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| Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the unveiling of Goodna's Pillar of Courage and Historic Flood Marker 11 January 2012. |
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Speech by Prime Minister, Julia Gillard at Goodna Queensland:
Many ceremonies are being held this week, with countless words written and said.
But there are times when symbols are needed to carry us beyond words.
To tell a story each hour of the day to assemblies as big and formal as this.
Or to a single, silent onlooker reflecting in the cool of a long summer evening.
As a community, you could have commissioned a great artist or sculptor to commemorate the floods, and they would have produced something beautiful.
But what symbol could be more eloquent than this ‘Pillar of Courage’ we unveil today?
It is, of course, a flood marker.
A simple everyday object found near rivers and creeks in a thousand country towns.
But because of what happened a year ago, it is so much more.
It is a memorial and a tribute.
A sign of our gratitude.
And a story book to teach those yet to come.
Friends, this pillar dates from 1893 when this was a small town of 500 people and the railway had just come through.
Like the marks on a doorway that chart a child’s growth, it records Goodna’s endurance and resolve.
Indeed these are the very words that have been inscribed:
“Resilience, Community, Strength
Heroes, Caring and Unity”.
But this marker is not just a symbol or a metaphor.
It shows with mathematical precision how truly we live in a land of “droughts and flooding rains”.
And how despite all those challenges, we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else on earth.
Of all the nations of the world, this is where we choose to stay.
This big, harsh continent is our home.
Our dreaming to share forever.
And we love this country all the more in times of crisis because natural disasters force us back to the very essence of who we are and the things we treasure the most:
Our lives.
Our families.
Our communities.
Our land.
Not that we welcome natural disasters; it would be a sheer blessing if we never faced another.
No-one wants to see their possessions carried away in a skip.
Live in a caravan for weeks that stretch into months.
Or wait endlessly for something as basic as gyprock to rebuild their home.
We do not welcome disaster.
We simply know that when disaster comes and nature hits us with its worst, we are challenged to be our best.
As Australians, we never fail to meet that challenge.
Whether in the leadership of an Anna Bligh, or civic representatives like Paul Pisasale and Paul Tully.
Dedicated local Members like Bernie Ripoll and Shayne Neumann who made a region’s voice heard loud and strong at the Cabinet table.
Community helpers like Cathy Beauchamp who bring such humanity and hope.
SES workers who come cheerfully from as far afield as Tasmania.
Or the hundreds of unnamed volunteers who gave up their time or broke off their holidays to ensure a summer of loss didn’t become a summer of despair.
Twelve months on, we stand in the balance between what has happened and what is yet to come.
On this we are clear:
Today’s anniversary isn’t the end of the story.
To think that would be a mistake – and one we are not prepared to make.
What is wrecked in a day can take months even years to restore.
And some things – like broken hearts and shattered memories – can never be repaired in full.
Perhaps there some comfort or sense for us today in the Queensland motto: “Bold but faithful.”
Yes, let us be bold in our plans for the future and the reconstruction we will deliver for this State.
But faithful to the memory of all we have lost and the hurts that won’t so easily go away.
Which is precisely what this Pillar conveys and represents.
That when the waters rose high, our courage rose higher still.
We held on.
We rescued and cared for each other.
We rebuilt with pride.
And we never, ever forgot.
