❓ Mr. Michael asks the Premier how the WA government is supporting the RSL in commemorating the Armistice Centenary. The Premier details various commemorative events and financial support provided through Lotterywest.
AnsweredQoN 911Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ARMISTICE CENTENARY —
RETURNED AND SERVICES LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA
911. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Premier:
Before
I begin, on behalf of the member for Bunbury I welcome to the gallery students
and staff from Bunbury Senior High School.
I refer to Sunday's Centenary
of Armistice. Can the Premier outline to the house how the state government is
supporting the RSL in commemorating this significant and historic event?
RETURNED AND SERVICES LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA
911. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Premier:
Before
I begin, on behalf of the member for Bunbury I welcome to the gallery students
and staff from Bunbury Senior High School.
I refer to Sunday's Centenary
of Armistice. Can the Premier outline to the house how the state government is
supporting the RSL in commemorating this significant and historic event?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question
and members from all sides for their quite beautiful speeches earlier today
when we marked the centenary of Remembrance Day. I acknowledge that some
members will be making further speeches after question time. It was a beautiful
occasion and a lot of fine, well-researched words were said in this Parliament
about this historic anniversary.
I hope that the people of Western Australia
get to learn of all of these events that I will outline to the house. We wanted
to ensure that there were many commemorative events across Western Australia in
the coming days; therefore, through Lotterywest, we have provided $300 000 to
RSLWA to help commemorate more than 50 events across Western Australia. For
those community members who are interested, the commemorations in Perth have
already begun. We have started planting 62 000 hand-knitted poppies around the
Flame of Remembrance and at Kings Park to symbolise the 62 000 Australians who
were killed in the First World War. I urge all Western Australians to look at
that; it will be really quite magnificent. On Sunday morning there will a ceremonial
service at Kings Park that will begin with a military gun salute. The guns will
be fired every half hour from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm, when they will go quiet to
symbolise when the guns fell silent on the Western Front. People can go to a service in Kings Park, but I know that around
the community on Sunday the RSL will also be putting on services. A
community picnic will be held in the gardens at Government House on Sunday
afternoon. The Field of Light: Avenue of Honour exhibition is being held
in Albany. It was launched on 4 October with the state government providing
$300 000 in support of it. I am advised by you, Mr Speaker, and by the Governor
that it is a marvellous display. It is appropriate that that is occurring in Albany.
Another $50 000 from Lotterywest will fund further activities in Albany around
Remembrance Day, in particular the ''Others Eyes: The Armistice Day
Choral Project'', which will bring together Noongar elders, returned
servicemen and women and community choirs for a performance at the field of
light on Remembrance Day. That will be a beautiful event for members of the
community to attend. Buildings at landmarks in Geraldton and Kalgoorlie, and
the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, will be lit up with a projection of poppies. Tonight,
a poppy will be projected onto Albany Town Hall, which the men marched past in
1914. Fremantle's Maritime Museum and St George's Cathedral
will be lit up with poppies over the next three days. The significance of the
poppy will be recognised on each of those buildings.
Just this week, I was very pleased
to turn the first sod on the new headquarters of the Western Australian branch
of the Returned and Services League of Australia in St Georges Terrace, which
obviously has been worked on by governments of both persuasions over the last
few years. We were very pleased to provide a whole range of support to RSL
branches around the state—Osborne Park, Dawesville, Chidlow, Bicton–Palmyra,
Cockburn and Kwinana—for a range of upgrades in this the anniversary
year. I will not dwell on the subject—we dealt with it earlier—but
the centenary of Remembrance Day is a very significant occasion for Western Australia,
Australia and, indeed, the world. We all need to take a little time to ponder
what others did for us.
and members from all sides for their quite beautiful speeches earlier today
when we marked the centenary of Remembrance Day. I acknowledge that some
members will be making further speeches after question time. It was a beautiful
occasion and a lot of fine, well-researched words were said in this Parliament
about this historic anniversary.
I hope that the people of Western Australia
get to learn of all of these events that I will outline to the house. We wanted
to ensure that there were many commemorative events across Western Australia in
the coming days; therefore, through Lotterywest, we have provided $300 000 to
RSLWA to help commemorate more than 50 events across Western Australia. For
those community members who are interested, the commemorations in Perth have
already begun. We have started planting 62 000 hand-knitted poppies around the
Flame of Remembrance and at Kings Park to symbolise the 62 000 Australians who
were killed in the First World War. I urge all Western Australians to look at
that; it will be really quite magnificent. On Sunday morning there will a ceremonial
service at Kings Park that will begin with a military gun salute. The guns will
be fired every half hour from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm, when they will go quiet to
symbolise when the guns fell silent on the Western Front. People can go to a service in Kings Park, but I know that around
the community on Sunday the RSL will also be putting on services. A
community picnic will be held in the gardens at Government House on Sunday
afternoon. The Field of Light: Avenue of Honour exhibition is being held
in Albany. It was launched on 4 October with the state government providing
$300 000 in support of it. I am advised by you, Mr Speaker, and by the Governor
that it is a marvellous display. It is appropriate that that is occurring in Albany.
Another $50 000 from Lotterywest will fund further activities in Albany around
Remembrance Day, in particular the ''Others Eyes: The Armistice Day
Choral Project'', which will bring together Noongar elders, returned
servicemen and women and community choirs for a performance at the field of
light on Remembrance Day. That will be a beautiful event for members of the
community to attend. Buildings at landmarks in Geraldton and Kalgoorlie, and
the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, will be lit up with a projection of poppies. Tonight,
a poppy will be projected onto Albany Town Hall, which the men marched past in
1914. Fremantle's Maritime Museum and St George's Cathedral
will be lit up with poppies over the next three days. The significance of the
poppy will be recognised on each of those buildings.
Just this week, I was very pleased
to turn the first sod on the new headquarters of the Western Australian branch
of the Returned and Services League of Australia in St Georges Terrace, which
obviously has been worked on by governments of both persuasions over the last
few years. We were very pleased to provide a whole range of support to RSL
branches around the state—Osborne Park, Dawesville, Chidlow, Bicton–Palmyra,
Cockburn and Kwinana—for a range of upgrades in this the anniversary
year. I will not dwell on the subject—we dealt with it earlier—but
the centenary of Remembrance Day is a very significant occasion for Western Australia,
Australia and, indeed, the world. We all need to take a little time to ponder
what others did for us.
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