Speeches
Monday, 25 March 2024
Australiana Society
Rod and I welcome you to Australia’s oldest Government House, especially our interstate visitors.
I am sure the local Society members have looked after you very well and hope you have found many things to interest you in South Australia, including now, our House.
As collectors, connoisseurs, and researchers you know well the importance of preserving and researching our past.
By understanding our heritage, we can better inform our future through an evolving narrative.
Government House, in conjunction with the Art Gallery of South Australia, tells several aspects of our South Australian story.
The House reflects our sense of place.
- The Proclamation painting taken out of storage and now in the historical East Wing entrance.
- Kings and Queens reflecting our Constitutional Monarchy
- Works by Aboriginal artists side by side with Colonial era art and more modern works.
- These artistic interactions, through expert curation, bring stories about us together.
- Only earlier this week, Rod opened a discussion with the South Australian Museum to enhance the representation of objects, as opposed to art works, in the House.
Rod and I want the art works and objects on display to encourage conversations and reflections on the South Australian story in all its richness, not only for formal visitors but during our Open Days and school and community tours.
Thank the Australiana Society for their commitment to encouraging interest in, collecting, preserving, and researching our heritage.
Long may you do so.