. The same can be said about News Limited. Their support is shown both in terms of what they 'do' for us and in what they 'say' about us. By this I mean the considerable involvement the Courier-Mail and the Sunday Mail have with the Gallery as sponsors of major international exhibitions, in addition to the many occasions when their editorial comments support the Gallery's endeavours. Only a few weeks ago, an editorial in the Sunday Mail announcing the forthcoming Renoir exhibition stated in very forthright terms: For many years Queensland was regarded as little more than an appendage to the Rust Belt States and Queenslanders as hill-billy Bananalanders. Today, Queensland life is a rich tapestry providing a wide range of sports, art, literature, theatre, and Queenslanders have shown they are participants more than mere watchers. This is why thousands of southerners continue to pour across our borders. This is why Queensland is a State of Celebrations. 92