HON. WAYNE SWAN MP
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR LILLEY
CONSTITUENCY STATEMENT (ASPLEY & NUNDAH SS ANNIVERSARIES)
FEDERATION CHAMBER, CANBERRA
WEDNESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2015
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This year, 2015, is big year for local schools in the Lilley electorate, with two schools celebrating significant milestones: Aspley State School, celebrating its 125th birthday and Nundah State School celebrating its 150th birthday. They are two of Brisbane's oldest schools. Both schools have active and vibrant school communities and active and vibrant P & Cs, who have all been putting in an enormous amount of hard work over the past year to mark these significant milestones.
Aspley State School have had a number of events throughout the year as part of their birthday celebrations, with major events taking place over the last month. On 10 August, they held a foundation day to celebrate and revisit their history. They invited past students along to share their memories and to speak to current students. Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the main event of the Aspley birthday celebrations, the Aspley 125 Birthday BLAST. It was a fantastic day. There was a massive turnout from the whole school and the community, with many past students, their families and the broader local community.
The school's music program was on display, with terrific performances from the school choir and the school band. Well done to all the students and teachers who were involved. It was really a very inspiring performance. There were also plenty of rides, food and activities and, generally, it was a very entertaining afternoon and evening. Those celebrations were finished off with a reunion dinner at Kedron-Wavell RSL, where past students from all decades came together to reconnect with old friends, including two former students in their 80s who are now married. I would like to thank the school principal, Andrew Duncan, the deputy principal, Brendan Smith, Victoria Edwards and June Reynolds from the school's P & C and everyone else involved for all their hard work and for making this celebration very significant.
The Nundah State School's 150th birthday celebrations have also been getting underway. Nundah State School has been at the heart of Nundah for all its existence. It was formerly called the German Station National School—this was one of the first areas of Brisbane that was settled by German immigrants—with an initial enrolment of just 62 students. Nundah State School was renamed in 1986, and in 2014 now has over 700 students attending classes.
As part of the celebrations, they held a trivia night on 27 August and they have been fundraising throughout the year to raise funds to build a new outdoor play area at the site of the old camphor laurel tree, which stood right in the middle of the quadrangle at the heart of the school. There are also a number of big events coming up, including a bush dance on Friday, 16 October, culminating in a spring fair held at the school on Sunday, 18 October. The spring fair will be a huge day, starting off with a street parade down to Nundah Village and back to the school to kick things off. There will be plenty of entertainment and I urge people in the local community to attend the spring fair and, particularly, to see the displays for the Nundah Historical Society, who have photos and displays from the school's 150-year history. Thanks to Cathy Baker, Deb Cox, Bruce Davies and everyone else involved with the 150th birthday.
