DOROTHEA MACKELLAR MEMORIAL POETRY AWARDS
The Hon. Dr MARLENE GOLDSMITH [10.53]: I draw to the attention of the House and all honourable members the 1996 Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Poetry Awards. The Dorothea Mackellar competition was established in 1984 in a town which has been discussed in the House today, Gunnedah. The competition began as a project to commemorate the connection of the poet Dorothea Mackellar with Gunnedah, a connection of which Gunnedah is rightly proud. Dare I say, Gunnedah has done Dorothea Mackellar proud. As a former resident of Gunnedah who has always regarded Gunnedah as her home town I can honestly and not immodestly say that the competition has come to be regarded as something bigger than Ben Hur. It now gets thousands of entries from all round Australia every year. It is important that information about the competition gets out to all the budding poets of Australia and that is why I have raised the matter in the House. Closing date for entries is Tuesday, 6 August 1996. I commend the people of Gunnedah, in particular Michelle Thomas, the coordinator of the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society. She is the granddaughter of Micky Mars, the president and founder of the competition, another very significant person in the area.
I also commend Anne Knight, who has contributed many hours assisting with the adjudication of entries to the competition over many years. She has contributed the competition's granny award. I will circulate information about the competition to members of both Houses and I request that all members provide the information to the schools in their electorates or areas of interest. In this way young people will know of the opportunity to participate in this national competition which celebrates not only the beauty of poetry and the rightful pride Australians take in Dorothea Mackellar but also the vibrancy of Gunnedah as a centre for the arts and a town which is very interested in the arts. I commend the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Poetry Awards, the annual national poetry competition for schools, to all honourable members.