Speeches

Friday, 05 November 2021

Officially open the Eudunda 150 Programme


I acknowledge the Ngadjuri people as the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathering and pay my respects to the elders.

In doing let me say I took pleasure in learning that the name Eudunda comes from the Ngadjuri term ‘Eudundacowi’, meaning sheltered water, and that it derives from a spring located just west of here which was the town’s original water source.

This celebration marks my first visit to South Australia’s mid-north as Governor, and it is my great pleasure to join you this evening.

My family and I spent some time nearby in the Barossa recently reminding ourselves what a beautiful part of the state that is. And we have been reminded again this evening of the beauty of the mid‑north.

I am looking forward to getting to know the people of this region and also learning more about its indigenous heritage.

Eudunda, particularly in its early years, has had a strong connection with South Australia’s governors.

Governor Gawler led an exploration through here in 1839, only three years after South Australia was proclaimed.

Weigall Street in Eudunda is named after Governor Sir Archibald Weigall, who visited in 1920 to lay the foundation stone of the hospital, and the railway line was opened by Governor Sir William Jervois in 1878.

It is unfortunate that your original plans for this celebration, in November last year, were cancelled due to the pandemic, but

I am pleased the event to mark what would have been Colin Thiele’s 100th birthday still went ahead, and that today we launch the rest of the planned activities.

Many of you are descended from settlers who travelled half-way around the world, to establish a new life in a frontier town.

Overcoming challenges is in your DNA!

I commend all the local artists who are represented in the art exhibition, which I look forward to viewing shortly.

It will be interesting to see how the question “What does Eudunda mean to you?” has been interpreted.

Mr Doering kindly forwarded me an advance copy of the ‘Diary of Emilie Appelt’, which is being launched this evening.

As the Introduction points out, the diary has “immense significance” as an intimate record written by a woman at the turn of the twentieth century.

While many diaries written by rural South Australian men at this time remain, very few by women do.

I acknowledge Emilie Alleplt’s descendants who are with us, as well as Mr Doering and Vida Hoopmann, who have worked so hard writing and editing the book.

I commend the Eudunda 150 sub-committee for its program of celebration, which includes a range of one-off events as well as activities with a lasting impact.

These include a time capsule, for which I am pleased to provide a letter, as well as a number of sculptures to be erected in the former Railway precinct.

I thank the Regional Council of Goyder for its support of the celebrations, as well as every single person who has volunteered, in some shape or form, to bring these activities to life.

I wish the town of Eudunda all the very best for its next 150 years.

Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC

GOVERNOR OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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