Page 3704 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 28 October 2014
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stone lifting competitions, Scottish food stalls, and, most importantly, a stall for each clan—perhaps 30 or more—so that visitors could find out information about their family history directly from a clan expert.
Following the gathering a traditional Scottish ceilidh, which is a Gaelic social gathering and includes Gaelic folk music and dancing, was held at the Canberra Burns Club.
This is an important day in the highly packed calendar of multicultural events which occur in the ACT. Migrants have come from all areas, as we know, to settle in Canberra, including large numbers from Scotland. I was able to recount to the group on the day my family’s history from Scotland. My great-grandfather came over from Scotland in around 1872, and I have his business card at home. It is a large card and has a drawing of a sulky in the corner. It says, “John Gentleman, wheelwright and coach-builder, shoeing and general forge—reasonable rates.” So I got a good response at the gathering.
Canberra is a city rich in multiculturalism, and I am proud of the contribution made by the many migrants to our community. One of the first families to settle in what is now the ACT was the Campbell family, and their patriarch of the time, Robert Campbell. The family were Scottish and employed many other Scots as workers. Robert was a very interesting character who left Scotland for India at the age of 27 and spent the latter part of the 18th century there before sailing to Sydney, where he became a prominent merchant. He was later appointed to the Legislative Council and then acquired land in the Limestone Plains area of the present ACT region.
The land he and his family owned included what is now Duntroon and Duntroon House, which is now the officers mess at RMC, and of course Government House. The suburb of Campbell is consequently named after him. Robert had seven children, three of whom also served on the New South Wales Legislative Council before the creation of the federal territory. The gathering on the day highlighted the importance of our Scottish heritage and prominent Canberrans who have shaped our city today, such as Robert Campbell.
I would like to thank the many people who attended the event, members of the Burns Club, the president of the Canberra Burns Club, Athol Chalmers, and Robert Campbell, who is a direct descendant of the original Robert Campbell, and who, on the day, was able to present the Campbell Cup to the winning band.
Vietnam Veterans and Veterans Federation ACT
MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.46): I rise this afternoon to talk about the Vietnam Veterans and Veterans Federation ACT branch. First formed in Australia in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, as it was then known, began life as a lobby group for Vietnam veterans and their families. In particular, the association fought hard for veterans who had been exposed to agent orange, a herbicide used during the Vietnam War. The association also lobbied hard for veteran compensation and established the Veterans and Veterans Family Counselling Service.
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