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- 1 December 2005
Casino 150th Anniversary
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Page: 20572
Mr THOMAS GEORGE (Lismore) [6.21 p.m.]: I want to pay tribute to the community of Casino on its 150th anniversary, although it is now about a month after the event. I pay particular credit to Richmond Valley council. Casino is 150 years old. It is good to see Lisa Gelzinnis from Hansard in the House. She is a Casino resident and she would understand the spirit I am talking about. Being the member for Lismore, I am sad to say that come March 2007 I will no longer represent Casino, because in a boundary change it will go into the electorate of Clarence. It is a tragedy to lose the representation of one's home town but I fully appreciate the spirit of Casino. Whether it is fundraising or anything else the community is asked to do, it gives 100 per cent support.
To celebrate the 150 years, the community has published a book containing the history of Casino. Each resident or person who had an interest in Casino was able to purchase a page, which represented a year, and they could put their family story there. As the member for Lismore, I had the honour of writing a foreword for the book, as did the Premier, Morris Iemma, the Mayor of the Richmond Valley, Charlie Cox, and Ian Causley, the member for Page, the Federal seat that incorporates Casino. I chose the year 1948 because my parents migrated to Casino that year and I was able to record the history of my family. I also chose the year 1999, when I was elected to Parliament. It is a magnificent book and I know that everyone who took part in it has been appreciative of the history recorded in it. It will be a memento that will be passed on for generations.
On the long weekend the community celebrated the anniversary. There was an exhibition of historical photos, art and memorabilia. A ball was held on the Friday night. The 3801 steam train came to Casino for the weekend. A multicultural and Australian food festival was held, at which all the communities that helped build the Casino district were represented, including the Lebanese, the Italian, the Greek, the Australian and the Filipino communities—the list goes on. It was a great weekend. I never thought I would be able to walk down the streets of Casino and purchase Greek food or Lebanese food, but I could on this weekend, and it was certainly a pleasure to be able to do that.
Casino used to have a picture theatre called the El Gronda. Sadly, the El Gronda, like a lot of other picture theatres, closed. That night an open-air film evening was held on the site. People who used to work for the old El Gronda theatre came back as ushers for the night. Only the Jaffas were missing; we were unable to throw Jaffas down the hallway and make a noise. In the old days Jaffas were synonymous with picture theatres. Marlene Farrell, Barry Nicholas and John Anderson got their old usher uniforms out and were still able to fit into them.
Young Chance Cruickshank of Casino, a 14-year-old student, won the junior section of the student snapshot competition. He had a tremendous display of photos. His family is an important part of Casino. His grandmother was part of the original Casino Beef Week Committee, and it was great to see him take part in the celebrations. The Casino CMCA Motorhome Village had a camp oven dinner and cooking competition and it was greatly supported. The Casino motor home village is an important part of the Casino community. I compliment and congratulate Casino on its 150th birthday.
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