Page 1158 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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It will be by a country mile the biggest season ever seen at the Canberra theatre this year, with performances being brought in from all the states and the Northern Territory for Collected Works: Australia 2013.
The 1900s shearers ball, the 1910s Edwardian ragtime dance and the 1920s roaring twenties dance also sold out. The next event, celebrating the swing dancing of the 1930s, will be held next month.
The patron of the centenary of Canberra, Sir William Deane, along with Aunty Agnes Shea and Minister Shane Rattenbury, launched an impressive Indigenous cultural program in early February—just after January, for Mr Hanson. One of the highlights of the Indigenous cultural program was the Indigenous showcase at the National Multicultural Festival last month. The Indigenous showcase featured internationally celebrated artist Gurrumul, and the Stiff Gins and the Last Kinection, all supported by the centenary of Canberra.
The multicultural festival itself was another triumph—massive crowds, a great community spirit, a true demonstration that Canberra leads the way in multiculturalism and inclusiveness. I would like to congratulate all involved. I know, Madam Acting Speaker, that you were there at the festival. So was I—and many of our colleagues as well. It was a fantastic opportunity.
In sport, Canberra hosted its first ever one-day international match, featuring the Australian cricket team when they played the West Indies at Manuka Oval on 6 February to a sell-out crowd and a national television audience of 1.5 million. I had the opportunity to attend a fundraising event at that particular match with the CFMEU. They were supporting Bosom Buddies, which is a support group for women with cancer, and it was a great sell-out for their tent. They raised about $7,000, from memory, from the one event. It was a great way of seeing how much the CFMEU, and of course the tradies club, support local charities.
The ISPS Handa women’s Australian open golfing tournament was held at Royal Canberra Golf Club in mid-February. Five of the world’s top 10 female golfers came to Canberra to compete at that tournament. Attendance at the event was up 30 per cent on the 2012 golf open at Royal Melbourne; nearly 900,000 Australians tuned into ABC to catch the action, and the pictures of beautiful Royal Canberra were beamed to millions of homes across the globe.
On the Canberra Day long weekend, Canberra was a flurry of activity. On the Friday there was Enlighten in the parliamentary precinct and the popular short movie competition Lights! Canberra! Action! The GWS Giants played Essendon at Manuka under lights, and the NAB Cup and the Famous Spiegel Garden were in full swing here, for the first time, in our 100th birthday celebrations.
Saturday featured more great sport. The Brumbies played a special centenary branded match against arch-rivals the Waratahs at Canberra Stadium. And what a great win, in front of 20,000 fans!
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