Speeches
Thursday, 13 February 2025
Seymour College Visit
I am pleased to join you for this Founders Day assembly. It’s great to see students from prep right through to Year 12 here today, as well as Old Collegians.
Thank you to student leaders for your warm welcome. The way we welcome and acknowledge each other is both a mark of respect and a signal of intent and encouragement. It’s one of the reasons I give an acknowledgement of country in language; to show respect to Aboriginal people and to encourage the study of indigenous languages across our population.
It’s been my pleasure to host Seymour College student leaders as guests at a Government House reception for South Australian school leaders for the past two years, and I look forward to seeing Sithuki and Amber at Government House later this year.
This week Government House was to have hosted two days of the SACE Merit Ceremonies. Yesterday’s, to everyone’s regret, were cancelled because of extreme heat. Today’s ceremonies are going ahead as planned and I congratulate all the Seymour graduates who achieved a collective 21 merits.
I congratulate your 2024 student cohort on their outstanding results and wish your 2025 Year 12 class all the very best for their studies this year.
During my 40-year long career – as a diplomat and public servant, now as Governor - I have learned that there is a deeper measure of success beyond simply achieving your goal.
It’s when you choose to learn from obstacles on your path and draw on your resilience and resourcefulness to overcome them.
Over time, this will develop your character, as well as give you an inner sense of strength and confidence to set yourself ambitious goals.
Resilience is crucial to any pursuit of leadership, and I encourage you all to think about opportunities to be a leader in your community.
Seymour College has a long history – 103 years, in fact – of empowering its students and producing confident, compassionate young women who go on to become community leaders.
Many firsts in terms of gender equality have happened in South Australia – as you know, we were the first Australian state to enable women to vote and run for parliament, and are home to the first Australian university, the University of Adelaide, to admit female students.
The first female Supreme Court judge and the first female Governor was also South Australian - my predecessor, the late Dame Roma Mitchell.
What might you be the first woman to do? And here I don’t just mean a particular job or role, but as Change Makers, a subject I note is now being offered to Year 9 students. There is much to be done, and our society needs advocates for change and citizens who are willing to take steps to shape a better future.
I am also pleased to see the focus that Seymour College places on social justice and service. After all your school motto is Crescam Ministrando – “I grow by serving.”
A recent example of this was in December, where clans collected and donated canned goods at Christmas for Foodbank SA, Vinnies and the Salvation Army.
As Governor of South Australia, I have the privilege of getting to know young people in local communities right across the state.
I have seen the impact that volunteering can have, how it enriches the lives of Australians and the amazing contributions of those who give of their time and talents.
I encourage you to pursue opportunities for service at school, and in your lives beyond.
A well-functioning democracy requires all of our society, including young people, to be involved as informed, active, engaged citizens. Diversity of participation is what helps make such a system strong.
And by the way, service is one of the main paths by which adult South Australians are invited to Government House, as well! I look forward to seeing you there in the years to come.
The Governor’s Civics Awards are presented annually and encourage students to deepen their understanding of the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship, as well as be active citizens in service to their communities.
It’s great to see that Seymour students have been participants and winners of the awards in previous years.
Teachers can find out more on the Education Department or Government House websites, and we’d love to see more entries from your school when 2025 entries open at the beginning of term 2.
Finally, to the staff, thank you for all that you do to assist your students, both academically and in their broader lives.
Students, I wish you the very best as you continue your schooling.
May you all pursue your highest potential, and in doing so, contribute not only to your own success, but the success of your school, our community, our state, our country and our world.