Page 4792 - Week 11 - Thursday, 20 October 2011
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Businessman John Halikos, the head of the Kalymnian Brotherhood in Darwin and prime sponsor of the 2011 games, has indicated that he will make a generous contribution to support the organisation of the Panhellenic Games in Canberra. It is estimated that up to 1,000 athletes from all over Australia and New Zealand will travel to Canberra to participate in a variety of different sports, including football, basketball, swimming, and track and field events.
The chair of the Canberra Panhellenic Games committee, John Efkarpidis, who was in Darwin for the announcement and accepted the games on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Community and the Church of Canberra and District, has spoken very highly of these games and has sought my support as shadow minister for sport and multicultural affairs for them. I will be speaking to the community in more detail about their expectations.
I understand that the president, Mr Paul Levantis, thanked John for accepting the role of chair of the organising committee for the games and for representing the Greek community of Canberra on the national stage. Mr Efkarpidis has been reported as saying that hosting the games will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase our capital city, and in particular our world-class sporting facilities, in what will be a significant year for our nation’s capital, which will be celebrating its centenary year in 2013.
I would like to thank and congratulate Mr John Efkarpidis for being appointed as the organising president and being the one who has obviously put a lot of effort into the activity that went on in Darwin. I wish people all the best in promoting the Greek Australian Canberra community here in our capital city and I wish them all the best for the 2013 Oceania Panhellenic Games that was recently awarded to Canberra.
National Library of Australia
MR COE (Ginninderra) (5.11): I rise this evening to say a few words about the National Library of Australia, which is one of the great national institutions found here in Canberra.
Recently I was pleased to attend the opening of the new Treasures Gallery, which is an exciting exhibition that hosts a number of items associated with Australia’s most interesting stories. The exhibition has been curated by Nat Williams, who has done a remarkable job in gathering so many fascinating items so central to our heritage and history. Drawn from the library’s vast collection, many of the treasures in this exhibition have never been displayed before. The library will continue to regularly change the items on display, ensuring that visitors will always discover something new.
I would like to note a few exhibits so visually presented at the gallery as part of the exhibition. These exhibits include items such as the torch from the XVI Olympiad in Melbourne; Elizabeth Macquarie’s earrings, made from gold found in Prospect in the Blue Mountains; the Endeavour journal from Captain James Cook; a list and description of HMS Bounty mutineers put together by William Bligh in 1789; and a
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